The Omega Chronicles: Rise of the Red Rebellion
by DarkShiftRising
Summary: Omega,the God of Destruction.Defeated by Zero in 22XX,his name faded from history.Now,centuries later,the legendary crimson destroyer is back,and ready to raise a new kind of hell on a world that has all but forgotten him! BRING IT!
1. Prologue

Megaman Omega

A/N: Well, here it is, my first Megaman fic! Please R&R!

Disclaimer: I don't own Megaman, Capcom does. Celtis is mine though.

Prologue:

Exactly one year ago, one of the Three Wise Men, rulers of the worldwide government Legion, attempted to destroy the world with the power of Biometal. This was the very same man who had first created the Biometals in the first place...The man known as Master Albert.

Spreading his six Biometals over the world, he created a tournament, a bloody and fierce conflict between the users of the Biometals, the so-called Chosen Ones, to determine the one who would be proven strongest of them all, the Mega Man King. When this King collected all of the fragments of Albert's 'Master' Biometal, the terrifying Model W, the united fragments would combine, forming the Ultimate Biometal, Albert's crowning achievement: Ouroboros. The wielder of this Biometal, would transcend the barrier between man and machine, becoming, in effect, a god, with the power to reshape the world as the Mega Man King saw fit.

That was what the Chosen Ones believed, anyway.

In reality, Albert had never planned on giving up the Model W. When the so-called Mega Man 'King' collected all of the Model Ws to form Ouroboros, he would simply step in, and dispatch them with the power of Ouroboros. Then he would be free to 'reset' the world, as he had wanted to for so long.

His plan, however, failed.

Two spare Mega Men he had created in his own image to serve as backups in case something happened to him, turned on him. One was a Reploid boy, awakened prematurely by a pair of meddling Hunters. The other was a young girl, orphaned by a Maverick attack on her hometown when she was small. Even the Biometal he had created for them to use in his place, Model A, betrayed him, aiding them to defeat him.

Even with the power of Ouroboros behind him, Albert fell at the hands of the two Chosen Ones. As the once-mighty Ouroboros crumbled around his dying form, he watched the two he had been defeated by escape, aided by two of the first Chosen Ones he had created, Vent and Aile.

Yet, he knew, as darkness finally claimed him, that this was not the end. In fact it was far from over. Without him to constantly suppress Model W's power, the true form of his creation would soon reveal itself to the world...

And the ultimate nightmare would begin again, set free on a world that was no longer ready for it.

Ironically, however, Albert had left behind more than just the shadows of Ouroboros. Locked away, far underground, was the creation that he had considered his greatest downfall. In his quest for ultimate power, he had sought to resurrect the damaged remains of a long-dead Reploid. A weapon system so powerful it had almost destroyed the world twice. A reploid whose name had once been synonymous with the End of existence, and one who had once been called the legendary God of Destruction.

Now, a year after the fall of Albert and the supposed destruction of Model W, the strands of fate are beginning to weave together again, as they did so long ago... Where they lead now, only time will tell. 


	2. Chapter 1: Discovery

Chapter 1: Resurrection

Disclaimer: See Prologue. Celtis is mine still. Other than that,enjoy!

Outside of the city of Legion's walls, much of the land is covered in forests and vegetation. Here and there, though, the greenery is broken by smaller settlements, towns populated by those who feel that the bustling, closed-in life of the city is not for them. These places are far from being unproductive or backwards, though. Satellite dishes bristle from many a rooftop as people communicate with their fellow workers in the city or in other towns. In an age where poverty and unemployment is almost non-existent, there is no-one in the world without access to the various aspects of technology present in the world of 24XX. (A/N: Alright, I'm not sure about the year, but hey, it'll do for now!)

Far off to the south, one can catch a glimpse of the tempting blue waters of the ocean. Much of the coastline is covered with beach resorts and hotels, as well as a few seafaring towns. To the east, nearer to Legion than one would think, are barren desert lands. Again, far from underpopulated. Here and there are the camps and bases of the more hardy individuals, mostly mercenaries and bounty hunters who prefer to have a base of operations far away from the city. One such organization is the infamous Hunter's Camp, a gathering place for all manner of people always on the lookout for the promise of quick cash. It's not the best life, but, as many of them would argue, hey it's a living.

All of this scenery was lost on the pilot of the fast-moving Hunter vessel as it flew overhead. Streamlined, and painted a dark green, it was built along the lines of a shark, a long tail protruding behind it with one long stabilizer fin above and two smaller ones mounted underneath. On the two stubby wings from either side of the fuselage, a pair of high power jet turbines growled, catapulting the craft along at roughly 250 kph. Along one side was stenciled the emblem of Legion HQ, next to which was written the name 'Speedburn'.

The pilot, and sole occupant of the small ship sighed and leaned back in her seat, running a hand through her long, dark green hair. She looked to be about nineteen years old, and with a figure to match. She opened her eyes to reveal a pair of startlingly purple irises. Her hair was in a ponytail at the back of her neck, tied with a crimson ribbon

"Celtis, what have you gotten yourself into this time?" She groaned, staring up at the roof.

A slight recap of the events leading up to this point may prove useful to the reader.

Celtis Gisborne-Wingates Arcana, the girl's full name, or just plain Celtis to her friends, had lead an interesting life. As a baby, she had been found at the entrance of Hunter's Camp, abandoned. The Hunters had taken her in and raised her as one of their own. Since then, she'd lived the life of a bounty hunter, always living for the thrill of her next job, each one rich with the promise of a new adventure. Unfortunately, she had one main weakness.

She was terrible with money. As in really, really bad. Thus, every month, no matter how many jobs she'd done, somehow, she always found herself scraping the bottom of her pockets for any spare change she might have to pay the rent on her battered apartment. She'd been looking for a room-mate for a while now, as she'd somehow managed to accumulate about two-months rent, and was currently flat broke, to put it politely. This ship was the only thing she really owned, apart from several sets of clothes, a couple weapons and a few other things she'd ended up blowing her money on.

After a week of constantly being pestered by her landlord and other potential debt-collectors, she'd finally had it. She'd stormed out to Hunter's Camp HQ and pulled up a list of sites where ancient technology had been found. Partly because of sheer exasperation and also partly because she'd grown tired of all of the low-ranked (and therefore low-paying ) jobs that she'd been getting, she had come to a decision.

She was going to go and make the ancient technological find of the century! There HAD to be something like that out there, still hidden by nature, something so amazing it would overshadow all of the other recent finds, just waiting for the right person to find it. That person was going to be her, Celtis vowed. With something like that behind her name, she'd be famous! (and not to mention very, very rich. Legion was notorious for its generosity, particularly when it came to ancient technology.) That way, she'd get a lot more high paying jobs and she could move out of her apartment and buy one of those huge mansions, like the kind you'd see on an episode of Lifestyles of The Rich and Famous,with countless servants waiting at your every beck and call, and a chandelier in every room and a huge king-plus sized bed. Maybe located high up on a hill somewhere, where she had a sea view, facing the sunset. Ooh, and one of those sleek Porsche 30XX's, and what about some new outfits, like that slinky miniskirt she'd seen the other day...

Have I mentioned she was very bad when it comes to money?

Anyway, while Celtis had been day-dreaming about her money and the many, many, many things she was going to do with it, a loose page had dropped out of the folder she was examining. When she picked it up and took a closer look, she discovered that it was a fragment of a much larger file. The strange part was that the break in the data was much too clean for it to be an accident. Someone had removed the rest of the data deliberately!

What she did find though, was a segment describing the discovery of the remains an ancient, automated facility somewhere in Area-N.

'_Area N? Where the heck is that? And how come I never heard of it before?_' Celtis wondered suspiciously. A quick check of the maps on a nearby server confirmed that there was no record of an Area-N anywhere.

Beyond that one snippet, however, she couldn't find anything of use. All information that could have possibly been used to find this 'Area-N' had systematically been erased from the file.

'_Rrrg! This is getting me nowhere fast!_' Celtis fumed. She was about to toss it aside, planning to get into Legion's database to see if she had better luck there, before a thought struck her. Pulling it back, she read through the report again, searching for a date. After a few moments, she grinned.

The actual day was missing, but the month and year were all too easy to read:

March, 2304!

With this information in hand, she turned back to the data terminal, first calling up a recently made map for the current year, and then calling up a map of the same area, only making sure that this one was published before 23XX.

When they'd both loaded up, she compared them, and frowned after a few moments. There was Area-N alright, clear as day on the older map. On the newer one, though, there wasn't a single sign of it.

"Well, well, well. It certainly looks like I found something somebody doesn't want found. This could be exactly what I was looking for." She mused, a pleased look crossing her face. With that, she overlaid the older map on top of the newer one, commanding the computer to compensate for any landscape changes that might have occurred during the timespan between the two maps.

After a brief wait of approximately ten or so minutes, the computer beeped signaling the completion of its task. Celtis grinned.

There, flashing triumphantly on the screen, was the current location of Area-N, its contours only slightly altered in the few years since it had been mysteriously erased from the records.

"So, that's the secret Area N..." She murmured. There must be something really important hidden there then, for someone to go through this much trouble to hide it. Something very, very valuable too no doubt...

Her work done, she quickly made a copy of the co-ordinates for Area N and packed up the remaining books she'd been using. Depositing them on the surprised librarian's desk, she hurried out, eager to find out what secrets lay buried in the remains of Area-N.

Had she not been so intent on getting started on her treasure hunt, she might have noticed a dark figure step out from behind a bookcase less than three meters away from where she had been sitting.

"So, someone has finally found Area-N...Interesting." It murmured, before a grin spread itself across the figure's shadowed face.

"This may be just the answer I've been looking for...Heh heh heh..."

The figure turned and walked away, laughing quietly, its red greatcoat flaring up behind it.

All of this serves to explain why, less than an hour later, here Celtis was, flying at approximately 300 kph towards an area that apparently was not supposed to exist, searching through some ancient ruins, which were probably going to be hell just to find the damn things, for ancient technology which might or might not actually still be there.

Still, it was the only lead she had, and there was no way she was going back to Hunter's Camp without something to show for it, (or at least, failing that, something to pay for the fuel she was burning on this trip.)

"How much further do I have to go anyway? Why the hell did they have to pick a place like this to go and find ancient tech? Couldn't they have just found it near to a local train station or something?!"

Of course, on the other hand... she looked thoughtful. If it was way the hell out here, chances are good that it wasn't very likely that many other people would have been here before her. So maybe there'd be something worthwhile in those ruins after all...

Celtis grinned, her spirits lifting slightly. At that moment, the navigation computer beeped, signaling that she was now entering Area-B, where the entrance to Area-M and therefore Area-N lay.

"Well, here we go!"

The Speedburn's thrusters howled as she began to decelerate for the landing.

**Somewhere in Area- M, half an hour later...**

Celtis shivered and looked around at the twisted walls around her, pieces of machinery poking through here and there.

"Man, this place gives me the creeps. Still, it looks like there's definitely a lot of tech around here I can use, so it's not a complete loss!"

She looked up to see a massive door ahead of her, already open. Around its perimeter, eight symbols gleamed in the half-light of the tunnel.

"Whoa...I'm glad I didn't have to come through here when that was closed! It's frickin' huge! I wonder what these things mean...?"

She stared curiously at the markings of each symbol for a moment, before she shrugged and moved off.

"Oh well, it's not like I have time for that, now. Maybe next time."

_**Another**_ **half an hour later...**

"Man, how big is this place anyway?! My legs are killing me!" She groaned. After walking for half an hour, she'd finally gotten inside the entrance to Area N. Now she stood staring at a massive expanse of deadly spikes. On the other side of it was a door, leading to the next area. If there was any tech worth getting, it was in there. Otherwise, why go through the trouble of setting up a trap like this? It appeared that the only way to get across was via a series of blocks that were constantly disappearing and reappearing above the spikes. Unfortunately, after who knew how many years of operation, they timing mechanism for the platforms had gone haywire. They were appearing randomly in about a zillion different spots and staying solid for widely varying lengths of time, or, as was more common, didn't appear at all. There was no possible way to use them to get across anymore. Still... Celtis grinned.

"Whoever designed traps like these definitely wasn't counting on Celtis Arcana showing up!" She boasted proudly.

Having said that, she reached back into her belt and pulled out a grappler shell. Loading it into her trusty Hi-caliber laser handgun, she reconfigured it for solid projectile and aimed it carefully at a spot in the ceiling, halfway between the two ends of the spike pit. When she was sure she'd found the right spot, she pulled the trigger, firing the shell. It flew straight and true, embedding itself deep into the roof of the cavern, trailing a length of cable behind it. She unclipped it from her gun and gave it a few test tugs. Satisfied, she held the cable with both hands and backed up a few steps to get a running start.

"Well, here goes!" She grinned and launched herself forward, jumping off of the ledge and swinging outward, the wind whistling past her face. The cable dipped, and for a moment, she thought she'd bought it, before it suddenly starting going back up again towards the other side. Timing it just right, she let go of the cable at the apex of its swing, letting her own momentum carry her over the edge and onto safer ground. A perfect landing!

At least, it would have been perfect, if not for the fact that one of the platforms suddenly decided to materialize a few inches ahead of her.

KER-WHAM!!

**Five minutes later...**

"Stupid f--ing platforms! Of all the times it has to decide to suddenly start working, it has to pick to materialize right in front of my face! Stupid, stupid -ow- piece of crap!" Celtis staggered through the door and down the corridor holding her head and swearing.

The next moment, a second door hissed open in front of her. Looking up in surprise, she beheld an amazing sight.

The next chamber was huge. It was at least the size of a football field, lined with ancient devices and machinery, like some kind of lab. In the back wall, she saw a massive hole in the wall, black and gaping, debris strewn all around it. In fact, looking around the area she could see evidence of a fight everywhere. There was hardly a piece of machinery anywhere that hadn't been damaged, some to the point of uselessness.

"What the heck happened to this place? This looks like one hell of a fight went on in here!" She wondered aloud as she examined what looked like the marks of energy rounds burnt into the wall. Not only that, but there were several long, clean cuts on some of the machinery as well, the results of some kind of bladed weapon, Celtis guessed. She looked uneasily back up at the huge crater in the wall. One thing was for sure: She most definitely did NOT want to tangle with whatever caused that.

As she rounded a corner, she heard a faint humming noise. She halted, surprised. Could there still be something functional down here? Maybe there was something she could take back after all! With that uplifting thought in her mind, she picked up the pace, following the humming, which increased in volume as she drew nearer to the source.

When she finally managed to climb over a crumpled piece of the ceiling which had collapsed, she found herself face to face with another door, only this one was broken. The only way through was a large crack that had split it through the center. Celtis paused for a moment, sizing it up. After a few moments, she gave a sigh.

"Well, I guess there's no other choice then." She said, her voice resigned. Reaching up, she began to undo the front of her jacket. Once the last clasp came undone, she wriggled out of it, revealing a skintight top that ended just above her midsection and left most of her shoulders bare. She shivered for a second at the touch of the cool air on her uncovered skin, before she pushed the jacket through the crack in the door, letting it fall out on the other side. Celtis hesitated in front of the crack again and looked down at her top reluctantly.

"Aw, man, and this is one of my favorites, too. It'll cost a bunch to get it repaired if I mess it up..." She sighed and looked back at the crack. Well, her jacket was already over there, so she might as well go through with it.

With that, she squeezed herself into the crack. Her previous estimation had been right. If she'd been wearing her jacket, there was no way she'd have been able to fit through the gap. Even without it, though, it was still a tight fit. She experienced a moment of panic when she got her waist stuck halfway through, but after a bit of inventiveness, she managed to wriggle free. She pulled her last leg free, losing her balance in the process and landed on her rear.

"Owwww...That hurt..." She complained, wincing slightly as she pressed a hand to her sore behind. She glanced down and immediately gave a groan of disbelief.

Her prized top was now scuffed and dirty, the insides of the crack having been covered in years worth of dust and grime. Here and there it had actually been caught on the metal, and she'd torn it getting free. As a result there were also a number of small rips all over it too. She looked back up at the crack again and gave a wry smile. For once she was grateful her chest size was only a C-cup. Any bigger and she'd definitely have gotten stuck.

She looked around for a few moments before she spotted her jacket in a heap near the door. Dusting herself off, Celtis got to her feet and picked it up. In one fluid motion, she swung it over her shoulder, sticking her left arm into its sleeve, before doing the same with the other. (A/N: Think Devil May Cry.) No sooner had it settled onto her shoulders than she gave a shocked yelp and danced around wildly, struggling frantically with it before she flung it off. The damn thing was soaking wet!

Trying to rub some warmth back into her shivering body, she stared angrily back at the spot she had picked the jacket up from. Sure enough, when she'd pushed it through the crack, she'd dropped it right in the middle of a puddle of ice-cold water. To either side, it was dry, but nooo, she just HAD to go drop it there!

Right about then, she realized there was something very wrong with this room. For one thing, in comparison to the decay and disrepair of the other chamber, this one was in pristine condition. Aside from the battered and aged area around the door, the rest was relatively untouched, aside from a coating of dust over everything. Wordlessly, she picked up her jacket and slung it over her shoulder, before walking to the large device set in the middle of the back wall.

It was approximately eight feet high, from the ground to the top, a variety of cables and supply tubes were hooked up to it, with several heavy-duty locking mechanisms clamped onto the perimeter. It was basically a large cylinder, nestled onto a larger base and the whole apparatus was half embedded into the wall. Next to it were several monitors and consoles, each displaying different information. Other than the featureless gray metal surface, there was nothing else marked on the capsule-like smaller cylinder. Save for one thing.

Painted in blood red crimson in the dead center of the steel surface was a single large symbol. It resembled an upside down U, only more circular. Two short lines extended outward from each of the two prongs, before making a short upwards bend.

It seemed familiar, like she'd seen the symbol before. She was pretty sure it was from some other ancient language or the other, but its name just kept slipping away.

Celtis stared at it for a moment, wondering why someone would paint that there. Still, something about that sign made her uneasy. She moved off to take a look at the display screens next to it. What she saw there stunned her.

What the screens were displaying were biological readings! There was something alive in there!

"What the hell is going on here?!" She demanded, shocked.

She hung her jacket over one of the chairs, before tapping in some instructions on the keyboards. More information obediently scrolled up the screen. She scanned through it, her eyes widening. The capsule was a containment unit, designed to hold a certain Reploid in stasis until a Maverick aspect of its programming had been 'removed' using an extremely advanced anti-virus program. The information also went on to say that it had first entered the stasis several years ago, in the year...

Celtis gasped. 2304!! The same year this place had been wiped off the maps!

Not too much further down, the information ended, but not before it delivered one last shocker.

There, emblazoned in full color was the gold letter G on a pink background: The emblem of the Guardians Organization!

Celtis stepped slowly away from the computers and turned to look back at the capsule. She'd first come her looking for ancient technology, but she'd never expected to find something like this! A centuries old Reploid, sealed away only a few years ago, with so many traps and locks around it...Whatever this was, she was pretty sure something strange was going on here.

Suddenly, a loud crash echoed through the silence. Celtis' eyes flew back to the capsule. For one heart-stopping moment of terror, she thought the thing inside it had woken and was smashing its way out. There was another rattling sound and she realized, to her relief, that it had come from the other room and the Reploid was still deactivated. Then she heard voices outside and froze as something occurred to her. This place was supposed to be empty! No-one was even supposed to know of its location!

_So then who was that outside?_

Fighting back the urge to panic, she carefully tiptoed over to the door. Slowly, she inched her face closer to the crack and peeked through. Her eyes widened as she saw the source of the noise.

Where the room had been empty before, now it was crawling with people. Not only that, but they were well armed, too. She counted at least ten or eleven heads, meaning she was seriously outnumbered. Then one of them turned around, talking to one of the other soldiers, and she immediately recognized who they were. The distinctive hostile environment facemask the soldier wore was well known to all members of Hunter's Camp.

'_**Raiders!**_' Celtis snarled silently. If there was anything she truly despised in this world (besides paying rent) it was the Raiders. Those low-life scum worked on the opposite side of the law from the Hunters, taking anything they came across and immediately claiming it as their own. Countless treasures had ended up in the greedy hands of unscrupulous collectors on the black market because of them, instead of where they rightfully belonged, in museums, or in Legion's scientific labs for study. Quite often they'd crossed swords with the Hunters, as well as the Guardians and also Legion's security forces. A favored tactic was to wait for some hardworking group of Hunters to go through all of the trouble to excavate artifacts, and then when they were finished, the Raiders would swoop in, stealing everything and killing anyone who tried to resist. There were many different bands out there, but they were all classified as Raiders. Some of them weren't too bad, like that group that had defected over to the Hunters a few years back, but there were still a few really bad groups out there. One in particular had developed a notorious reputation for its sheer ruthlessness and merciless tactics. Every site they had attacked had yielded no survivors. From the rumors Celtis had heard, it was said to be lead by a fearsome Reploid, believed to be almost unkillable, with terrifying fighting skills. The only clue that the authorities had managed to get was the symbol of their group: A black lion's head, roaring against a red background. The bounty for that group was said to be well into the six-figure numbers.

At this moment, though, Celtis didn't really care about all of that. Right now she just wanted to get the hell out of here! Which provided a slight problem, considering that the Raiders were blocking the only exit out of this place. The next minute, her view was abruptly cut off as something blocked the crack. Irritated, she moved her head slightly, trying to get a better angle. The next moment, the object shifted slightly and with a jolt she realized what it was.

One of the Raiders was standing right outside the crack, on the other side of the pillar she had climbed over, his back turned to her. She bit back a gasp, and stifled her breathing, sure that he'd hear her. Then she heard the sound of voices outside and realized the Raider was talking with one of the others. She pressed an ear to the crack, listening intently. What she heard shocked her to the core.

"Man, this place gives me the creeps! How much longer does the boss want us to keep looking, Captain?"

The other Raider shrugged.

"Until we find her, I guess. It's either that or we get the same as what happened to Bill."

Raider #1 shivered. "Yeah, that was awful. I mean, the boss took off his head just cause he looked away from the radar for a moment and he happened to miss that girl's airship!"

Captain nodded. "Uh-huh. But, on the bright side, following that chick out here wasn't all that bad. I mean, look at the bonus we got! This place is crammed with ancient technology! Do you have any idea how much this stuff could go for on the black market, Steve?! We'd be millionaires!"

Steve agreed whole-heartedly. "Ohhh yeah. I think everyone can walk away satisfied from this job for a change. I mean, not only do we get all this stuff as a bonus, we still get the payment for getting rid of the girl!"

"Mm-hmm. Speaking of which, what was her name again? It was some really weird one, Cel-something or the other... Celtic? No, that wasn't it..."

"Celtis?" Steve offered.

"Yeah! Yeah, that was it! Pity, though..."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. She was a real looker, huh?"

"Mm. Well, still, a job's a job, right? We'd better get back to looking, or the boss'll have a hissy fit again and go disembowel somebody else."

Steve nodded in agreement and they both moved off. On the other side of the door, Celtis slid slowly down the wall, her legs too weak to hold her up anymore, a shocked look on her face.

These people weren't just here through some lucky fluke. They'd been following her since she'd left Legion! They were after her life! And not only that, someone was paying them to have her killed! Why the hell would anyone want to kill her?! Sure, she'd pissed off a few people during her career as a Hunter, but not to that extent!

So disoriented was she that she didn't notice when she slipped the remaining few centimeters and landed in the puddle of water with a splash. The sudden cold brought her back to her senses, as she realized just what a foolish thing she had just done.

"Hey guys! I heard something! Over there!"

"Shit!" Celtis swore, and leapt up. The Raider who had been nearest the door heard her splash back out of the puddle and skidded to a halt near the door. He gave a whistle.

"I'll be damned! There's another room back here!"

"You're kidding! Think she's in there?"

"Well, considering the fact that I can see someone's jacket on the other side, I think it's a good guess, moron!"

Celtis swore again as she realized she'd left her jacket in plain sight. Frantically, she looked around the room, searching for another exit.

There wasn't one.

She felt a wave of despair sweep over her. They had her pinned like a rat in a trap. This room was literally a dead-end. With no other way out, and nothing but her pistol, her chances of survival were slim at best. A sudden scuffling noise over by the door drew her attention.

"Hey, Hunter girl! You in there?"

Dead silence greeted the Raider.

"If you come out now, nice and quiet, we might let you live!"

Silence.

"Suit yourself!" he yelled. Turning back to his partners, he shrugged. "Bust it down."

On the other side of the door, Celtis nodded grimly and started making her preparations for the onslaught. Pushing the consoles forward, she formed them into a makeshift barricade. Sure, they wouldn't stand up to concentrated firepower, but at any rate they'd hold out long enough for what she had in mind. When they finally broke down the door, she figured she'd have about five seconds to shoot like crazy while they were still packed in the doorway, before they got inside. If she took out enough of them, she could probably force them back, long enough for her to get past them and around the corner before they could hit her.

Then, she realized it had gone suspiciously quiet outside. She briefly wondered about that for a moment, before she became aware of a slight ticking sound. Her eyes immediately widened in shock as she realized what they were planning to do. She swore and dove behind her makeshift barricade, curling into a protective ball.

Microseconds later, the explosives the Raiders had wired to the door exploded, blasting it clear out of the frame and sending it hurtling across the room. Celtis muttered an expletive and brought her gun up.

Three Raiders fell to her first shots, while the rest ducked back before she could hit them. She pulled her head down as a few shots whirred over the barricade. She'd fired five shots and taken down three enemies. Not bad, but not too good either.

After several minutes, and four more Raider casualties, the Raiders pulled back slightly. Celtis grimaced. So much for Plan A. There were far more of them outside than she'd thought. Her eyes flickered over the surroundings, searching for another way out.

That proved to be a dangerous mistake.

A sudden blur of movement near the ruined door caught her attention and she spun back towards it. Her eyes widened in horror as she recognized the familiar cylindrical shape of a plasma grenade sailing through the air towards her. It clanged onto the ground behind the barricade and skidded to halt about a meter away from her.

Before it had even finished spinning, Celtis dove towards it. Acting on pure reflex, she scooped it up in her free hand and, twisting her body slightly, flung it with all her strength back towards the door, desperately praying to whatever higher power was listening that she'd moved fast enough.

The grenade had made it halfway back across the room, when its fuse finally timed out. It exploded in a burst of orange and yellow flame with a tremendous blast, magnified by the enclosed space. The only thing that saved Celtis was that it was already close to the door, meaning that most of the force was directed outwards, instead of in at her.

Still recovering from her throw, Celtis didn't have time to get back into cover. The shockwave picked her up like a doll and flung her backwards across the room. She slammed hard into the surface of the metal capsule, a sliver of shrapnel slicing across her left shoulder, scattering a few drops of red blood onto the capsule's surface.

In the darkness within, a pair of red eyes snapped open.

Celtis gave a cry of pain, her gun dropping from her useless fingers as she slid down the wall of the cylinder behind her. She clutched at her bleeding shoulder, biting back tears of pain as the dust settled around her.

After a few moments, the sounds of boots crunching over the debris signaled the Raiders approach.

"Well, you put up a good fight, but in the end, what you possibly hope to do against us, darling?" The voice was a deep growl.

Celtis winced and glared up at the Raider angrily, her defiant expression fading to shock as she saw the voice's owner. Eight feet tall, the massive form of a Mutos Reploid stared down at her, his claws clicking slightly as he opened and closed his hands. On his left shoulder, the black lion roared.

'The sign of a black lion on a red background...Eight feet tall...Beastlike...I-it's them...!' Celtis was too stunned to respond, fear racing through her body.

"Y-you...!" She managed to stammer. It glanced down at the symbol emblazoned on his shoulder, indifferently.

"I see you're familiar with our sign."A wicked smile creased his features, revealing a row of razor sharp fangs. "As well you should be, pathetic Hunter!"

Celtis growled up at him.

"You scum...! You're that group who's been attacking excavations and other Hunter squads!" Imperceptibly, she inched her hand out to the side, searching for her gun.

"Of course. Those fools don't deserve to get their hands on such finds. You people don't understand the kind of money you can get for such finds on the black market." He grinned. "A much better use than simply sticking it up on a pedestal in a museum, don't you think?"

"You bastard...!" Celtis gritted as she stared up at him, seething with hatred. "Do you have any idea how many of my friends I've lost to your group?!"

"Oh, I imagine quite a lot." It replied nonchalantly. "I personally made sure we left nothing behind. Our commander's quite thorough."

His eyes hardened.

"Just like I'm going to do now." He growled, moving closer.

'NOW!' Celtis thought, as she felt the metal edge of her gun beneath her fingers. Mustering the last of her strength, she snatched up her gun, firing it pointblank at Lion's face.

Six shots rang out as Celtis held the trigger down, putting as many shots into her opponent as she could before the smoking weapon finally dropped from her shaking fingers.

"Heh...heh-heh-heh... N-not bad for a 'weak' Hunter, huh?" She smirked, staring up at Lion's motionless form.

"Not bad indeed." A voice came back.

Celtis froze. Th-that was...!

She didn't even have time to react as the massive armored boot swung around and connected solidly with her ribs, lifting her off the ground with the impact and sending her flying a full three meters across the room.

She slammed hard into the wall, the force of the impact driving all of the air from her lungs in a tortured gasp. She collapsed to the floor, her vision blurred with pain. She was sure she'd broken at least two or three ribs, not to mention dislocated her left shoulder. She somehow managed to sit up as the enemy's massive form drew closer in her hazy vision.

The Mutos came to a stop in front of her, its left eye now a smoking ruin.

"You'll pay for that you little-!"

The Mutos cut itself off as it opened its jaws to their full extent. Inside the gaping maw, a green glow of a charging plasma cannon began to form. Celtis swore hopelessly as she stared up at it, despair creeping over her.

'_I-is this really how it's going to end...?_'

Images of her past achievements and all of her dreams began to pass through her mind as the glow grew brighter.

"D-damn it..." She choked, squeezing her eyes shut as she fought back the tears of despair.

The next moment, a loud, metallic sounding clang echoed through the room. The Mutos paused its charging, eyes flickering suspiciously around the surroundings. Behind it, the remaining Raiders did the same, looking around worriedly. Against the wall, Celtis opened her eyes, aware that something was wrong.

Another clang sounded. This time, Celtis saw it. A massive outward dent had appeared in the capsule in the wall, deforming the solid steel surface. The next moment, another clang echoed out as another dent appeared in the metal.

"The hell...?" One of the Raiders muttered, as the rest of them trained their guns on the capsule. Even the Mutos Reploid turned towards it.

A third dent appeared, along with a cracking noise as the locks along both sides of the capsule began to break.

Celtis suddenly remembered the biological readings she'd seen on the screen.

'Could that thing have woken up?' She wondered.

Moments ticked past silently, everyone watching the motionless capsule warily. One of the Raiders lowered his gun slightly.

"...Is it over...?"

With a tortured scream of metal, the capsule cover exploded outward, hurtling clear across the room, plowing into the unprepared Raiders and wiping four of them out as it crushed them brutally against the unyielding wall.

"What the hell...?!" The Mutos' head swiveled back to the gaping capsule. Celtis eyes widened in shock as a hand reached out and gripped the torn edge of the capsule, the white clad fingers leaving dents in the metal. A dark crimson boot appeared, landing heavily on the ground, crushing an abandoned Raider rifle.

"I-It couldn't be...!" Celtis gasped.

Slowly, the light of the fires caused by the grenade glinting off of it, a jet black helmet came out of the darkness, two crimson fins running along its surface as a deep blue gem pulsed ominously in the center.

The Reploid's blazing red eyes opened, staring out at the wreckage of the room. As its gaze moved towards the now-unsettled Mutos' and the shocked Celtis behind it, a twisted smile spread across its features.

On the other side of the room, the glow of the fires gleamed on the twisted remains of the capsule cover. In the strange half-light, the sign painted on the now-distorted metal appeared to glow blood red.

If Celtis had seen it now, she would have recognized it easily.

The Greek symbol of the End...Omega.

Heh heh heh...CLIFFHANGER

Please R&R! This chapter's still open for changes, so let me know if there's anything I should fix

Till next Chapter, DarkShift Out!


	3. Chapter 2: Fight and Flight

**Chapter 2: Fight and Flight**

Disclaimer: See previous chapter.

"Heh heh heh...hehehahahaha..." The strange Reploid laughed, turning towards Celtis and the wary Mutos Reploid, a mane of ice-white hair sweeping out behind him.

"GodDAMN it's good to be back!" He exclaimed. He stared at the assortment of weapons aimed at him, and raised an eyebrow.

"And just who the hell are you idiots supposed to be?"

"We should be the ones asking you that, punk!" The Mutos growled. For some reason, just the sight of this crimson armored stranger was setting its senses on edge.

"Huh, a talking fleabag. Now I've seen everything." The stranger remarked.

The Mutos bristled with anger. "What was that?!"

"Hey, hey, don't get your tail in a knot, kitty. I'll answer your question." He grinned.

"The name...is Omega."

If he was expecting a response, he was sadly disappointed.

The Mutos stared skeptically at him for a moment. "Omega? What the heck kind of a name is that?"

Omega looked like he'd been punched. "What the hell do you mean 'what kind of name is that?' ?! The legendary God of Destruction? The Maverick Reploid who was responsible for the massive casualties in the Elf Wars? Exiled for 100 years? Came back and caused mass chaos with the Dark Elf? Ring any bells?"

There was a long silence.

"...Nope. Don't recognize it." One of the Raiders said eventually.

"Actually..." Another Raider spoke up. "I think I saw that name mentioned in an old file somewhere. Wasn't that the same guy who got the crap beat out of him by the famous Maverick Hunter X in 21XX?"

"Oh yeah, I remember that! And then didn't he get beaten again in 22XX by X's partner, Zero?"

Omega's fist involuntarily clenched, a burst of rage surging through his body the way it always did at the mention of his arch-rival's name.

A slight smirk crossed the Mutos face.

"Oh, you mean that Omega? Sorry, slipped my mind for a bit. Satisfied?"

If looks could kill, the glare from Omega's eyes would have not only killed the Mutos, but would have set the corpse on fire too. He raised one hand and pointed a deliberate finger at the grinning Mutos.

"You. Are going. To die. A very slow. And exceedingly painful. Death. Hairball."

The Mutos scoffed.

"As if. Not very likely, considering the fact that you're going to die here! All of you, get him!" With that, it gestured towards the Raiders, giving the signal to open fire.

As the first bullets started whizzing towards him, Omega leapt into action. Diving sideways, he hit the ground in a roll, his hand already going to his buster. To his surprise, his hand closed on empty air.

"Shit!" He swore and leapt back to his feet, evading another hail of bullets as the Raider guns turned back towards him.

When he'd been put into that capsule (whenever that was, he didn't remember that ever happening!) whoever had done it must have removed his weapons. He muttered another profanity. Without those, this fight would be a lot harder than normal. He ducked his head as a bullet whizzed towards him, raising his arm instinctively to shield his face.

To his complete amazement, it struck the back of his hand and was promptly deflected with a flash of violet light. Taken aback, he dove behind the capsule, using the momentary reprieve to examine his glowing hand.

"...?!" His eyes widened in surprise at the sight.

There, in the center of the palm, was the Omega sign, glowing a dull red. After a moment, he realized it wasn't just a design, but was actually some kind of weapons chip that had been built into his hand.

"What the hell is this?!" He demanded. To his surprise, a message flashed up onto his heads-up display.

It said:

WEAPON UPGRADE DETECTED!

WEAPON DESIGNATION : KNU-463 (OMEGA KNUCKLE)

DESCRIPTION:

THE O-KNUCKLE IS A WEAPON BASED ON A CHIP IMPLANTED DIRECTLY INTO THE USER'S HAND. IT PROVIDES AN EXPONENTIAL INCREASE IN THE WEARER'S STRENGTH AND GREATLY IMPROVES CLOSE-RANGE COMBAT OFFENSIVE CAPABILITY BY FORMING A HIGH DENSITY FIELD OF PLASMA AROUND THE USER'S HAND. WITH THIS STRENGTH BOOST, IT BECOMES POSSIBLE TO DEAL SEVERE DAMAGE, EVEN TO HEAVILY ARMORED OPPONENTS. THE STRENGTH OF THE ATTACK CAN ALSO BE VARIED BY CHARGING THE O-KNUCKLE'S PLASMA FIELD. THIS FIELD CAN ALSO BE USED TO POWER WEAPONS THAT HAVE BEEN ACQUIRED FROM ENEMIES, ENABLING THE USER TO USE THESE CAPTURED WEAPONS TO THEIR OWN ADVANTAGE.

(Here it showed a series of images, depicting an animated figure removing the cannon from a plasma turret and then using the captured weapon against other opponents.)

NOTE: USE OF THE O-KNUCKLE HAS ALSO OCCASIONALLY BEEN FOUND TO CAUSE A PERMANENT INCREASE IN THE USER'S PHYSICAL STRENGTH AS WELL. CAUTION SHOULD BE EXERCISED BOTH WITH THE O-KNUCKLE ACTIVATED AND DEACTIVATED.

The message ended there. As he finished reading it, Omega felt a grin spread across his face. He looked back down at the glowing weapon he now knew was the O-Knuckle.

"Good name." He murmured, flexing his fingers. Glancing across at his other hand, he was rewarded by the sight of another glowing O-Knuckle.

"...'Becomes possible to deal severe damage, even to heavily armored opponents'..." He mused. He grinned wickedly, an evil glint appearing in his red eyes.

"Get ready to meet your maker, Hairball!" Omega gave an eager laugh as he glanced back over the bullet riddled capsule.

On the other side of the room, the Mutos gave a growl of satisfaction as the smoke faded. Celtis' eyes desperately searched the dim room for the red Reploid who, right now, seemed to be her only chance of surviving.

"What's the matter, Omega? Finished already?" The Mutos sneered. "No wonder Zero beat you so easily!"

A terrifying laugh rang out.

"Oh, you think I'm finished, do you, you oversized stray?"

With a tremendous crash, the capsule was literally smashed off its supports and sent flying towards them. The Raiders dove out of the way as it sailed past them towards the Mutos, who barely flinched. With a disgusted growl he smashed it aside with one blow of his claw. As it moved from his field of view, his eyes widened in surprise.

Bursting out of the cloud of dust left by his demolition of the capsule, Omega hit the disorganized Raiders like an out of control tank. Still reeling from the previous attack, they were off balance and uncoordinated, making it so much easier for Omega to beat six different kinds of hell out of them.

Going into a crouch as he reached the first Raider, he came up with a devastating uppercut. Even before the Raider's feet had finished leaving the ground with the force of the uppercut, Omega had grabbed him by the front of his shirt and swung him around like a battering ram, releasing him into a pair of his comrades. All three of them were promptly thrown clear of the fight, smashing into a wall and ending up in a senseless pile on the floor.

The Mutos barely had time to register this before another two of his men were sent hurtling past his head by a well placed pair of sledgehammer blows from Omega's fists. Recovering, the once confident Mutos watched with a mixed expression of horror and disbelief as a Reploid, God-alone knew how old, promptly tore his entire unit to shreds with nothing more than sheer brute force. Celtis jaw dropped in shock as she watched Omega dart underneath the gun of one of the Raiders and smash his jaw with a titanic uppercut. Spinning him around, Omega returned fire with the unconscious Raider's gun, using him as a human shield at the same time.

As the gun he was using clicked empty, Omega didn't waste a moment. Grabbing the corpse, he tossed it up in front of him, drawing both arms back. As it came back down, a wicked smile crossed Omega's face. An insane look of glee in his eyes, he slammed both of his hands forward palm-first, the violet aura around them blazing with energy.

"URRAAAAAAH!" He roared. There was a huge flash, followed by a shockwave that blasted outward with enough force to cause the stunned Mutos to take a step back.

The Raider corpse shot outward, slamming into the remaining five Raider grunts, knocking them off their feet as it hit them with the equivalent of roughly four hundred kilograms of kinetic force behind it. Before the startled Mutos or Celtis could react, the six bodies had passed them, smashing through the wall behind them and through the next two walls before a solid steel door halted their progress in a rather abrupt (and messy) crash.

The Mutos stared at the crater in shock and turned his head slowly to look back at Omega.

Standing in the center of a blast crater that had been created from the force of his own attack, smoke rising around him, the crimson silhouette of the God of Destruction loomed menacingly, his hands glowing a faint violet.

"Awesome..." Omega breathed in amazement, staring into the hole he'd just blasted through the walls. He looked down at the Omega signs glowing on his palms and felt a grin spreading uncontrollably across his face.

Throwing his head back, he laughed madly.

"Oh, hell YES! GodDAMN that felt good!"

Bringing his head back down, Omega stared challengingly across at the Mutos, cracking his knuckles.

"Interesting move." He grinned, flexing his fingers. " How's that for a Hadoken, huh?"

On seeing their confused expressions, he shrugged apologetically.

"What? Oh, right, I guess after all these years all of the quality games like Street Fighter died out."

Shaking off his apprehension, the Mutos went into a fighting crouch, snarling fiercely.

"I don't care who you were in a past life, my orders are to capture this girl at all costs, alive or dead! You'll never be able to beat me, Leos Darkclaw with just close combat techniques like that!"

Omega stared at him strangely.

"Girl? What girl?"

Leos crashed to the floor in disbelief.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU MEAN 'WHAT GIRL?' ?!" He yelled, picking himself up. He stepped aside to reveal a scared looking Celtis. Omega blinked for a moment, before he gave a low whistle of surprise. He rubbed his chin as he gave her an appreciative look, running his eyes along her form.

"Not exactly the best outfit for exploring a place like this, is it lady?" He paused, a slight grin appearing on his face.

"Though I honestly can't say I mind all that much, mind you."

Celtis stared at him, confused, before she looked down at her clothes and let out a horrified gasp. Squeezing through the crack in the door earlier, not to mention the firefight with the Raiders right after that, had resulted in her outfit being covered with a number of rips and tears. The main areas of damage had been her prized tank top and her skintight black leggings. As a result, her already revealing outfit had become considerably skimpier.

Not to mention she was soaking wet as a result of her encounter with the puddle earlier. Get the picture?

"Gah! You pervert!" She yelped and drew her arms in, hugging her shoulders as she covered up her chest. Omega laughed again, pressing a hand to his head.

"Hoo boy, that response alone was worth it!" He grinned, before turning his attention back to Leos, who by this time was looking completely lost and was wondering if he'd missed something.

"So then if you weren't fighting to protect her, why were you fighting at all?!"

Omega shrugged.

"One: You guys attacked me first. Two: I felt like whooping someone's ass, and you guys just happened to be the closest. Three: Since when do I need a reason to pick a fight?"

Then, his eyes narrowed and his voice turned serious.  
"And four: You dissed me, hairball." With that, Omega went into a fighting pose.

Leos growled in anger. "Then if you want to throw your life away so easily, I won't be the one to stop you!" With a loud roar, he charged at Omega, his curved claws gleaming lethally as he swung at his opponent.

With a whoop, Omega met him halfway, lashing out with a sledgehammer right hook, ducking under Leos razor sharp claws and connecting solidly with the Mutos' ribcage.

"Ghkkk!" Leos gagged as he coughed up bile. He stared down at the crimson armored destroyer in front of him. Omega grinned up into Leos' pain-twisted features.

"Come on, what kind of hit was that?! A preschooler could dodge it!"

"You little..." Leos gritted, bringing his leg around in a mammoth kick, catching Omega by surprise and sending him flying the full length of the room.

Omega let out a stifled grunt a s he smashed into the wall, hard enough to leave an impact crater. He opened his eyes in time to see Leos hurtling towards him.

"Aw, sh-" Before Omega could finish, all 400 pounds of ticked-off Mutos Reploid crashed into him shoulder first, with enough force to pulverize the wall around them for two meters in every direction.

Despite herself, Celtis realized she was being concerned for the strange reploid's welfare. On the other hand, when she looked at it from another angle, if Leos won, she'd definitely be killed. If Omega won, there was a better chance she wouldn't be. Of course, considering what he'd done to the Raiders who'd jumped him earlier, it wasn't a very high chance.

Moments later, as she watched Omega sail past and crash into the other wall, she began to wonder if he really was as good as he said he was...

Leos laughed as he grabbed Omega by the skull, pulling him up to eye level.

"Do you see now?! I'm not like those other grunts from before! Those pathetic attacks of yours have no chance of penetrating this battle-tank quality armor! I've taken hits from rocket launchers with more damage than this! What did you really think you could do against the Commander of Lion's Raiders?! You couldn't possibly stand up to the amount of damage I just gave you! Surrender now and I might think about letting you live!"

Omega's eyes opened, staring back at him as a grin crossed his face.

"Gee, lemme think about that for a sec"  
Before Leos could do anything more than look surprised, Omega had drawn his legs up to his chest and snapped them outwards again, the soles of his armored boots connecting squarely with Leos' feline features with a painful sounding crunch. Celtis winced as Leos staggered backwards with a yowl of pain, clutching his face. Omega landed on his feet with a splash, grinning triumphantly.

"How's that for an answer, pussycat?" Omega retorted, straightening up. He swept his arm out to the side in a dismissive gesture, his features suddenly darkening.

"Let's just get one thing straight here, furball! Omega surrenders to NOBODY! NOT TO X, NOT TO ZERO, AND MOST DEFINITELY NOT TO A THIRD RATE WEAKLING LIKE YOU! GOT IT?!" He roared.

Leos managed to get back to his feet, pressing a hand to his ruined features.

"You talk big, brat. Now I'm definitely going to kill you, in the most pain-filled way I can!" He snarled, pulling his hand away to reveal a row of broken teeth along the left side of his jaw.

There was a long pause. Leos realized Omega was staring at him with a strange expression.

"What?"

"Um, dude...? Your arm...uh..." Omega said, raising an eyebrow as he pointed at Leos' other arm. Leos suddenly became aware of a dull ache in his wrist. Surprised, he looked down, to discover that his entire right hand from the wrist down had disappeared. Only a section of torn armor and a few tattered wires remained to show that it had been there.

"AAARGH!" Leos roared in pain, clutching the ruined stump. "What the- How the hell...?"

He looked up, his jaw clenched with pain, to see his missing claw held in a tight grip in Omega's left hand.

"How did you get that?!" he gasped.

Omega looked surprised. "Get what? Dude, I kicked you in your FACE, not your arm, dumbass."

"Your left arm, fool!" Leos snapped, angrily. Omega looked down and started in shock.

"The hell?! When the hell did that get there?!" he yelped, trying to get his hand to release it. To his surprise, his hand wouldn't obey him.

"H-hey! What gives?! I said let go, dammit! Get off, will you?!"

Celtis felt a bead of sweat slide down the back of her neck as she watched Omega perform a frantic little dance in an attempt to get his hand to release Leos' claw.

'He didn't even notice when the claw came off in his hand? What kind of fighting instincts does he have?!' Celtis wondered in disbelief. As a spectator, she had seen what had happened. When Omega had kicked Leos in the face, he had been holding onto the Mutos' wrist with his left hand. At the moment of impact, she had caught a flash of violet from Omega's left hand. Right after that, Leos had gone flying from the force of the kick, his hand tearing free as it remained in Omega's firm grasp. Apparently, neither of them had felt even a slight tug as the hand separated from Leos' arm.

After a few moments, Omega finally managed to pry his fingers off of the claw, catching it with his other hand. Catching it reflexively, he was surprised to find that he could touch it easily now. He tossed it lightly from one hand to the next, wondering what had happened, ignoring Leos' pained growls as he tried to stifle his pain. Omega stiffened as the sign on his palm glowed again.

'Wait a sec... Can act as a power supply for captured enemy weapons...? It couldn't be...' With a growing sense of excitement, Omega turned the claw over. The space where the wrist had fitted into it was hollow, except for the remains of some circuitry and other mangled machinery. In a sense, it was like a large, dangerous looking glove. As the light caught its' surface turning it white, an image struck him from his past, a memory from the time when he was still in his massive white armor.

"I wonder..." he murmured. With a quick movement, he reached inside and tore out all of the remaining debris. On the other side of the room, Leos winced as he watched Omega ripping out the inside of his dismembered appendage.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" He yelled. "Give that back!"

Omega ignored him. After he'd removed the last of the destroyed circuitry, he shook it out. Before any of them realized what he was doing, he'd taken his right hand and slid the claw over it. There was a flash of violet energy within, and suddenly the fingers of Leos' severed claw began moving on their own.

"What the..." Leos gasped in shock.

Celtis stared in disbelief. How in the hell...?! This guy...!

Omega flexed the fingers of his new, slightly oversized, makeshift gauntlet, a speculative look in his eyes. Without warning, he lashed out to the side, slicing four long grooves cleanly through the steel wall.

Omega felt the beginnings of a grin appear on his face, slowly spreading into a devilish smile.

"Freaking hell YES! This O-Knuckle ROCKS!" He exclaimed before he laughed out loud with sheer delight.

"Alright, Kitty Cat. Bring it on!" He grinned, leveling his now armored hand at Leos, who seemed to have shaken off the pain of his injury.

"Grrrr... You despicable scum! If you think you can beat me just by doing something like that, you're sadly mistaken!" With a feral roar, Leos reared up, his arm whipping out as a four foot long, gleaming spike erupted from the stump of his right arm. Leos brought his gaze back down to Omega, both limbs crackling with electricity.

"No-one has ever lived long enough to see this form!" he snarled. "Consider yourself lucky!" With that, he charged at Omega, his blades bared.

"Bring it!" Omega challenged, an answering smirk etched on his face.

The center of the room exploded as the two combatants met again. What followed next was too fast for Celtis to see, save for the flashes of electricity given off by Leos' blades.

The next moment, Leos flew out of the cloud of smoke, smashing hard into the back wall, his entire left arm missing and his electric spike broken in half.

"Graaaah!" He howled in pain as he coughed up blood. He opened his one remaining eye to stare back at the settling cloud of dust. After a few moments, the familiar crimson fins of Omega's helmet became visible as he strode out of the smoke, Leos' missing arm clutched firmly in his claw's grip. With a smirk, he tossed it aside, drawing nearer to Leos' battered form.

"I'm guessing you'd have had another one of those spikes in your other arm, now wouldn't you? Not gonna fall for that twice pal!" Omega grinned, coming to a stop directly in front of the downed Mutos. He raised his new weapon over his head, preparing to deliver the finishing blow.

"And now, I think it's time I put an end to this." He said, a terrifying look in his crimson eyes.

"Indeed it is." Leos said. "Although I have to thank you for coming so close, otherwise there wouldn't have been any way for me to beat you now."

Omega's eyes widened in surprise and shock as he saw the glow emanating from Leos' mouth.

"Oh, son of a bit-" He tried to leap back, but it was too late.

The grand plasma cannon built into the back of Leos' throat fired, hitting Omega at almost point blank range. There was a massive detonation, hurling him straight into the wall and through it without so much as a pause, his red armored form disappearing into the darkness beyond it. The stolen claw clattered to the floor behind him, knocked loose by the force of the blast.

As the aftershocks of the blast faded away, Celtis opened her eyes, to see the massive form of Leos looming in front of her.

"A pity you had to get your hopes up, little girl, but I'm afraid there's nothing to save you this time. Such an interesting opponent, but no one can possibly match my strength." Leos sneered, leveling his broken spike at her chest, close enough to slice open her tank top.

Before she could react, he'd brought the jagged edge up beneath her chin, tilting her face up towards him.

"A pity, really." He sighed. " The things I'll do for money." Seeing her terrified expression, he spoke again.

"Oh, give it a rest. Even if he somehow survived that and you two managed to get past me, you'd still have to face all of the traps in this place, not to mention the rest of my troops outside." A cruel smile appeared on his face.

"You wouldn't last ten minutes."

Celtis bit back an angry retort, instead opting to stay silent, buying time in the hopes that the red warrior had managed to survive.

Suddenly a sound came from behind the massive Mutos. At that same instant, Celtis felt a strange burst of vitality surge up through her body. She jerked with surprise, but managed to push herself backwards out of Leos' range while he was distracted.

'What...was that?' she thought in disbelief. What was that strange feeling that had hit her?

As if in answer to her unspoken question, a familiar laugh rang out from the dark room where Omega had been thrown. As Leos turned around, a shocked expression appearing on his face, a dark red boot slammed heavily down onto the ground.

"I-impossible...!" Leos gasped.

As the rest of his body emerged from the darkness, it became apparent that Omega hadn't managed to escape completely unscathed. The jacket-like body armor he had been wearing before had been completely blown off, along with the entire top and upper arms of his black jumpsuit, revealing a lean, muscular physique, singed from the blast. Celtis couldn't help but notice the large, X-shaped scar in the dead center of his chest, a strange starburst shaped blast scar in the center of the X.

'What could have been powerful enough to give him those scars?! That Plasma blast didn't even make him bleed!'

Leos, taken aback by the sudden reappearance of the Crimson Destroyer, recovered his composure upon seeing his opponent's battered condition.

"Hah! So you did manage to survive that attack after all! So what?! In that condition, you can't do a thing to me, plus you've lost your weapon. You already know your fists can't hurt me, and there's no way I'm going to let you get close enough to try that again. Even with just this broken blade, it'll be enough to take you down this time!"

"Oh, is that so?" Omega said, a scary smile beginning to form on his face. Leos suddenly began to get the feeling that something was wrong. He took a step back, lifting his blade into a defensive position.

"Uh...Yes?" Leos replied warily.

"Such a shame, then...In fact, you've only got yourself to blame for this then." Omega said airily. The now extremely worried Mutos took another step back. He'd suddenly realized that both of Omega's hands were behind his back.

"I really should thank you for this." Omega continued. He brought his hands out to reveal...

A single small white buster pistol held firmly in his left hand.

Leos almost laughed out loud. After all of his nervousness, that was his opponent's trump card? That?!

"That's it?! Hahahahaha! Sorry, but you're gonna have to come up with something a little better than that if you want to beat me! What were you planning to do, tickle me to death?! Hah!"

Omega's smirk widened.

"How about this then?" With a quick motion, he flicked the back of the buster up, pressing a switch on the grip at the same time. With a click, a short cylindrical length was ejected, spiraling up into the air. Without taking his eyes off of Leos, Omega reached out and caught it as it came down, spinning it expertly between his fingers. Twirling it into his palm, he gripped the shaft and flicked another hidden switch.

With a flash of violet energy, a five foot long v-shaped blade flared into life, humming menacingly. Leos felt his previously cocky grin slip down a few notches at the sight.

Omega gave a satanic smile, a maniacal gleam in his eyes.

"Look what I found."

Leos suddenly realized that the Buster's muzzle had been glowing brighter and brighter for the last few minutes, while his attention had been drawn by the spinning saber hilt. He also realized that when Celtis had moved, she had moved backwards, away from him, which meant...

He was the only one in the line of fire.

Omega's grin widened.

Leos had the feeling that this was not going to be one of his better days.

Outside, in Area M...

"Hey, Captain?"

"Yeah Steve?"

"You sure we shouldn't have stayed behind to keep looking?"

"Why? They've already got enough guys down there, don't they? Who's gonna miss two guys like us?"

"Good point. Pass the booze, wouldja?"

Just then, there was a loud rumble from underground, followed by what sounded like several massive explosions which went on for several minutes. Strangely enough, mixed in with the crashing noises were a lot of yowling noises as though there was some kind of animal in extreme pain. The captain winced as a particularly high-pitched yowl was abruptly cut off by another painful sounding crash which shook the floor.

"Jesus!" Steve yelled over the ruckus. "What the hell's all that about, Captain?!"

"No idea!" The Captain yelled back.

Several minutes later, the noises finally faded away and the floor stopped shaking.

"Well, that was weird." Steve muttered, picking himself up off the floor.

Area-N...

WHAM!

Celtis winced again as Omega delivered an extremely painful looking elbow smash to the twitching heap of dented and damaged metal that Leos had been reduced to. Fortunately, judging by the large boot shaped dent in Leos' face, the Mutos had long since stopped most functions.

Of course, considering the fact that it'd be bloody near impossible to find enough undamaged parts to bring him back to any kind of functional condition, he might as well have ceased functioning altogether.

"That..." KA-WHAM! "...was for the kick earlier..."

"That..." CRUNCH! "...was for body-slamming me into the wall..."

Omega paused for a minute.

"...Oh yeah."

"And this..." WHAM! "And this..." WHAM! "And this..." WHAM! "And this..." WHAM! "Oh, and let's not forget this..." KA-WHAM! "Was for the cheap-ass plasma blast!"

Celtis winced as Omega stomped repeatedly on the wreckage, before finishing it off with another elbow smash. Omega picked himself up and dusted himself off, a satisfied look on his face.

" Right... I think that about covers it." With a tug he freed his O-Saber from the wreckage, deactivating the blade before replacing it into the back of his buster. That done, he examined the aftereffects of his fight with the irritating Mutos and gave an exclamation of annoyance.

"What the hell?! Oh jeez, that moron really wrecked my armor. Just look at the scorch marks! Crap..." He made a disgusted expression and scraped off some of the soot from the plasma blast earlier, and gave a sigh.

"Meh...Ah well." He shrugged and rotated his shoulders. "A little stiff in this one but otherwise nothing else seems to be damaged. Guess I'll just have to be extra careful with any enemies I run into."

There was a moment of silence, then he burst out laughing.

"Hah! Yeah right. Me, be careful! Oh, I kill me. Being careful's their problem, not mine. I'll just take 'em out before they can shoot!"

Celtis stared nervously at the chuckling red Reploid.

...Ooookayyy...One too many screws loose up there...

She tried to stand up, before a burst of pain from her cracked ribs hit her again and she gave an involuntary cry of pain.

There was a blur of motion as Omega whipped around, his buster instantly appearing in his hand as he leveled it at the source of the noise. Upon seeing Celtis, though, he halted, a surprised look flitting across his features.

"...Huh." He said finally. "You're still alive?"

Celtis pressed a hand to her damaged side and watched him cautiously. She still wasn't sure of this Reploid or his intentions.

Upon seeing her wary expression, Omega sighed and lowered his weapon.

"Meh, you can relax. Generally, I don't kill chicks, unless of course the try to attack me first. Then, they die. You, though, don't look like you can even move too well, so I doubt you're any kind of threat." He holstered the buster and started towards her.

Crouching down in front of her, he gave her a speculative look.

"Right. Now, since you seem to be the only sane person still around here, you're gonna give me some answers."

Celtis looked at him for a moment, sizing up her options. What he had said was true. Moving hurt like hell, so she wasn't going anywhere fast. What else did she have to lose? She gave a nod.

"Good." Omega commented. "Right. First question: What year is this?"

"Wha- You mean you don't know?"

"Uh...No? I've been in cold sleep since 22XX (however long ago that was), what'd you expect?"

Celtis stared at him in amazement. So the data had been right!

"24XX."

There was a long pause.

"24XX?" Omega said finally.

"24XX." Celtis confirmed.

Omega took a deep breath.

"MOTHER F-"

"Uh, Captain?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you hear something just now?"

"...Nope. Why?"

"Umm...Never mind..."

Celtis pried open one eye, her ears still ringing.

"Ow." She muttered.

Omega pressed a hand to his forehead, muttering several different swearwords under his breath.

"Two hundred freaking years?! Unnnbelievable." He gave a sigh.

"Alright. Next question: Where the hell is this?"

"Uh, this is somewhere in Area N, about fifty or so kilometers from Legion City."

Omega gave her a blank look.

"Who?"

"Wow, you've really been out of it, huh?" With that, Celtis launched into an explanation of what Legion was.

Several minutes later, she realized that Omega was looking at her with a bored expression, so she gave up.

"Alright, forget it. Basically they're just the government in charge of the entire world. Good enough?"

Omega nodded. "Right. Finally: Who the heck were those losers and why were they trying (and failing) to kill me?"

Celtis had the grace to look embarrassed.

"Um...They weren't actually here for you..."

She then went on to explain her current situation. Omega nodded a couple of times as he listened to it before he cut her off.

"Right, right, right, okay. So these guys are basically just black market mercs, and somebody paid 'em to take you out?"

Celtis nodded.

"Huh. Fine, whatever." Omega said, getting to his feet.

Celtis looked up at him in surprise.

"Personally, I don't give a damn about stuff like this. For all I care they can do whatever they like to you, so long as they don't bother me, in which case they're dead meat. All I'm concerned with in this world is fighting." He shrugged, starting to walk away.

"Wh-what?!" Celtis gasped, taken aback.

"What? You were expecting some kind of noble hero or something? Sorry, but I don't do anything unless there's something in it for me." Omega replied, glancing back over his shoulder.

"Y-you jerk! You'd just leave a defenseless girl like me here against one of the most ruthless and well-trained Raider bands known to date?!"

"Not only that..." Celtis looked down, her hair falling over her eyes. "They've killed...so many of my friends..." She felt tears forming in her eyes. "Please...if you won't help me...At...at least make them pay for their crimes!"

She looked back up at him desperately, her voice filled with emotion.

"Help me get revenge!"

There was a long pause.

"Revenge, huh...?" Omega looked back at her. " I can understand that at least...Tell you what. You prove to me that these guys are strong enough to warrant me wasting my time on beating them up, and I'll help you."

"Um...I don't know myself, but they've destroyed every encampment they've raided for spoils and left almost no survivors."

"Hmmm..." Omega looked thoughtful. "Yeah, yeah, I got that, but judging by these losers that ain't much to go by."

"Er, w-well..." Celtis stuttered, her mind racing. How was she supposed to prove it to him when she herself had never actually had any experience with this kind of fighting?

"Uh...They do have a 500,000 EC bounty out for their destruction...?" she offered hesitantly.

Every mechanical joint in Omega's body went rigid. He stared at her, a stunned expression on his face.

"F-Five hundred WHAT?!" he yelped. Celtis jumped, startled.

"Five hundred thousand...?"

Omega spun around and started walking briskly back towards her, rubbing his hands together, a big grin on his face.

"Hooookay! Time to go then!"

"Wh-Wha...?" Celtis managed to say, his sudden change of personality catching her by surprise. "B-but that didn't say anything about their strength!"

"Who cares?! Five hundred grand?! Like hell I'm passing that up! Why the heck didn't you tell me that earlier?! Next to fighting and hot babes, cold hard cash ain't that bad either!"

Celtis' jaw dropped.

'H-he's no better than I am...' She thought weakly. Her thoughts were interrupted as a soaking wet mass smacked into her face. She gave a high pitched squeal as she realized it was ice cold and jumped about a foot into the air. When she'd calmed down, she realized it was nothing more than her jacket.

"Wh-what's this for?"

Omega grinned.

"Well, remember how I complimented you on your figure earlier? Let's just say I've got even more of a reason to do that... I probably should've thanked Leos before I flattened him."

Celtis blinked, before the realization hit her. When Leos had pinned her, he'd sliced open the front of her top as a taunt. Which meant...

The entire time she'd been talking to Omega, the gap in her top had been giving him an excellent view of her extremely exposed cleavage.

WHAM!

"Oww! What the hell was that for?!" Omega yelled, wincing as he pressed a hand to new lump on his head.

"What do you think it was for, you perv?!" Celtis shrieked, now wearing the jacket loosely as she whacked Omega in the head again.

"Jeez, I was giving you a compliment, dammit!" Omega reached out and flicked her in the middle of the forehead. Celtis gave a startled yelp and reeled back, pressing a hand to the spot. She weaved slightly, still a bit dizzy from the impact.

"A-auuu..." she groaned, her head spinning. "That...That hurt..."

Omega tapped his helmet a few times in satisfaction.

"Heh, top grade durasteel armor. Okay, so the impact was a bit much, but it's not like you can damage a helmet belonging to me!"

There was a cracking sound. The helmet split into two pieces and crashed to the ground, finally surrendering to the damage from Leos' attack.

There was a momentary pause, before the rest of Omega's long mane of hair fell forward over his face, freed of its confines.

"Phffftt!" Celtis hastily stuffed a hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter. He looks like a drowned rat!

Omega muttered something unprintable under his breath, before he raised a hand to his head and brushed his silver hair back, swinging it out behind him as it glittered in the fluorescent lights. (A/N: Yes, like every good bishounen pretty boy.)

"What are you laughing at?" He glared at Celtis. She opened her mouth to reply, but winced as a burst of pain from her ribs cut her off. She dropped back to her knees, clutching her side.

"You can't walk, can you?" Omega groaned in disbelief. If Leos' was still functioning, he'd've put a few more buster shots into him, just for the hell of it. Omega weighed up his choices. On the one hand, he could just leave her here and level the Raiders anyway, but then he'd still have the problem of where to go to claim the reward money. Plus, he never did like the idea of leaving a hot chick all alone at the hands of punks like these.

'_Wait...Hot chick..._' An idea struck Omega. He glanced at Celtis, speculatively, before a slight grin appeared on his face.

"Well...I usually don't do this, but since you'll only slow me down in that condition..."

Celtis looked up, confused, as Omega crouched down on one knee in front of her. That quickly changed to embarrassment as he reached out and cupped her chin, tilting her face up to his.

"Huh?" Celtis managed to say, blushing.

"This usually works on Reploids, so I don't know if it'll have any effect on you, but what the hell, might as well enjoy it anyway." Omega grinned, giving her his best seductive look.

"W-wait, what are you- mmph!" Whatever Celtis was going to say was cut off as Omega leaned in and kissed her full on the mouth, his eyes closed. Celtis' eyes widened in shock.

_'W-w-wha-?'_ she thought, her face burning.

She raised her hand to push him away, but stiffened as she felt something.

A delicious feeling of warmth and satisfaction was beginning to steal over her, radiating from the very core of her body.

'Th...this feeling...so...warm...' she thought drowsily, her previous anger and indignation melting away into pleasure. Slowly, her raised hand lowered, forgotten, to rest against Omega's bare chest. Somewhere in the depths of Celtis' mind, some small fragment of her dazed mind that was screaming at her to stop went ignored as her body began to respond unconsciously to the red Reploid, melting against him as her other hand slipped down from her injured side, all pain washed away by the surge of seductive pleasure.

"...Mmmh..."

Mentally, Omega smirked as he heard Celtis moan softly.

'_So she does have a weakness after all...Heh..._' He thought in satisfaction. He glanced across to the energy bar in the left corner of his HUD and blinked in surprise. The bar had dropped by a quarter of its original amount.

'_I gave her that much energy already?! Damn, I'd only planned to give her a small dose! I guess it really has been too long since I ran into a babe who was this good of a kisser. Time to pull out before she drains all of it. Pity..._'

Omega released Celtis, drawing his head back as their lips parted. She stayed where she was, a dazed look on her face as the strange feeling receded from her body. As the fog in her scrambled mind began to clear, she suddenly realized where she was. Reality crashed into her like a bolt of lightning.

Omega, watching her expression, saw her eyes widen in shock and grinned. He released her chin and casually dodged the flurry of blows that came his way seconds later.

"What the hell was that?!" Celtis sputtered, blushing bright red as she swung at Omega again.

"You know, for someone with a set of fractured ribs, you swing pretty hard." Omega commented nonchalantly.

Celtis froze, as she remembered her injuries. To her surprise, there was no pain.

"What the...?" She turned her attention back to her side. After a few testing movements, she ran her fingers over the damaged spot.

"Amazing... It's completely healed! It's like I wasn't even injured at all!" She looked back up at Omega.

"How'd you do that?" She demanded. He shrugged.

"All I did was give you some of the nanomachines in my bloodstream. They're usually responsible for healing any damage I get, but they drain some of my energy to do that. You're human though, so there's no energy for them to use. So I just let 'em use mine while I was still in contact with you." He grinned again as Celtis flushed at the mention of 'contact'.

"Y-you could have warned me..." She muttered, looking away in embarrassment.

"Why? It's much more fun this way!"

WHAM!

Omega picked himself up off the floor again.

"On second thought, maybe I should have left you like that." He muttered, rubbing his head.

Suddenly, he caught a flicker of movement from the room outside.

"DOWN!" Celtis barely had time to react to the shout, before Omega roughly grabbed her and threw her to the side. Seconds later, a shoulder launched rocket hurtled through the gaping hole in the wall and struck Omega head on. There was a blinding flash as it exploded.

Celtis got back to her feet, pale with shock.

"Omega!"

As the smoke faded, a figure slowly became visible, standing upright. Celtis jaw draopped in disbelief as she saw Omega still standing, completely uninjured, save for a few additional scorch marks.

He gave a sigh of annoyance, and cracked his knuckles.

"Alright, now I'm pissed off."

He suddenly realized that Celtis was staring at him with a mixture of awe and disbelief.

"What?" He shrugged. " It was only a small rocket."

In the outer room, squads of Raiders prepared their weapons to move out. One or two of them winced as they heard their lieutenant swearing.

"WHO WAS THE IDIOT WHO THOUGHT IT"D BE A GOOD IDEA TO USE A ROCKET LAUNCHER?! SHE CAN'T BE IDENTIFIED FOR THE CONTRACT FEE IF SHE'S A RED SMEAR ON THE WALL YOU DUMBASS!"

"Oh, I couldn't disagree with you more." A cocky voice came from behind him. The lieutenant whirled around, to see a crimson armored Reploid standing on a rise behind him. In his clawed grip, he held the mangled remains of two Raiders who had been unfortunate enough to run into him. Omega tossed the corpses aside casually, and gave the stunned lieutenant his best insane grin.

"You're gonna have to use even bigger guns than that if you want to have a shot at taking me down."

Several minutes later, Celtis staggered up to the rise, breathing heavily.

"Are you...even human...?" she panted, glancing up at Omega, who was holding up another Raider and was proceeding to punch six different kinds of crap out of him, bodies piled around him in smoking heaps. He paused for a minute, to look back at Celtis, a bored expression on his face.

"Oh, you're only now arriving? Wow, you're slow. I beat up all of the guys who were here in the time it took you to show up." The Raider in his clutches gave a feeble groan, as if to testify to the truth in that statement. Without even looking back, Omega punched him twice in the face.

"Well, excuuuuse me for not being able to run as fast as some hyped-up fight-crazy Reploid like you! Not everybody can move as fast as you!"

Omega drop-kicked the unfortunate Raider back down the slope and watched with a satisfied air as the Raider bounced and rolled all the way to the bottom, where his progress was abruptly stopped by the other wall.

He gave a contented grin, dusting his hands off.

"O-kay! Who's next?!"

Celtis glared.

"Were you even listening?!"

"Hm?" Omega turned around. "You say something?" he inquired.

Celtis groaned and shook her head.

"Why did I have to end up relying on a guy like you?" she complained to the world in general.

"Uh, Captain?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you, uh, hear something?"

The captain looked around. Sure enough, if he listened hard enough, he could just make out the sounds of something crashing around further back in the area. And if he strained his hearing, it was possible to make out the faint sounds of screaming.

He glanced across at Steve.

"Yeah, I hear it. What is it?"

"Beats me." Steve shrugged.

There was a pause.

"Uh...Is it just me or is it getting louder...?"

The two Raiders stared nervously at each other.

"You know..." The captain said. "It suddenly occurs to me that maybe somebody should go check on the ship..."

"The ship?" Steve blinked.

"Er...Yeah, the ship...You never know, something might have happened to it, there being no one up there to keep an eye on it and all."

There was another long pause, during which both Raiders' thoughts turned to the picture of their ship, parked aaaallll the way up on the surface...The nice, sunny, and above all, SAFE, surface.

"Ya know..." Steve said, his voice thoughtful, "Yeah, maybe somebody should go and check on it..."

There was another noticeably louder crash, and a painful sounding scream.

"Good idea." The Captain nodded, a serious expression on his face.

Five minutes later, when Omega blew the door down with a well placed kick, there wasn't a sign of a Raider in sight.

He strolled through the clouds of dust, an exhausted Celtis held carelessly under his left arm. Normally, she'd have been kicking up a fuss at his ungentlemanly treatment, however, running through three floors of tunnels trying to keep up with Omega had temporarily rendered her speechless as she tried to catch her breath.

"You don't...know the meaning...of the words 'Slow down'...do you?!" She panted.

"Nope!" Omega replied happily, tearing along the ground at 60mph on his dash boosters. "Now then, was it the second left, and then a right...? Or was it the first left and then the second right?" he wondered.

"Ah well, who cares anyway?!" He shrugged. "Second left it is."

"Don't tell me you're lost!" Celtis yelled.

"Of course not!" Omega replied, looking away hastily. "I know this dump like the back of my-"

"LOOK OUT!"

WHAM.

"...Ow." Omega muttered, his voice slightly muffled, "Who put that wall there...?"

"Aaah...uh..." Celtis was speechless.

Omega suddenly realized he was lying on something soft, his face between two warm mounds.

'_Oooohh shit._'

"KYAAAA!"

Several moments later, after he'd extricated himself from Celtis', uh...chest (and had promptly been slapped silly for it), Celtis was hastily reclosing the front of her jacket, her face bright red.

Omega staggered back upright, one hand pressed to the glowing red handprint on his cheek.

"Cripes, you hit harder than Leviathan and Foxtar put together. What do you do in your free time?! Ow!"

"Know this place like the back of your hand, huh?!" Celtis snapped indignantly.

Omega muttered a few expletives under his breath, before he suddenly looked up. He stared behind Celtis and gave a cocky grin.

"Why, yes, yes I think I do know this place that well." He folded his arms.

Celtis turned around, and stared in disbelief at a massive opening in the wall behind her, the light of day shining brightly in through it.

Omega gave her a smug look.

"You were saying...?"

Celtis glanced back at him. For all his wild-card nature and general loud-mouthedness, there was something almost...likeable about the incorrigible Reploid she had picked up. Almost.

She sighed and shook her head. "All right, all right, you made your point. Come on, I'll give you a ride back to Legion. Those claws ought to be enough proof that you took out Leos, so now..."

"...It's back to Legion, and hel-lo payday!" Omega finished, grinning like an idiot.

"Bingo!" Celtis replied happily, already lost in blissful ecstasy as she thought of all the things she could do with that money.

After several moments, Omega pressed a hand to his forehead and sighed. He walked over to Celtis and waved a hand in front of her glazed expression.

"OI! The cash isn't going to be much good unless someone actually gets around to collecting it! QUIT FANTASISING AND GET MOVING ALREADY!"

Celtis snapped out of her daydream with a yelp and scowled at him.

"Killjoy." She muttered as she turned and started walking to where she'd left her ship, a smirking Omega in tow.

As they slowly disappeared into the distance, the ruins of Area N fading behind them, Omega's voice could be heard.

"You know, we haven't exactly discussed my fee for this job yet..."

A/N: THAT particular line of conversation isn't gonna end too well, now is it? Anyway, this is just my version of Omega, so try not to flame me out of existence just yet. Any questions etc. feel free to ask me. Read and Review please!

DarkShift out!


	4. Chapter 3: Transport Detail

Chapter 3: Transport detail

Omega stared through the forward windshield of Celtis' ship as the Hunter's Camp airfield came into view. He noticed several damaged looking areas, most of which seemed to have been patched up, albeit slightly overgrown.

"Did you guys get bombed or something? What happened over there?"

Celtis blinked. "Huh. You're one of the first people to see that and recognise it as battle damage. Everyone else just thinks it's just a piece of runway we never got around to repairing properly."

Omega stared at her for a moment.

"Uh-huh. And they never thought to ask why?"

"Well, no not really, since the whole mess with Ouroboros left a lot of things damaged."

"Who the hell is Ouroboros?"

Speedburn skidded slightly as its wheels touched the tarmac.

"Oh, right, I forgot. You were in stasis for that too." She sighed.

During the ten minutes it took for the autopilot to take them to an empty hangar, Celtis explained to him the whole story. Omega raised an eyebrow at the description of Biometal, and how one of the world's leaders had tried to destroy the world with it.

"So basically, they're just talking rocks." Omega said flatly.

"N-no, of course not! They have all of the experience and knowledge of past battles stored in them, which can be used by their wielders.

Omega sighed. "Fine. So they're smart, talking rocks that let you transform. Whoop-dee-freakin'-doo."

Celtis hung her head.

"I give up."

In the docking bay.

"Back already, Celtis?" A man walked up to the base of the stairs leading up to the cockpit door. He was clad in the normal Hunter's gear, minus the visor, and carrying a clipboard.

"Hey, Brian!" Celtis replied cheerfully. By this time, she'd changed into a spare set of clothes that she always kept on board in case of emergencies. She leapt down from the door, taking the stairs two at a time.

"So, had any luck?"

"Weeell, kind of…" Celtis shrugged, thinking of the pile of relics she'd managed to get before she left the ruins of Area-N, not to mention the larger than life combat Reploid called Omega.

"So this is Hunter's Camp, eh?" A loud voice from behind her interrupted their conversation.

Speak of the devil… Celtis groaned silently. Brian turned as the silver haired Reploid strode boldly down the stairs, an interested look on his face as he took in the surroundings.

Sometime during their flight, Celtis had managed to find a crimson leather jacket among her emergency supplies. He'd promptly claimed it, as there was very little else in there that would fit him, far less that would suit him. It reached slightly lower than his waist and was left open at the front, revealing the scars running across his chest. It flared up behind him as he drew closer.

"Who're you?" Brian asked, surprised. As far as he knew, Celtis had left by herself.

"Funny, that's just what I was going to ask you." Omega replied, eyeing the other man.

There was a long pause while the two of them stared at each other. Eventually, Celtis finally broke the uncomfortable silence.

"Uh, right…Brian, this is umm…Saber. Yeah, Saber! I picked him up while I was exploring. He said he, uh, needed to get to Legion, and I was heading that way anyhow, so…"

Omega blinked. "When the hell did I say tha-"

PWNED!

"Uh, don't worry about him, he has a little trouble with his memory." Celtis said quickly, grinning nervously. Brian winced slightly.

"Oookayy then… Anything you want me to check on Speedburn while you're gone?"

"Hmmm…Nah, just top up her tanks for me would ya?"

"Sure thing!" Brian gave her a thumbs up.

There was a groan from behind them as the white haired battle Reploid staggered back to his feet.

"Oh, good, you woke up. Well come on, let's go. SeeyoulaterBrianbye!" Celtis took off running, dragging a confused Omega behind her. Brian watched them go, a baffled look on his face.

'Well that was weird…'

Outside the hangar, Celtis finally slowed down, panting. No sooner had she come to a stop than Omega began demanding answers.

"What. The. HELL. Was that?! Saber?! Some guy you picked up? Talk to me!"

Celtis gave a cold look.

"When you were in that capsule, I saw the readings for you. Before you were locked up in there, you were a Maverick, weren't you?"

Omega shrugged. "Technically, yeah. So?"

"If your name was in the history books as fighting the famous X and even the legendary Red Knight Zero, don't you think it'll be a little weird if you go around using that name?!"

"Pfff. That was centuries ago. Like they'll ever connect that to me." Omega scoffed

"Uh-huh. And just suppose the Guardians happen to check up on your capsule down in Area-N? And what happens when they find you missing? Don't you think it'll be that much easier for them to find you?"

"…That could (possibly) be a problem…" He finally admitted. "But then again…" his eyes narrowed. "if you know all this, and if I'm supposedly so dangerous…" He suddenly leaned in, until his face was inches away from hers, his eyes deadly serious.

"Why are you still hanging around me and not only that, but covering for me as well?"

Celtis leaned back slightly. "Uh…well, I guess you could say…you're not exactly what I expected a Maverick to be…It's hard to tell you're not just another average Reploid with a slightly larger than average inclination towards fighting, instead of some kind of bloodthirsty raving lunatic, like what the propaganda shows Mavericks as."

Omega raised an eyebrow.

"And what I did to those Raiders doesn't count?"

"Wha- No! They were trying to kill me! Besides, they probably deserved that, after all they've done." She trailed off and looked away, blushing slightly.

"Besides…you sort of…saved my life back there…That doesn't seem like something a human-hating Maverick would do…The least I can do to repay you is to help you stay out of trouble." Celtis decided not to mention that the purpose of the capsule had been to _remove_ the Maverick parts of his programming, meaning he probably couldn't be classified as a Maverick anymore. Still…it never hurt to be careful.

Omega stared at her for a few moments, a quizzical expression on his face.

"You're one strange human, you know that?" He said finally.

Celtis shrugged, hiding her embarrassment.

"Well come on. I want to stop off at my place for a shower and a change of clothes before we head over to Legion. This emergency outfit isn't exactly what you'd call top of the line in fashion."

"Can't you just access it from a Trans-Server or something?"

Omega paused for a second.

"PLEASE tell me they still have those, at least."

Celtis shook her head. "Yes, there are Trans-Servers, but I can't use it for something like this. See, it only works if you've used the Server to access Legion's available missions and to register the one you want to take. That makes it easier for them to keep track of when a mission's completed, so they can access the user's account and transfer the reward money."

"Your point being…?"

"Bounties are different. The only way to collect payment for that is to bring back proof that the bounty was successfully taken out."

"You mean like these?" Omega jerked a thumb over his shoulder at the two clawed gauntlets strapped crosswise on his back.

"More or less, so long as they can be reliably identified."

Omega groaned. "Yeah, yeah, okay, I get your point. Fine, we'll go to this Legion place of yours."

The two of them walked off, bickering. Because of this, neither of them noticed the mysterious figure watching them from a distance. The tall reploid pressed a hand to his earpiece, the metallic eyepiece on the left side of his face humming slightly as it readjusted.

"Commander Magnum, I have visual confirmation of the subject. Your orders?"

"At ease, Agent C. Just keep an eye on him for now. Him and the girl as well. I have a feeling you'll be needed soon."

The mysterious Reploid nodded slightly, even though there was no way for the person on the other end to see him.

"Affirmative, commander. C. out."

He dropped his hand from the earpiece, terminating the connection. He took one last look at the departing pair.

"So, that's the infamous God of destruction…" Shaking his head slightly, he turned and walked away, heading off to resume his surveillance. His teal green cloak billowed out behind him, revealing a massive weapon strapped to his back, as he disappeared into the crowds.

Omega suddenly paused, a strange expression on his face. Celtis glanced back at him curiously.

"What's wrong?"

Omega watched the green cloaked figure until it turned a corner and was lost from sight. His eyes narrowed.

"…Nothing…" He said finally.

Celtis sighed as she searched her pockets for her keycard to the apartment complex, trying to ignore, with little success, the chatter of voices behind her.

They had made it into the Hunter's Camp without any further incident. The guards had bought her story about Omega being just a hitchhiker she'd picked up, even if she did have to elbow him in the ribs several times so he'd stop muttering darkly under his breath. After that, though…

Another outburst of giggling from behind her interrupted her train of thought. She groaned inwardly.

"Why me…?" she muttered.

Behind her, Omega was enjoying himself tremendously, surrounded by a cluster of adoring female Hunters, both Reploid and human. Apparently they seemed to find his long white hair and devil-may-care attitude quite alluring. Of course, the fact that he was wearing nothing underneath his open jacket probably had something to do with it as well.

Omega grinned, soaking up the attention. Man, he'd forgotten how good it had been to have so many babes fighting for his attention! Already he'd gotten about half a dozen contact numbers, (Not to mention more than a few addresses.)

Not only that, but…He glanced around at the girls, running a practiced eye over them. Apparently somebody had definitely made more than a few upgrades to Reploid, uh, structural…designs…(cough)

" By the way, I'm afraid I'm new here so I don't know my way around too well yet. Any of you beautiful young ladies care to give me a tour?"

He was immediately bombarded by a tidal wave of delighted squeals.

"Ooh! Ooh, me!"

"Pick me!"

Omega's grin widened. GodDAMN, it felt good to be back!

Suddenly, he paused. Guessing from the MASSIVE amount of killing intent he was picking up from behind him…

"Thank you, thank you, I appreciate your kindness, all of you! But, sadly, I'm afraid I must be going now!" He turned around, his hair flaring up behind him (causing several bouts of fainting) and started walking away.

"I'll be sure to give you a call later!"

Celtis gave him a murderous look as he reached the door.

"What?" he shrugged.

Several minutes later, he was relaxing on the couch in Celtis' apartment, sipping an ice-cold can of beer that he'd swiped from her fridge, and listening to the sound of the shower. He raised an eyebrow as he took in the room around him. Her apartment wasn't anything too special, just one bedroom with an attached shower, (two beds, he noted.), and another room that seemed to combine a kitchen, lounge and a study. Idly, he picked up one of the numerous pieces of paper strewn all over the table and the floor.

'_Huh. These are all just bills and information about some so-called 'Lost Technology._' Then, something caught his eye. He picked up a piece that looked as though it had been taken from a newspaper. It was an ad for some sort of machine shop, named 'Vix's Tech'. He gave a low whistle as he saw some of the merchandise.

'_Well, somebody seems to have quite an interesting store…_' he mused, staring at the list of armor and weaponry. He memorised the address for later, considering the fact that he still had to get paid for this job. Sure, he still had his Buster and Saber, as well as the strange new O-Knuckle, but what the hell. One of the rules he'd always lived by was that you could never have too much firepower. It was definitely something to take note of, especially considering the two voluptuous models who were posing in the picture as well.

Guns and girls…The combination had yet to disappoint Omega.

He stifled a grin and tossed the now-empty can into a particularly cluttered section of the room. It's not like it'd be out of place, considering the current state.

As he put down the advertisement, he spotted another one in the untidy shuffle.

'_Kitara's Machinery Supplies_' After a brief scan of the ad, Omega concluded that if Vix's Tech was where Celtis got her weapons, and armor upgrades (probably for that ship of hers, since all she seemed to have was a single handgun) then this place was where she got her other mechanical supplies, like engine parts and other such things. Apparently it seemed to cater for Reploid needs as well, as evidenced by a rather snazzy set of armor and chassis parts.

Again, he noted the addresses, before tossing it aside. Turning around, he headed back towards the fridge, picking his way through the debris littering the floor. The level of clutter and general untidiness failed to impress him. A confirmed bachelor, he'd seen places a hell of a lot worse.

At least, that was his general opinion, right up until he stepped on a pile of clothes that turned out to be not quite as stable as he'd thought. It shifted, causing his foot to slide off of it and land, ironically, on the very same can he'd just tossed away. He barely had time to swear before the inevitable interplay of forces and balance pitched him head over heels through the door. There was a loud bang as his head collided painfully with it, slamming it open and depositing him flat on his back in the bedroom. He gave a groan of irritation.

"Why me? He muttered. Then, something made him look up, and he realized that the door had probably been closed for a reason. Celtis gaped down at him in shock, still frozen in the act of reaching for her towel. Omega stared at her slender, well-curved figure for a moment, rivulets of water still running across her silken skin before the part of his brain that had no desire to be inside a caved-in skull smacked him upside the head.

A resigned expression crossed his face and he brought his eyes back to hers. Already the color in her cheeks was fading from the bright pink color of embarrassment, to the blazing red color of indignant outrage. He leveled an irritated finger at her.

"I refuse to take the blame for your damn mess of a room. This is your fault."

Several minutes later, the receptionist looked up in surprise as Celtis stormed past, still red in the face. Right behind her came Omega, wincing slightly as he gingerly pressed a hand to the blazing red handprint on the left side of his face.

"What?! It was _your_ fault, after all!"

"Like hell it was! I bet you were probably just trying to peek in and lost your balance!"

"Oh, get real! As if that'd ever happen!"

The receptionist watched them go, still bickering as the lobby doors closed behind them, a bewildered look on her face. Then she shrugged and went back to work. You saw all sorts in this place.

Omega stared up at the massive building that was Legion Headquarters, a slightly awed expression on his face.

"Wow…" he said finally. Celtis grinned. Yep, that was the reaction most people had on seeing Legion HQ up close for the first time.

The massive white tower loomed in front of them, its massive bulk rearing almost 300 stories high. Hell, there was even a ring of clouds around it, and that was only halfway up! It started out wider at the base before it suddenly narrowed again. As it reached the top however, it split, forming two diagonal 'wings'. Rising from the center of these two wings was a long cylindrical shaft, cables and steel supports all around it. Mounted atop this shaft was a huge globe, that Omega supposed was a representation of the Earth, since Legion supposedly controlled the world's governments. He felt a slight touch of unease. Looking at it from this point of view, Legion HQ looked nothing more than a giant sword, embedded in the ground point first, reminding Omega of the giant prison that he had been trapped in for a century, before his return to Earth and his legendary clash with Zero two hundred years ago.

He shrugged off his uneasiness and started walking after Celtis, who was waiting by the massive double-door entrance.

As they entered the glittering lobby, unnoticed by either of them, a small black camera in the ceiling turned to watched them, whirring as it zoomed in. Several dozen stories up, in a darkened room, a red-clad figure watched them arrive at the receptionist's desk.

After a few moments the receptionist raised her eyebrows and drew in a sharp breath.

"I'm sorry, but this is an S-ranked bounty. I'm not cleared to authorize payments for S-rank rewards."

She looked back up at the two Hunters who had come for the bounty, and immediately felt her gaze drawn by the taller Reploid. God, this one really was attractive…

Celtis whistled. "So they were S-Class? I thought they were just an A-class."

The receptionist shrugged. "The upgrade was only recently made, so not many people know about it as yet."

"Right, yeah, okay." Omega cut in, leaning on the desk. "So who here can handle S-class rewards, then?"

The receptionist flushed slightly at his sudden nearness and hastily looked back at her screen.

"U-um…only one of the Wise Men can authorize that…"

After a few seconds, she looked back up. To her surprise, the silver haired reploid looked as unimpressed as ever.

"And…?"

Omega suddenly felt himself jerked backwards.

"Hey, what the-?!"

"Umm, could you excuse us for a minute?" Celtis said, flashing the surprised secretary a fake smile, all the while pushing away a protesting Omega.

When they were a safe enough distance away, Omega rounded on her, an annoyed look on his face.

"What the hell was that for?!"

"Didn't I tell you?! The Wise Men are pretty much the most powerful men in all of Legion! Do you have any idea how big this is?"

"Not really. What's the difference? It's like any other bureaucracy, isn't it? We just go up, get it signed, get my money, and go our merry ways. What's so big about that?!"

"They pretty much rule the world!"

"There won't BE much of a world left if I don't get my cash! Would you get over yourself already?! It's not like you're the first person who's had to get approval from them!"

Celtis blinked. "Th-that's true…H-hey wait!"

Omega was already striding back towards the receptionist. He leaned back on the desk as he resumed the conversation.

"So, when exactly can one of the 'Wise Guys' see us-OW!"

Omega bit back a swearword as Celtis' boot came down hard on his foot.

"Aheheh, sorry about that." Celtis laughed nervously. "What he wanted to know was when the Wise Men would be able to see us to confirm the bounty payment."

"Oh, well…" She consulted the screen again.

"Unfortunately, he's a bit busy at the moment since he's only now returned from a conference. I'm sorry, but you'll have to come back a bit later."

Celtis looked taken aback.

"O-okay… When exactly would that be?"

"Er…" The receptionist looked back at her screen.

"In three days, I think…" She looked sheepish. "I'm sorry but he really is very busy…"

Both Omega and Celtis stared at her, aghast.

"Thr-three days…?! Are you sure you can't find us something a little sooner?" Celtis pleaded.

The receptionist shook her head regretfully.

"Sorry, that's the earliest I can do."

Celtis was about to protest further when a hand landed on her shoulder. Ignoring her protests, Omega propelled her away from the desk and off towards the waiting area.

"You, wait over here for a bit." Omega glanced back at the receptionist and grinned.

"I'm going to to go…negotiate..."

Celtis gave him a suspicious look.

"Define 'negotiate'."

"Just shut up and wait here." Omega said exasperatedly and stomped off.

Ten minutes later…

Omega sauntered into the elevator , a triumphant grin on his face. Celtis followed close behind, disbelief written all over her features.

Before the doors closed behind them, Omega turned and gave a cheerful wave to the receptionist, whose name he'd discovered to be Tara Redmont. She blushed and gave him a slight wave in response.

As the doors closed and the elevator started upwards, Omega walked across to the opposite wall, which was a single huge window. He raised an eyebrow as more and more of the surrounding city came into view. Normally not someone given to introspection, he couldn't help but be impressed by the scale of the city below. The damn thing was possibly as big as Neo Arcadia had been and maybe even bigger than that!

Omega was certain of one thing, though. It took a special kind of person to be able to control a city this size, with a population that probably ran to a ridiculously high number. His eyes narrowed. He was going to have to be very careful with his movements until he knew exactly what they were capable of. He'd made that mistake once before in his exceptionally long life, and he had no wish to repeat that experience.

Feeling Celtis' gaze drilling into the back of his skull, Omega stifled a grin and turned around. She had her arms folded and was staring at him with a half disbelieving, half annoyed look on her face.

"How did you…"

"Get us a ride up? Easy." Omega smirked. "Let's just say that Miss Tara Redmont is not quite immune to certain methods of 'persuasion', especially when used by someone as devilishly attractive as myself."

Celtis' eye twitched.

"You're telling me…you…"

"Incidentally," Omega continued, calling up a file on his HUD, "You wouldn't happen to know where the Tarantallera Apartments are, would you?"

"What?" Celtis blinked, thrown off by the change in subject. " Um, yeah sure. It's over in the residential District-F. Why?"

"Oh, no reason." Omega said innocently. "It's just that I have to pick up the lovely Miss Redmont at her apartment there, since she's so kindly volunteered to act as a tour guide later tonight." His smile widened.

Celtis stared at him.

Omega shrugged. "What can I say? The ladies love me."

Celtis groaned.

"Of all the ancient Reploids I could have woken up, I had to get one who thinks he's Casanova. Why does this kind of thing only happen to me?"

"Hey, I don't think I'm Casanova! I'm _better_ than he was!"

Ten minutes later…

The doors to the elevator hissed open smoothly, and Omega finally set foot in the home of the most powerful men in the world.

"Well, that took long enough. Now, where's…" His voice trailed off as he finally registered the sight before him.

"Whoa."

He was staring down the length of what had to be the most lavishly and expensively decorated corridor he'd ever come across. A thick, plush red carpet covered the floor, every inch of it inlaid with intricate designs. Huge tapestries and beautiful paintings decorated the walls, all masterpieces. There was even a chandelier hanging from the ceiling.

After several minutes, Omega gave a low whistle.

"So this is what you can buy when you rule the world." He said finally. "Hell, I don't think even Neo Arcadia had this kind of décor."

Celtis was eagerly examining one of the tapestries.

"Is this real gold thread?! I heard it was almost impossible to synthesise this properly! This must cost a fortune!"

"Actually, it only cost about 150,000,000 EC. I happen to know a good weaver."

Celtis gave a shocked yelp and spun around. Omega whirled, the hilt of his O-Saber already in hand, blade activated.. He skidded to a halt, his eyes widening as he saw the speaker.

'_Where the hell did this guy come from?! I looked down that way not fifteen seconds ago and there was no-one there! So where the HELL did some seven foot bastard with bright red hair come from?!_'

Omega had good reason to be surprised. The man was at least seven feet tall, and built like a tank! He was clad in loose, flowing robes that hid most of his body and carried a long, rectangular sword in a hand the size of a dinner plate. A large, grizzled mane of dark red hair covered his head, continuing around into an impressive, shaggy beard that covered his chest. He raised an eyebrow at Omega's activated saber.

"My, you're certainly a paranoid one, aren't you? I take it you would be the Saber who I was informed would be arriving?"

Omega gave a smirk.

"That depends. Who's askin'?"

The next moment, he winced slightly as Celtis elbowed him and stepped in front.

"Put that away you idiot!" she hissed to Omega out the corner of her mouth. Turning to the man, she said "Don't mind him, sir, he's just a bit trigger happy."

The man smiled as Omega grudgingly replaced his saber.

"Don't worry about it. I expect you'd need to be a bit trigger happy if you wanted to stand a chance of taking on an S-class bounty."

"Not against that loser."Omega muttered, remembering Leos. "That was kind of pathetic."

"And you must be Miss Celtis Gisborne-Wingates Arcana."The man said continuing. Celtis flushed, embarrassed at the use of her full name. Behind them, Omega stifled his laughter with a sudden burst of fake coughing.

"U-um…yeah." She said awkwardly, shooting Omega an angry look. "Usually people just call me Celtis, though."

"I see." The man nodded. "Now, I believe you two are here for the payment due for taking out the Black Lion Raiders and their leader Leos Darkclaw?"

"Damn right we are!" Omega cut in.

Celtis nodded.

"Very well then, if you'd follow me…"

"Just a minute." Omega growled, his hand hovering dangerously near his saber hilt. "You never told me who you were."

The man looked surprised. Before he could reply, Celtis interrupted him.

"Sorry about that, sir. He's been a little out of touch for a while so you'll have to excuse him."

The man raised an eyebrow, at that, but shrugged and stepped forward anyway. He extended a hand.

"Very well then. Mr. Saber, I am Master Thomas L. Xanatos, one of the Wise Men, and the head of Legion."

There was a long pause as Omega realized just exactly who he'd been pointing his sword at.

"Dammit."

"Pleased to meet you too." Master Thomas commented drily. "Now then, shall we go?"

"And this here is the core of our entire government. This is where we, the Wise Men, rule from."

Thomas continued on, but Omega wasn't listening. He was too busy staring in disbelief at the sight before him. If he'd thought the outside corridor had been lavish before, now it seemed positively spartan in contrast with the splendor he was looking at.

Ahead of them lay a massive circular room, well over thirty metres in diameter. On every side, they were surrounded by huge glass windows that ran the full circumference of the room, granting an almost unrestricted 360o view of the surrounding city for miles around. Celtis was already at one such window, face pressed to the glass as she eagerly took in all of the sights.

'_I'm guessing this is her first time up here too,_' Omega thought, before continuing with his inspection.

The glass walls around them curved gently inwards, before meeting high above them in an impressive dome that was covered in a single large painting.

Master Thomas followed Omega's gaze and smiled.

"Yes, it's quite beautiful isn't it? I had it repainted to look like the roof of an ancient church. I believe it was called the Sistine Chapel. The original was said to be a true masterpiece. I like to think I've managed to capture a small part of its essence here."

'_Sure, whatever you say, pal._' Omega thought.

Omega turned back to face Thomas.

"I appreciate the tour and all, ('_Not really'_), but could we get around to the bounty now?"

"Down to business then, is it?" Thomas smiled. Then he nodded, his face turning serious.

"Very well, then. Miss Celtis?"

Celtis blinked and looked back at them.

"Hm?"

"Would you get over here already?!" Omega growled. "Or would you rather I take your share of the prize?"

"Don't even joke about that!" Celtis snapped, walking towards them.

"Who's joking?" Omega said casually, turning back to Thomas, who had been watching the exchange with some amusement.

'_Well, they're certainly energetic enough._' Thomas thought. '_Perhaps they'll be able to help after all_."

At a gesture, the lights dimmed and a huge holographic screen flickered to life behind him. Omega and Celtis broke off their bickering in surprise.

"The S-class bounty you two came here to collect was that of Leos Darkclaw and his Black Lion Raiders, correct?"

Omega adjusted the two armored gauntlets on his wrists and raised them slightly.

"Well, who'd ya think I picked these up from?"

Master Thomas grinned.

"Well, that's certainly proof enough. The Titanium Reavers, Leos' signature weapons. There is only one known pair in the world and you now have them."

He tapped something on the screen and Leos' image came up. A few more keystrokes and the image went dark, a crimson Legion emblem appearing over it, indicating that the bounty target had been eliminated.

"Now about the reward money…" Thomas' voice trailed off.

"What about it?" Omega said dangerously.

A new voice broke in.

"Yah, about that, there's a slight issue we'd like to discuss with you."

Both Celtis and Omega turned as the huge double doors they had come through slammed open again with a tremendous crash. As the brighter lights of the corridor streamed in, the silhouette of a man became visible, his arms still extended from knocking open the doors. Striding in proudly, the figure resolved itself into a tall well built man, clad in a blazing scarlet overcoat unfastened at the front to reveal a sleek, black business suit underneath it. His unruly hair was a deep golden color.

He grinned as he saw the two of them, his eyes the color of darkest blue and gave a cocky salute.

"Yo."

Omega grunted and folded his arms. "Bastard's got style," He admitted grudgingly.

Master Thomas sighed.

"Ace, I know you like to make a grand entrance and all, but do you have to practically break down my doors every time you come in here?"

The man merely shrugged, half smiling.

"Relax, it's not like it damages them much or anything."

Celtis was looking back and forth between the two of them in confusion.

"Umm…Master Thomas? Do you know this guy?"

Master Thomas sighed.

"Unfortunately, yes. May I introduce Ace Phoenix, Section Commander of Legion's Combined Military and Security Forces. Ace, this is Miss Celtis Arcana and Mr. Saber…" He looked at Omega inquiringly.

"No last name." Omega growled.

"Er…right."Thomas finished lamely.

Ace finally came to a stop in front of them, his hands hidden in the pockets of his overcoat. He looked the two of them up and down for a few moments.

"Nice…nice! This might just work out after all!" He grinned approvingly.

Master Thomas nodded.

"I thought you'd say that."

Celtis began to feel that something was not quite right.

"Uh, excuse me…Would you mind telling me what you two are talking about?"

Ace gave her a surprised look.

"You don't know?"

"No, we don't!" Omega snapped.

The two Legion executives exchanged a look.

"You didn't tell them yet, did you Master?" Ace said finally, an irritated look on his face.

Master Thomas gave a sheepish laugh.

"Aheheh…Actually, I was getting around to it when you crashed in."

"Riiiight." Ace said dryly. With that he turned back to Celtis and Omega, a determined look on his face.

"All right! Here's the deal. As you know, I'm in charge of Legion's Security forces. This means I'm the one responsible for putting out the bounties and mission requests. Now, ordinarily, Master Thomas over there would simply approve your claim, you'd get paid, and then we'd all go home happy."

Omega raised an eyebrow.

" 'Ordinarily'…? "

Ace's expression darkened.

"Yeah. That's what would normally happen. However…"

Master Thomas made another gesture, and the screen changed.

"We've had a slight problem. I'm sure you both know of the substance known as 'Biometal', correct?"

"Uh, yes, of course." Celtis said quickly, before Omega could say anything. He gave her a sharp look.

Thomas nodded.

"Recently, we have come across an _eighth_ one."

"What?!" Celtis gasped. "There's an eighth Biometal?!"

"Precisely." Ace said darkly, taking back up the story. "Currently, the public knows nothing of this. We plan to keep as tight a lid on this as possible, to prevent a repeat of the original Model W incident with Slither Inc."

"Uh…Okay, but what does this have to do with us?"

Ace inclined his head slightly.

"I was getting to that. Over the past few months, we've had the Biometal moved from its original location several times, each time bringing it closer and closer to Legion City. We did this since each stop was fairly close together, allowing us to keep a fairly tight security net over it. Unfortunately, that can no longer be done."

Master Thomas brought up a map.

"The Biometal is currently here." He continued, indicating a small town. "From there, the only way to get it to Legion is via train." He indicated a long, thin line, running from the town to the huge clustered mass that was Legion City.

"Over three hundred miles of barren desert. If anyone wanted to take a crack at the Biometal, there's the perfect place."

"Then maybe you should've considered sending it to Legion using a route that wouldn't have ended you up in a situation like that!" Omega snorted. Ace shot him a dirty look.

"I wish it was that easy. Don't you think I'd've done that already if I could have?" He sighed and pressed a hand to his face.

"When I say, 'as tight a lid as possible', I mean it. If too much expense was put out on getting it here, it'd be too noticeable in the accounting. Sooner or later, somebody'd want to know what was going on, and the truth would come out eventually. As a result, I had to balance cost-effectiveness together with secrecy, and the end result was the route we've taken."

He shot Master Thomas an accusing look.

"Of course, if somebody here had done a better job of keeping those watchdogs off my back, we probably would've been able to do that!"

Master Thomas shrugged apologetically.

"Sorry, Ace, but I did the best I could. Even my power has its limits, you know."

"Geez." Ace sighed and ran a hand through his messy hair. "Yeah, yeah, I know. It's just that we lost a lot of good soldiers getting it this far."

"Lost them?" Celtis said, startled. "You mean, they were killed? By who?"

Ace gave her a long look.

"Who else?" He said finally.

"Mavericks."

Omega's ears perked up. Mavericks? There were still mavericks around after all this time?

"It's a well known fact that there's a strange relationship between Mavericks and Biometals, but this one's a whole different story." He clenched his fist involuntarily. "The damn thing seems to actually attract the bastards, like flies to a rotting piece of meat!"

After a few moments he relaxed, his composure returning.

"Ahem." He coughed. "But I digress. At any rate, the bottom line is that there is no way in hell that we'll be able to move that Biometal on those rails without some seriously heavy security on it."

"Obviously, Legion's normal security forces probably aren't going to be able to handle it alone. As a result of that, we've decided to use more unorthodox means."

Omega's eyes narrowed.

"Hunters…"

Thomas nodded.

"Correct. We decided to bring in Hunters to bolster our forces."

Ace grinned and raised an admonishing finger.

"Not just any Hunters, though. The ones we need have to be the best of the best! The elite, in other words. In other words, they had to meet certain conditions to be eligible."

"Of course, there are only a few Hunters that fit into that category, so right now, only a few of them fit the bill."

"What are the conditions?" Omega said darkly, a suspicion forming.

"There are several," Master Thomas said hesitantly, "But right now, the main one is that the candidate must have defeated an S-class enemy. In other words…"

"You want the two of us on that team." Omega said flatly.

Celtis head snapped around.

"What?!"

Thomas bowed his head slightly.

"Pretty much, yeah." Ace said, quietly.

Omega raised an eyebrow.

"We do one S-class mission and that's it? We're qualified? Hah!" He snorted. "For all you know, it might've been dumb luck! I appreciate the confidence in my ability, but don't you think you're being a little too trusting?"

"That's not exactly true." Ace said. "You, we know next to nothing about, but just by looking at you, I can tell you're no ordinary Reploid. Everything about you, down to the way you move indicates a high level of combat experience. Dumb luck or not, you need a certain amount of that to take on an S-class target." He grinned.

"That aside though, Miss Celtis over there has successfully completed enough normal ranked missions to assure us that she is capable of handling herself, and is therefore an acceptable risk."

"In other words, you're saying she's got a fairly good chance of not getting herself killed like an idiot." Omega said brightly.

PAIN!

"Ow…" Omega groaned, rubbing his head.

"Thanks a bunch, you jerk." Celtis grumbled in irritation. Ace sweatdropped.

"Er…you could put it that way, yeah…" He shook his head slightly, bringing himself back down to business.

"Uh, anyway, the point is, you need her to vouch for you, i.e. you only qualify if she agrees to accompany you on any missions coming out of Legion."

Omega immediately made it a priority to go out and find himself a hacker who'd put together some fake credentials. Relying on other people was not something he usually made a habit of.

"Ok." Celtis said. "So what's in it for me if I agree?"

Ace grinned. "I thought you'd never ask. You've got two choices. Either take the bounty on Leos and walk out that door right now, or…"

"Or…?" Omega prompted.

"Or you can accept the job, in which case both of you will stand to make double what Leos is worth."

There was a long moment of silence.

"DOUBLE _WHAT_?!" Both of them screamed.

Master Thomas winced, his ears still ringing.

"I take it that's a 'yes', Ace?"

Ace pried one eye open.

"Yeah. Was that really necessary, though?"

Celtis looked a trifle embarrassed. "Aheheh…sorry…"

Ace sighed. "Anyway, getting back to business, you'll be working with four other Hunters on the team, as well as we'll be sending along four teams of normal security personnel."

The screen behind them expanded to show a detailed schematic of the train they would be traveling on.

"The Biometal's been sealed inside a specially made container in an attempt to contain whatever the hell it is it's using to attract Mavericks." A smaller window opened up, showing a large armored metal container with the Legion stamp on the side. "This will be kept in the center of the train, in an armored car specially constructed for this mission." A section of the train flashed a few times to highlight the car in question. "There have also been several turrets outfitted along the train's length for added protection. They're located here…here…here…here…and here." The tip of Thomas' sword pointed out each turret emplacement, the locations lighting up as he touched them. That done, he lowered the sword and brought it down point-first on the ground in front of him, the heavy metal blade giving off a loud clang at the contact.

"I personally oversaw these modifications and hired some of Legion's best technicians to work on this, so you can be guaranteed that they'll be reliable. However…" His thick red eyebrows furrowed as he turned back to Celtis and Omega.

"This, as well as the normal security forces, won't be enough to succeed on its own. For this to work, we needed specialists like yourselves as well."

Omega nodded his agreement. His own personal experience with matters like this had long ago taught him that automated defense systems and ordinary grunts could be only useful to a certain degree. Beyond that, you'd need real professionals to guarantee that the job got done.

"And that's where I come in." Ace interjected. "As Legion's Security director, it's my job to review all of the currently active Hunters and their various mission results. As a result of this, it was a relatively easy matter to come up with a list of names of eligible candidates. Of course, in some cases, the candidates weren't available, or we simply couldn't get in touch with them, so they were scratched. The optimum number of Hunters I recommended for this run was six. In the end, there were only four candidates who were left that were willing to take the job. The others were either unavailable or declined. In other words, you two showed up just in time."

Omega shrugged. "Whatever. So who're the other guys we're supposed to be working with?"

Ace placed his hands back in his pockets as the lights dimmed. Behind him, the schematic of the train disappeared to be replaced by a blank screen.

"The other four are made up of a pair of two-member teams. Here they are now."

"First up at the top of the listings are the two Chosen Ones for the Biometal Model A: Ashe and Grey."

Omega heard Celtis draw a sharp breath in the darkness next to him. On the screen, two images appeared, one a boy, and the other a girl. The boy looked to be about fifteen or sixteen years old, relatively young by Omega's standards and stood a little over feet in height. He had short, spiky gray hair, probably where he'd gotten the name Grey from, Omega decided, and had a thin triangular scar on his right cheek. For a moment, Omega wondered where a kid so young had managed to get scarred like that, then he remembered that he didn't care anyway and continued his appraisal. His outfit was fairly unremarkable, save for two odd looking cables that seemed to be attached to the back of his neck. The only other noticeable thing was the red triangular mark in the center of his forehead, which Omega had discovered to mean that he was a Reploid.

Moving on to the next image, he raised an eyebrow at Ashe's appearance. Like Grey, she too had gray hair, only hers was more of a silvery color, and was pulled back in a long, glossy ponytail. She wore a red bandanna, which kept her bangs up out of her eyes, which were a brilliant green in color, another trait she shared with Grey. Other than an orange long sleeved jacket and a bandolier strapped around her waist, she wore nothing else, save for a black, full body jumpsuit, which, Omega noted approvingly, showed off the curves of her lithe, athletic figure to their best advantage.

Having given the two a moment to inspect the two images, Ace resumed talking.

"Both of them come highly recommended, as their past accomplishments have been, to say the least, remarkable. Single handedly destroying the Ouroboros, as well as its wielder, the ex-Master Albert, along with all of his collective Pseudoroid army, and defeating four rogue Chosen Ones, to name a few. Naturally, I would have preferred to get the other two Chosen Ones, Vent and Aile, but unfortunately, they happen to be on the other side of the world and can't make it in time."

"Uh-huh." Omega said, a hint of skepticism in his voice. "And the other two?"

"They're known only as 'Unit V', and are some of the best clandestine contractors we've ever come across. They're a mobile unit, not based out of Hunter's Camp, and are constantly changing locations, so we were lucky to be able to get them for this job at all. Hardly anyone knows about them, which makes it easier for them to move around. Unfortunately, because of this, they've very pointedly requested that we refrain from keeping any pictures of them stored on file, since someone might be able to get hold of it. As a result, they've got the only copies stored in a secure location of their own, which means I can't tell you very much about them. Just know this, though," his voice turned serious. "These two are pros. And I mean that in the fullest sense of the word. They don't come any more highly ranked than them."

Omega looked speculative. A girl, a kid, two unknowns, one he still wasn't sure about her actual capabilities, and of course, himself, a one-man army.

"This just keeps on getting better and better." He muttered. Then again, for that kind of money, he figured he could live with it.

"Fine." He said at last. "What's the schedule?"

"The train leaves at 10.00 a.m. tomorrow. You've got the rest of the day to stock up on supplies, and anything else you may need. Legion will cover the cost."

"To a limit, of course." He hastily added. "I assume you've got your own ship?"

Omega pointed at Celtis, who nodded mutely.

"Good. I'll expect you there by 9 sharp." With that, he made a gesture and the screen disappeared, the lights returning to normal.

"Any questions?" He asked. When there were none, he nodded.

"Very well. Master Thomas, anything I've left out?"

Thomas shook his head. "No, I believe that's it. You two may go now."

Omega raised an eyebrow at the abrupt dismissal, but said nothing. Celtis nodded, a troubled expression on her face, before she turned and started walking towards the exit, Omega in tow.

As the two executives heard the elevator doors close, Ace heaved a relieved sigh, and sagged a bit, some of the tension easing out of his system.

"So, overall, how'd you think I did?"

Thomas looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Well, as usual, you overdid it on the entrance…"

Ace gave him an irritated look. "You know what I'm talking about, old man."

"That's 'Wise Man' to you, whippersnapper." Thomas grinned. "Actually I don't think that went too badly, all things considered. I mean, it really is a bit of a stretch to simply accept them on the basis of a single S-rank mission, but I think you managed to cover it up well enough by mentioning her long experience in the Hunters. What really interests me though, is that Reploid with her. I've never seen a design like that."

Ace nodded soberly. " I know what you mean. I'll have my people start working on it immediately."

Thomas sighed, suddenly looking old. " I don't quite like this, Ace. It's starting to feel a little too familiar."

Ace's features darkened slightly. He'd noticed that himself.

"I know what you mean, boss. A mysterious Biometal…Using a train as transport…Maverick attacks…God, it's starting to feel like the Model A Incident all over again." He was, of course, referring to the moment when Model A had made its first appearance and chosen its Biomatches, Ashe and Grey. It had occurred under quite similar circumstances to this one, and both of them remembered the havoc that had occurred that time.

"Still, Ace, are you sure about the girl?"

"Definitely." Ace replied, his features hardening. "That unique eye color is unmistakable. She definitely has the Demon's Eye gene."

Thomas gave him a long, searching look.

"Very well then. I'll trust you to deal with it then."

Ace bowed. "Understood, Master Thomas."

Outside Legion HQ…

Omega gave Celtis a curious glance.

"You've been awfully quiet. What gives?"

Celtis started. "Huh? Oh, it's nothing. It's just that, well…we'll be working alongside two people who are almost…legends, in combat. I guess I'm just a bit nervous as to whether or not I'll be able to match up to that level of skill."

"Oh. That's all it was?" Omega looked mildly surprised. "I thought it was something serious." He yawned.

"And that's not?!"

"Nope. Here's a tip: They've been fighting enemies at a much different level from what you're accustomed to. In other words, it's impossible for you to be anywhere on that level."

Celtis looked stung. " Well, excuse me for being lame and all but-"

She was cut off by Omega whacking her on the head.

"Ow! Hey-"

"I wasn't finished." He said calmly. With that, he continued.

"Fortunately for you, you're not supposed to be at that level. Just do your job to the best of your ability and to hell with anybody else. They're not paying you to show off. Just make sure the cargo gets where it's going and forget about the rest. Pushing yourself too much and overdoing it is just an easier way to get killed."

"Plus it'll be more annoying for me, since I need you alive if I want to be able to get any money around here."

Celtis gave him an irritated look.

"Nice to see you care."

Omega shrugged and kept walking. "Whatever, kid. Now, first things first, I need a good mechanic, a weapons dealer, and an information specialist. Know any?"

"Huh?" Celtis asked, caught off guard by the sudden question. "U-um, yeah, but why?"

"Good." Omega said, pleased. "Now then, let's get going. I've got a blank check, and boy do I plan on using it! Now where's that weapons dealer?"

The two of them walked off, Celtis leading the way. Atop a nearby building, the same green clad Reploid watched them go, his eyepiece whirring slightly as it compensated for the distance.

His earpiece crackled.

"C, this is Magnum. Do you still have them?" The Reploid straightened slightly.

"Yes, sir."

"All right. They shouldn't get into too much trouble here in the middle of Legion, so I think you can take it easy for a while. Head back to base."

C knew better than to argue.

"Understood, sir. C out."

An unknown location…

The computer screen blinked to life, beeping to indicate an incoming message. Nearby, a shadowed figure turned towards it. After a few moments reading, he raised an eyebrow.

"So, it looks like they managed to find someone for the last two slots after all. Interesting…" he mused. Looking back at the image data of the Reploid called Saber, his eyes narrowed.

"I wonder…" He glanced across to his right.

Next to the computer, the light gleamed off a familiar looking helmet, its empty T-shaped visor staring back at him. After a few moments, he reached out and picked it up. Standing up, he turned and started walking towards the rack that held the rest of his armor.

"Perhaps this transport mission may turn out to be more interesting than I thought." He looked back at the helmet in his hands.

Just above the visor, in the center of the helmet's forehead, a single crimson V glimmered in the darkness. He stared at it for a moment, and grinned slightly.

"This could turn out to be very interesting indeed."

A/N: Well here it is at long last, the next chapter of Megaman Omega! Sorry for the wait! I'll try to bring the next one out a bit faster, so be patient!


	5. Chapter 4: Making Preparations

**Chapter 4: Making Preparations**

Omega raised an eyebrow as he stared up at the store in front of him. So, it seemed he'd been right in guessing that Vix's Tech was Celtis' main weapons supplier. The store looked exactly the same as it had in the advertisement, minus the models of course. Actually, now that he could see it in person, he realized it was more of a warehouse than a shop.

"Well, here's the weapons shop. Vix and I go back a long way, so she usually gives me a pretty good deal on anything I need."

"Yeah, whatever."Omega grunted, already pushing his way into the warehouse.

"Hey, wait up!"Celtis protested, hurrying after him. "You can't just-oof!"

She was cut off as she ran full force into Omega's back.

"Ow! What are you-"She stopped. "Uh…Omega?"

Omega stared at the room before him, lost in wonder.

The vast metallic floor of the warehouse lay before him. Running across it was a vast array of towering shelves. From where he stood, they appeared to reach almost to the brightly-lit ceiling. The general effect was similar to that of a library, albeit a big, metallic looking one. The objects filling the shelves, though, were far more lethal than the contents of any ordinary library.

Weapons. Hundreds of them, stored neatly on the shelves, hanging from racks on the walls…Everywhere Omega looked, he saw instruments of death. To his left, razor-edged blades glittered in the light from the overhead lamps. Broadswords, greatswords, katanas, beam sabers, lances, battle-axes…Every kind of bladed melee weapon Omega had ever seen seemed to have a representative there. To his right, the dark muzzles of a countless number of guns stared back at him. RPGs, missile launchers, Gatling guns, handguns…Omega started to smile.

"Oh, I like this place." He grinned, rubbing his hands together. A bead of sweat ran down the back of Celtis neck at the look of evil glee on his face. _Ooookay then…_

"Er…Right…I'm just gonna go find Vix. She should be around here somewhere. I'm supposed to pick up something from her anyway, so I'll do that. I'll introduce you afterward, so just try to stay here, all right?"

Omega stared at her for a few moments.

" 'Stay here'."

"Um…yeah…?"

He looked back up at the vast arsenal in front of him, and then back at Celtis.

"Riiiiight…I'm standing in front of a weapons stockpile big enough to level a country and you want me to what?"

She gave up. "Alright, fine. Just don't break anything, okay?"

Omega, of course, was halfway up one of the shelves by the time she had reached the word 'fine.'

Celtis watched him cling to one of them with one hand and rifle through the contents with the other.

'_Why do I get the feeling this is a bad idea?_'

Sighing, she turned and started off on a different route, searching for Vix.

After about ten minutes, she heard female voices. With a grin, she rounded the corner of one of the massive shelves and came face to face with the two speakers.

"Hi guys!"

Both of them looked up.

"Oh, hey Celtis! I knew somebody came in, but I didn't figure it was you." Vix said, surprised

Celtis scratched her head. "Well, yeah…I got back a bit early."

"Cool! So did you find any good pieces of Lost Tech? I've been itching for some more of that to work on since the last set you brought in!" The other girl piped up.

"Err…" Celtis' mind flashed back to the pile of Lost Technology she'd recovered, now comfortably sitting on her apartment floor. She gave her an embarrassed look.

"Uh, actually, I did, but I kinda forgot to bring it." Then she started.

"Hey, Kitara, what are you doing over here anyway?! Aren't you supposed to be working?"

Kitara shrugged. "I'm on break, and there were no interesting repair jobs anyway, so I figured I'd come over and see what Vix was up to."

Celtis and Vix both gave her a knowing look.

"And of course to see if there were any handsome guys over here too, right?"

"H-hey! Vix, that's not fair!" she grumbled. "You always get the better looking guys in here anyway!"

Vix smirked and folded her arms beneath her ample breasts, emphasizing her sizable cleavage.

"Well, when you've got a body like this, you might as well use it to your advantage, right?"

Celtis couldn't help but smile as she watched the two of them banter playfully. Vix and Kitara were two of her oldest friends, going back to even before she had become a Hunter. All three of them had a Hunter's registration, but Celtis was the only one of them who took it seriously. Vix's weapons shop was renowned for having possibly the largest variety of weapons available outside of the military, making it quite popular with the Hunters, while Kitara herself ran what was widely considered to be one of the best machine shops in Legion City. Of course, the fact that both of them were exceptionally good-looking women probably didn't hurt either.

The shortest of the three, Kitara stood at about 5'5". She was wearing her favorite outfit, which consisted of a light jacket, open at the front, with nothing but a bright yellow string bikini top beneath it, revealing her slightly tanned, firmly toned body. She completed the outfit with a tight pair of denim shorts and boots. Her hair was a light yellow color and cut short, ending just above her shoulders.

Vixen on the other hand was the tallest, standing 5'8" tall and almost the complete opposite of Kitara. While the young mechanic had a more slender build, Vixen was more voluptuous, with hourglass curves that could catch the attention of any man in sight. She had drop-dead good looks and knew it too, taking great pleasure in using it to her advantage. As usual, she was wearing a skintight, midriff-baring orange tank top, cut ridiculously low in the front, prominently displaying her size-H cleavage, and a pair of long orange tights. A long, sleek river of glittering red-gold hair cascaded down her back, falling past her waist, down to the back of her thighs.

One thing that really set them apart though, was the modifications they'd had made to themselves. As technology had advanced through the ages since the advent of the Ciel System and its successors, the line between Reploid and human had become blurred to the point of it being almost undistinguishable. Sure, there were still full Reploids, but their lifespan had been considerably shortened from their previous immortality. Likewise for humans, albeit they now lived a lot longer than they used to. What was becoming more and more common were so-called 'implants', integrating organic and inorganic technology in a way that could be used both by humans and Reploids. Two prime examples of this were standing in front of her.

Kitara, while being human, had opted for adding on a long, prehensile feline tail and ears, as well as making a slight alteration to her pupils, which now resembled the slitted ones of a cat. From a distance, it was easy to mistake her for a Neko-type Reploid, instead of an augmented human. Despite this, her combat capabilities were fairly limited, since she preferred to spend most of her time working in her shop. Vixen, however, as her name suggested, had modified herself along the lines of a true vixen, from the furry, pointed ears atop her head, to the thick bushy tail behind her, the same color as her hair. Unlike Kitara, however, Vix had the ability to make her ears and tail disappear and reappear at will, so it was easy for her to appear human, or as a more Kitsune-type Reploid. Thanks to the fact that the Kitsune-type was also designed for combat, Vix was probably the strongest of the three of them.

Their friendly conversation was cut off by a metallic clang from above, followed closely by the increasing sounds of someone cursing.

Moments later, all three of them dove aside as Omega slammed headfirst into the ground in front of them.

"What the heck was that?!" Kitara demanded.

Celtis groaned.

"I forgot about him…"

"Friend of yours, Celtis?" Vix asked, walking over to the motionless Reploid.

"Sort of. He's a hitchhiker I picked up while I was out. I gave him a lift here to Legion."

"A hitchhiker, huh? How come he's still traveling around with you then?"

"Well, uh…he didn't really have anywhere to stay so I'm letting him stay over at my place until he gets one of his own."

"Reeeally…" Kitara looked up from where she was kneeling down next to Omega, a crafty gleam in her eyes. "He's pretty handsome. You're sure it's not for another reason…?"

"Eh?"

Vix leaned over to get a better look.

"Hmmm… you're right. He's quite the looker." She flashed a sultry grin. "Actually I wouldn't blame you, Celtis. I wouldn't mind sharing a bed with him myself…"

Celtis went bright red as she finally caught on.

"W-w-w-w-what?! No-no way! It's nothing like that!!"

This is probably a good time to mention that Vix was also an utterly shameless nymphomaniac. Celtis and Kitara had both long since given up on trying to cure her of it after several weeks of persuasion hadn't worked. Of course, the fact that Celtis had caught Kitara asking Vix to send any other handsome guys over to her probably didn't help all that much.

Vix laughed and turned back to Omega.

"Hey, look at this scar! Wonder what caused it…" She moved in closer to take a better look.

Of course, it would be right about now that Omega would choose to wake up. He opened his eyes to find Vix leaning over him, her chest directly above his face. He stared.

"Well, I can honestly say I've woken up to worse sights." He said finally. Vix grinned.

"Well, at least he's honest." With that, she straightened back up. Omega gave a grunt and leapt back to his feet.

"Dammit." He grimaced, rubbing his head. "I must've been higher up than I thought."

Suddenly he became aware of an insistent poking. Annoyed, he turned, only to find Kitara inches away from him, poking several spots on the side of his head.

"Do you mind?" He gave her an irritated look. Kitara started and flushed.

"Um…er…sorry." _A fall from that height, and there's hardly any external damage…Definitely a Reploid, and a tough one at that…_

Omega shook his hair out of his face and dusted himself off. Straightening his jacket, he turned back to the three of them.

"OK, which one of you is Vix?"

"That would be me." Vix replied sweetly. Omega raised an eyebrow at her fox ears and tail. If he was surprised, though, he said nothing.

"Yeah, you may want to take a look up there. Those shelves of yours have some lousy handholds." He held up a twisted piece of metal. "One of them broke when I grabbed it."

"Ummm…Actually, that's a support for one of the shelves…" Vix said.

As if on cue, there was a creaking noise and a faint crash as part of the top shelf gave way and caved in on the one below it. Omega stared up at it, then looked back down at the piece in his hand.

"Huh. Oh well." He shrugged, tossing it over his shoulder.

Celtis groaned. "You do know there was a ladder right over there, don't you?"

Omega made a dismissive gesture. "Too much trouble to move that around. It's a lot easier to just climb it myself."

Celtis covered her eyes with one hand and sighed.

"Vix, Kitara, meet Saber. Saber, meet Kitara and Vix."

Omega made a dramatic bow. "It's a pleasure to meet you lovely ladies. I'm afraid the descriptions I'd heard of you were not nearly enough to do your beauty justice."

"I'm glad to hear that!" Vix giggled. Kitara scratched the back of her head, slightly embarrassed by the compliment. A bead of sweat ran down the back of Celtis neck.

'_This guy…He never quits, does he…?_'

After a few more minutes of flirting with the two of them, Omega caught the glare Celtis shot him. Rolling his eyes, he moved on to the purpose of their visit, intentionally leaving out classified information, like the real identity of the Raiders, and the existence of the eighth Biometal.

"So, she and I teamed up and took out the stray Raiders (Omega almost snorted at the outright lie.) collected the reward, and then both of us got another mission for tomorrow. I figured I'd look around and see if there was anything worth spending my paycheck on."

Vix raised an eyebrow and looked across at Celtis.

" Both of you on the same mission? My Celtis, you're certainly moving fast on this one."

"Like I said, it's nothing like that! He just happened to end up on the same mission I did, that's all!" Celtis said, embarrassed.

"Sure you did." Vix replied. She turned back to Omega.

"Well, you've certainly come to the right place, then!"She smiled. "I'm sure I can find something to…_satisfy_ you, sir…" She gave him a sultry look from beneath her lowered eyelashes.

Behind her back, Celtis and Kitara exchanged a look that said plainly, _Here she goes again_.

"Glad to hear it." Omega returned the look with a seductive grin of his own that made both Celtis and Kitara blush. _You're not the only one who can play that game, foxgirl…_

Before the conversation could continue any further, Celtis hastily interrupted it.

"Oh yeah, Vix, did you get any new shipments yet?"

Vix blinked, snapping back to reality.

"Hm? Wha…? Oh, uh right, yeah, actually, a new one came in this morning." _Mmmm, he really is a looker…_

"Seriously? Great! Well, come on then! I wanna check it out!"

Vix sighed as Celtis and Kitara pushed her off towards the back of the warehouse.

"Aw, come on, Celtis! You can't keep him all to yourself, you know!"

Celtis rolled her eyes. "Like I'd want to. Believe me, it's for your own good." She looked over her shoulder.

"Saber, come on!"

Omega was looking in the other direction, a strange look on his face. Then he shook himself.

"Hm…? Oh, uh yeah, sure, I'll catch up in a minute. I just need to pick up a couple of the weapons I wanted." With that he started off, heading back the other way.

"Uh…Okay." Celtis said. She and Kitara exchanged a glance, then shrugged.

Two aisles away, Omega stopped at the weapons cache he'd started putting together, his eyes flickering from side to side. He knew he'd sensed…actually, he didn't know what he'd sensed, but he knew there was something here.

He'd just begun to pick up the weapons when a sudden flash of color to his right caught his attention. A long, sleek red-gold fox tail emerged from around the corner of one of the shelves, the tip crooked slightly, as if to beckon him.

He raised an eyebrow as he got back to his feet.

"Well, you certainly move fast, don't you?" He said dryly, turning the corner to come face to face with Vix. She looked up at him, a coy smile playing across her features as she leaned against the shelf.

"Hmmm…Well, only if I think it'll be worth my time…"

Omega brought his arm up, resting it against the wall next to her head, and leaned closer, a teasing smile on his face

"So…am I worth it…?"

Vix's lips parted as she ran her tongue over them.

"I don't know…Maybe you should show me…" She purred, pressing her body up against his. Omega smirked.

"Maybe I should…" He leaned down and-

Stopped, a flicker of surprise appearing briefly in his eyes. Then he gave an amused smile. Vix looked up at him, wondering why he'd stopped.

"However…" Omega said, his mouth right by her ear. " As much as we're both enjoying this, I think I'd much prefer it if we continued this conversation with the real you, and not with a shadow clone…"

Vix's eyes widened in surprise. After a few moments of stunned silence, she smiled.

"I'm impressed you saw through it. This clone is as real as I am. Most people can't tell the difference."

"I'm not 'most people', babe." Omega said cockily. His hand brushed her shoulder as he shifted to cup her chin, tilting her face up towards him.

"So I see… Well, then, I guess we'll have to continue this later, then, won't we?"

Omega's reply was a grin that sent a delightful shiver through her body.

"Well, you'll just have to see, won't you?"

Suddenly, he was staring at a blank wall. There was no sign of Vix, save for a single strand of loose red-gold hair, and the fading sound of her teasing laughter. He gave a whistle.

"That de-summon was pretty fast."

The God of Destruction rested a hand on his hip as he turned his gaze to the front of the warehouse. It had been almost a century since anyone had been able to trap him in an illusion of that quality, and he relished the challenge.

"Ah…Brings back the memories…" he sighed. "Last time this happened was back when I was trying to score with Cubit Foxtar." He winced slightly as he remembered many of the disastrous results. As far as he could recall, there had been four possible outcomes:

1) She slapped him.

2) She'd get Tretista Kelverian to chase him around trying to step on him.

3) She set him on fire, and _then_ slapped him.

4) All of the above.

Which had about as much effect on Omega as trying to kill a rock. Of course, there had been that one time where Schilt had privately threatened to shish-kebab him if he 'ever dared to lay a hand on Lady Foxtar's body.' Personally, Omega had always wondered if there was something going on between those two…

A frown crossed his face as a thought occurred to him. All of the other Hachishinkan had fallen to Zero. Oddly enough, he felt a slight tinge of regret at the memory of their losses. Sure, after Weil had made his upgrades and reprogrammed them to serve him instead of Neo Arcadia's Master X, they'd been a bit, well, unbalanced, but they'd been good comrades in the fight against Zero. He'd had a chance to be resurrected now, decades later, but as for them…

He sighed. It seemed that they'd used up their extra lives under Weil's cruel reign. Now, here he was, alone in a time where he and those who had fought the Red Demon had been all but forgotten. He listened to the voices of Celtis, Vix and Kitara as they laughed at some joke which he didn't hear, bringing back memories of parties with his old drinking buddy Blazin' Flizard, annoying the uptight Hellbat Schilt and of course getting into all kinds of other trouble.

After a few moments, he tilted his head back and stared up at the ceiling, a rueful smile playing across his features. Here he was, one of the world's most reckless Mavericks, actually reminiscing.

"Damn, all those years in cold sleep must have really messed me up." He smirked, amused at himself. He held a hand up in front of his face and clenched it into a fist.

"If this world has forgotten me, or any of my old comrades…" His features darkened, a terrible smile appearing on his face.

"Then perhaps it's time to remind them."

He paused.

"First things first though. I am SO getting that foxgirl's number!"

There was another pause.

"And maybe the catgirl too, while I'm at it…"

Celtis stared up at the pile of crates in front of her a gleeful look on her face.

"So, this is all of it?"

Vix sighed.

"Yep. The shipment was a lot bigger than I thought it would be, so I had it stored in here for now."

Celtis grinned and rubbed her hands together, looking not entirely unlike Omega.

"Well, let's see what we've got!" With that, she pried off the lid of the first crate and started rummaging around inside.

Suddenly, there were the sound of footsteps behind them, accompanied by a few clanking sounds. All three turned to see Omega walking towards them, carrying a huge load of weapons and grinning like a kid on Christmas morning.

He set them down on a nearby counter with a resounding clatter and stepped back, dusting his hands.

"Well, that should just about do it for now." He smirked.

Celtis stared. "For now? There's enough weapons there to take on an army!

"That's the plan, yeah." Omega said nonchalantly. " I haven't quite figured out how I'm gonna carry it all, but what the hell, that never stopped me before, so I doubt it'll matter now."

Celtis merely shook her head in resignation.

"You really are one reckless numbskull, you know that?"

Omega gave her a cocky grin.

"Well, it works, doesn't it? So why should I be anything else?"

Vix stifled a smile behind her hand.

"Ah, actually, I think I can probably make it a bit easier for you."

Omega blinked, turning to face Kitara in surprise.

"Huh?"

Vix snapped her fingers as she caught on.

"Hey, that's right! We can always do that!"

Omega's head swiveled from one to the other in bewilderment.

"Um, what? Would one of you mind tellin' me what the hell 'that' is? 'Cause I have absolutely no idea what you two are talking about."

Kitara blinked, surprised.

"You mean you don't know?"

"Uh…let's just say I've been out of touch for a while and leave it at that." Omega said evasively.

Kitara glanced over at Celtis, who shrugged.

"Well, I guess you wouldn't really have heard about it, since it was only developed a few months after the Ouroboros Incident." Kitara sighed, then launched into the explanation of something which, to Omega anyway, sounded like the greatest discovery he'd ever heard of since the day he'd figured out how to rip out an opponent's spine and then beat them to death with it.

In the days of Neo Arcadia, transervers had been tricky, temperamental things, requiring extreme care when operating, otherwise the subject being transferred could quite likely end up as…All right, let's just skip the details and say they ended up very, very dead, and leave it at that. You had to be a special kind of crazy to risk taking a transerver using incomplete destination data.

Or you could just be a lucky S.O.B. like Zero, who somehow managed to pull off crap like that every other day.

Anyway, from what Omega was hearing now, in the century he'd been asleep, transerver tech had come a hell of a long way since then. We're talking from a horse-drawn carriage to a Lamborghini Murcielago kind of long way. Apparently, someone had managed to find a way to create a roaming transerver signal. This might not sound like much, but what it meant was that it was now possible to have a transerver destination signal that could automatically adjust its own coordinates depending on the location it was currently in. In other words, if you were to place a transerver with this technology on a moving target, like, say, a freight train in motion, it would now be possible to transfer directly to that transerver, regardless of how fast or slow the train was moving.

Of course, if the train was moving too fast, once you'd finished transferring in and were once again subject to the laws of physics, you'd promptly be blasted clear off the train by the wind, and that kind of thing tends to ruin your day. This is of secondary importance to the researchers, whose main concern is that their crazy idea worked, and will, probably not bother any further about the test subject, other than to send a crew to go scrape him off the tracks.

Anyway…

By itself, this innovation was truly remarkable. However, when combined with further advancements in the field of miniaturization, as well as the advent of 'transfer tags'… Well, let's just say all hell broke loose in the R&D department.

A 'transfer tag' was basically a small, remote device that generated a roaming transfer signal. However, these signals were not used to generate destination data for a transerver circuit. Instead, they were used to generate source data. This means, basically that by setting up another, specialized transerver, it was possible for the transerver to pick up the signal from the tag and, on command, immediately transfer it to the server's location. By setting up a beacon at the tag's original location, it also became possible to immediately transfer it back. Alone, this may seem a bit pointless. After all, the tag is nothing more than a tiny, insignificant piece of hardware, so why would you consider going through all that trouble just to transfer that back and forth?

The answer came when a brilliant young scientist by the name of Alexander discovered that by slaving the tag into a normal microprocessor, the kind that could be found in common, everyday appliances and hardware, it was possible for the tag to access the microprocessor-stored dimensions of the item to which it was attached. Do you get where I'm going with this? No? Well, I'll simplify it a bit. Simply by placing a transfer tag onto a device and connecting it to a microprocessor in the device, it became possible for the tag to not only give off a signal of the tag's location, but also the physical data of the object to which it was attached.

In other words, it became possible to transfer tagged objects from anywhere in the world to anywhere in the world, and then back again, to a transerver that could now be about the size of a human hand, and for a ridiculously low energy cost.

Why was this possibly the greatest thing Omega had ever come across? Basically meant that if he tagged a whole bunch of weapons, and then got one of those little portable servers, he could pretty much access any of those weapons at any time, anywhere and have it instantly teleported to him.

If you thought he was destructive before, you should see what he could do with an unlimited number of weapons at his command.

Hellooo, God of Destruction, goodbye whole freakin' planet.

"And that's about it, really." Kitara finished. "We've got a few customers who use that service, but since it's a bit expensive not many people can afford it."

Vix nodded.

"Kitara over here sets up the mini-server, and I store the tagged weapons. Then, once you make the signal, the weapon you want is immediately sent over to you. It's completely automatic! Actually, you usually have to go over to her place for that, but since she's here now, you can get it set up right away."

Omega was silent for a long time.

"No limit on the size?"

"Well, not really." Vix said, after a few moments thought. "Of course, mostly it'll depend on the energy supply. The bigger the weapon, the more energy you'll need to use."

Omega stared at them for several minutes.

"I'll be right back." With that, he promptly turned and disappeared back into the maze of shelves, while the three of them exchanged confused looks.

Outside…

A few moments later, a crimson armored Reploid stepped out the front door of Vix's Tech. Carefully shutting the door behind him, he turned around and punched the air with both hands.

"WOOOHOOOO!!! I FREAKING LOVE THIS PLACE!! LOOK OUT, WORLD, 'CAUSE I AM _BACK_, BABY!"

His brief moment of exultation over and done with, Omega disappeared back inside the warehouse, already cackling with evil glee.

A short distance away, the mysterious Agent C stood with a bewildered look on his face. He watched as the door closed behind Omega.

'_Isn't that a weapons shop…? I wonder if I should report this…_' he thought, a bead of sweat running down the back of his neck. After a few moments, he shook his head slightly.

"No, it's probably nothing…" he said aloud. With that in mind, he resumed walking, continuing on towards his favorite coffee shop, where he was planning to spend his time off duty.

Several minutes after Omega's disappearance, they heard him returning. Accompanying his footsteps came the clinking sound of metal on metal.

A lot of it.

When he finally came into view, Celtis, Vix and Kitara's jaws all dropped at the veritable mountain of weaponry he was carrying. With a grin, he set it on the floor with a tremendous crash and looked back up at them, a devilish glint in his eyes.

"I'll take it."

Fifteen minutes later, after getting Vix to check the Legion sanctioned account he'd gotten from Ace, and finding that it did indeed have more than enough EC to cover the cost of the weapons, plus the unbelievably expensive Weapon Transfer system, Omega was listening to Kitara explaining the intricacies of the mini-server. After a few more minutes of being bored out of his skull, he finally cut her off.

"Okay, okay, fine. Can you hook these up to a Reploid's powercore?"

"Huh?" The bluntness of the question caught her by surprise. "Um, well, yes, but normally most people ask for it to be set up on an external power source, since the energy drain will come directly from the Reploid, reducing its total energy any time it's used."

"Do it. I'll take two of 'em." Omega said, without hesitating.

"What?! Two of them?! But, the energy-"

"You leave the energy to me." Omega said darkly, a grim smile crossing his face. A couple decades of waging war on pretty much everything in existence had allowed his body to adapt to the stage where the output of his main power reactor was eons ahead of anything else. Plus, he figured that if it could supply enough power to move around that big-ass suit of armor he'd been wearing when he'd been under Weil's control, it could handle a few measly transervers.

Kitara hesitated for a few moments.

"Well…Okay." She turned to Vix. "Vix, do you have any of the servers left?"

Vix rolled her eyes. "I've got half a dozen of 'em just lying around. It's not like they sell all that well, being that expensive and all."

Omega took off his gauntlets and tossed them on the table.

"Put one in the palm of each one of those."

Kitara started. "What?!"

Omega smiled at her. "Relax, I know what I'm doing."

Kitara looked at him for a few moments, unsure of herself, before she realized she was staring, and hastily looked back at the gauntlets.

"Um, okay…"

With that, she pulled a screwdriver from her belt and set to work on one of the servers. A little further away, Vix was helping Celtis dig through the pile of newly arrived merchandise.

"Hey, what's this?" Celtis suddenly asked.

"Hm?" Vix put down the Anti-Tank Rocket launcher she'd been admiring, and came over. Celtis pointed to a gap in the piled weapons, where a glint of scarlet had caught her eye. Vix blinked in surprise.

"Actually…I'm not sure."

Celtis reached down and rifled around until she managed to get a grip on the mysterious object.

Pulling it out, she gasped in surprise. In her hand, she held one of the most amazing handguns she'd ever seen. At 36 cm long, it was also one of the biggest she'd ever seen. For a moment though, its weight seemed to change, heavy one minute, and then light as a feather the next. It was a dark red color, so dark that it was almost blood red crimson, with a single jet black horizontal stripe running along the length of it, just below the barrel. Above the stripe glinted an elaborate filigreed silver design, the lights dancing on it almost with a life of their own.

"Whooooaaaa…" Celtis breathed.

Vix stared in utter amazement. In all her years as a weapons supplier, she had never seen a weapon like that. Hell, come to think of it…

"I'm pretty sure I didn't order that…" Vix said, a troubled look crossing her face. She moved over to Celtis.

"Hey, Celtis, let me take a look at that."

Celtis didn't move. Vix hesitated.

"Umm…Celtis?"

Celtis turned and Vix involuntarily took a step back. The look in Celtis' eyes was anything but human, her violet irises almost glowing, red glints of light dancing around their edges.

Then as quickly as that, they returned to normal.

"Hm? Did you say something, Vix?" Celtis said brightly.

Vix swallowed. "Er…Your eyes, um…That…N-never mind…" she said finally.

"?" Celtis blinked. Then, suddenly, she jumped and clutched at her hand, dropping the gun.

"OW! That hurt!" She looked down at the tip of her index finger, a tiny spot of blood already welling up.

"Must have caught on something." Celtis decided. Unseen by either of them, a hidden needle in the trigger slid back into its concealed recess.

In the other room, Omega suddenly staggered sideways, like he'd been hit by a truck. A tremendous surge raced through his senses, temporarily dissolving his view into red tinged static. Then, almost a second later, it stopped, leaving Omega standing with both hands clamped firmly on the edge of the table, hard enough to dent the stainless steel. He looked up to find Kitara staring at him in shock.

"A-are you alright?"

Omega forced a smile onto his face.

"Yeah sure, I'm fine. I just…lost my footing for a minute there…"

"Um…But you were standing still…"

"Lost. My. Footing." Omega ground out.

"…All right…if you say so…" Kitara said, a slightly suspicious look crossing her face before she bent back over the gauntlets.

That out of the way, Omega snapped his head around in the direction of the surge.

'_I'd recognize that wavelength anywhere…!'_ He thought, shaken. '_But why is one of those things here now?! They should have all been scrapped back during the Elf Wars!!_'

Then, as if to mock him, Celtis and Vix came walking out of the storage room, with that…thing.

Omega's jaw dropped at the sight of the gun Celtis was carrying. So he had been right after all! Even after something close to 200 years, one of those damned weapons had actually survived in reasonable, no, make that superb condition.

Celtis caught his stunned look and held her new weapon up.

"I know, it's nice, isn't it? You're getting your transervers, so I figured I'd get something special of my own!"

Omega half opened his mouth to protest, and then slammed it shut. Sure, he could protest or something and say that the gun was more dangerous than it looked, but then how could he explain knowing about its secrets? Oh, gee, guys,well I guess it's probably because I'm about 200 years old and those things were made by the same sonuvabitch who created me…

No, that probably wouldn't go over too well. Best to just leave it as is. And anyway, it wouldn't kill the girl, would it? Besides, who knew? The power in that gun might be just enough to actually make her remotely useful in a fight.

"And…There! I'm done!" Kitara announced, straightening up.

Omega picked up his two gauntlets and inspected them. There was now a circular disc mounted in the palm of each one, with a faintly pulsing blue center and a gold colored border running around them. As he slid both gauntlets on and locked them into place, the blue glow suddenly strengthened, glowing brightly. Omega nodded approvingly.

"Nice." He paused for a minute. "Didn't they come in another color?"

"Uh…no?"

Omega sighed, "Well, I guess it'll do for now."

He held out one of them, palm upward and paused. After a few seconds, the transerver flashed blue, an oversized rocket launcher materializing in his hand. After another moment, he willed it to disappear, which it promptly did. Omega couldn't stop himself from grinning.

"Oh, I'm going to enjoy this…"

"Er…ooookayy then…" Celtis said, unnerved by the demonic look on Omega's face. Then she caught sight of the time.

"Good grief, it's that late already?"

Vix nodded.

"I was going to wait until you two left and then close up for the night. Speaking of which…" she shot Kitara a pointed look.

"I think somebody here's got their own shop to worry about, right Kitara?"

"Aheheh…Yeeeahh, I should probably go and do something about that…"Kitara laughed in embarrassment. "Okay, Celtis, I guess I'll be heading out now. Be careful on your mission tomorrow! And you too, Mister Saber!"

Celtis nodded. "Don't worry, I will be."

Omega gave her a thumbs-up, grinning. "I don't need to be careful. That's the other bastard's problem."

Kitara giggled at that. "All right, but when you come back, both of you have to stop by my shop! After all, you spent most of your time today here at Vix's so I don't see why she should have all the fun!"

"All right!" Celtis said cheerfully. Omega smirked, and immediately switched on the charm again.

"For a beauty such as yourself, of course!" He smiled, giving her an enticing wink which sent a warm tingle down her spine. Blushing, she turned and headed towards the door , giving them a final wave before she disappeared outside. Omega caught the look Celtis was giving him, and shrugged.

"What?"

Vix simply laughed.

"Quite the charmer, aren't you?" she commented. Omega turned his attention to her and gave her a suave grin.

"So the ladies keep telling me. Who am I to disagree with their obviously qualified opinion?"

"Who, indeed…?" Vix murmured, leaning forward onto the counter, her arms folded beneath her. Omega merely folded his arms and gave her an enigmatic smile, his eyes never leaving hers, despite the ample cleavage her position was shamelessly revealing.

"I guess you'll just have to find out, won't you?" he smirked. Vix started, realizing he'd just thrown her own words from their earlier, ah…'conversation' right back at her.

'_Touche._' She thought, amused. "I guess so."

Celtis groaned, realizing where this was heading.

"Time to go, Saber." She growled, grabbing the back of his jacket and stomping off towards the door.

"I'll see you around, Vix!" she called.

Vix waved, and blew Omega a kiss.

"I'll be looking forward to our next conversation, Saber!"

Omega, who by this time had gotten Celtis to let go of him, grinned and waved back.

"Likewise, babe." As the door closed, he shot her a wink.

After they'd left, Vix leaned back and heaved a sigh.

"So close." She murmured. "Oh well, I guess I'll just wait until next time."

Saber had caught her by surprise, to tell the truth. She hadn't yet met a man who could not only hold himself in check from her advances, but also counter them with some of her own. And she had to admit, he was damned good at it too. She hadn't been this turned on in ages.

Just then, a peculiar sensation caught her attention.

"What the…" She delved her fingers into her cleavage and drew them back out again after a moment. Held between two of her fingers was a small folded piece of paper.

Unfolding it, she read out the message.

'_I'll be in touch._' Next to that was a comm. sequence.

There was no name written on it, but Vix didn't need to guess. An admiring smile crossed her features as she turned the paper over in her hands. Now that she looked at it, it was folded exactly the same as the message she herself had slipped in his jacket. Not only had he figured that out, but he'd also been daring enough to use her own trick in return!

"That cocky devil…"

Kitara closed the door of her apartment and stretched. It had been an interesting day, that was for sure. That Saber guy was entirely unlike any other Reploid she'd ever come across, that was for sure. Not only that, but he was drop-dead handsome too…

She blushed at the thought. 'Ooookay then. Maybe I've been working too hard…'

She shrugged off the jacket, planning to hit the showers. As she was loosening her bikini top, however, a small white object fell to the floor.

"Huh?" She blinked. Bending down, she picked it up. To her surprise, it turned out to be a small folded piece of paper.

"What's this…?" she wondered.

Unfolding it, she read the message.

After a few seconds, she went bright red in the face.

"Wha…?! Wh-wh-when did he…?!"

Omega read the comm. sequence off of the paper he'd felt Vix slip into his jacket, input it into his already sizable list of girl's numbers and promptly tossed it into the nearest bin. He didn't need the paper version now, did he? He had to admit, though, it had been a pretty smooth job. If he hadn't been as good as he was, he might have missed it. As it was, he'd picked up on it almost immediately, managed to read it, and then returned the favor.

As an afterthought, he'd slipped one into Kitara's bikini too. After all, it never hurt to cover all the bases, now did it?

He glanced across at Celtis, who was admiring her new weapon as they walked towards her apartment.

"Hey. Green-hair."

Celtis gave him an irritated look. "I have a name, you know. It's Celtis."

Omega acted like he hadn't heard. "Yeah, fine. Anyway, that gun…"

Celtis blinked. "Yeah, what about it?"

"Um…Well…Look, just be careful how you use that, alright?"

Celtis stopped, now thoroughly surprised, and a little unnerved at his sudden nervousness.

"Huh?"

"…Never mind." Omega said finally. '_She's human, right? It's not like it'll have any serious effect on her…_'

He shook himself back out of his dark mood, and smirked.

"After all, the recoil from a gun that big'll probably knock someone your size flat on your ass!"

Celtis colored in indignation and embarrassment.

"Why, you…"

After a few more moments of Omega laughingly dodging her punches, he finally brought it to an end by flicking her on the forehead.

"Ow!"

"Okay, okay, that's enough of that. I figure you've got a fairly good chance of making it home without getting mugged, so I'll be off now."

Celtis blinked, surprised.

"Off? To where?"

Omega grinned. "Where else, my dear? There's a lovely young blonde beauty waiting for me up at the Tarantallera Apartments, and I can't just leave her waiting there, can I?"

Celtis groaned and covered her eyes.

"You are utterly hopeless, you know that?"

"A lot of other women would probably have a different opinion, but hey, suit yourself." Omega turned and walked away, grinning.

"Later!"

Celtis stared at his retreating back for a few more moments, and then shook her head in despair.

"I give up." She sighed and started walking towards the lights of Hunter's Camp.

As she cleared the gate, a thought struck her.

"I know!" Her eyes lit up. "He doesn't have a key, so I'll just lock him out for the night! A night of sleeping in the corridor outside should cool him off!"

She gave an evil grin as she headed off towards her apartment block.

In an alley not far from Vix's Tech, a com-link crackled into life.

"REPORTING."

"I take it the mission was successful?"

"CONFIRMED."

"Very well, then. That is all for now."

With that, the link went dead. A figure shifted in the shadows as a car drove past, the lights from its headlights temporarily brightening the alley.

For a moment, if someone was watching, they would have caught a glimpse of a purple clad figure, a red scarf wrapped around its neck, the tattered ends of it rustling in the sudden wind. The face was entirely obscured by the shadows cast by the large, triangular helmet. A red glow from the pair of eyes under the helmet was the only indication that there was even a face there at all.

Suddenly, it whirled. All of its senses on edge, the figure scanned the darkened recesses of the alley behind it, searching for whatever it was that had drawn its attention.

After a full ten minutes, it finally decided that it was probably just the dying echoes of the wind from the car's passage. With a blinding turn of speed, it leapt up the wall and disappeared onto the roof above.

Five minutes later, its head popped back over the edge. Not having caught anyone and thoroughly assuring itself that it had not been seen, it turned and disappeared, its bright red scarf trailing in the breeze.

After a few more minutes, something shifted in the alley, and a familiar figure stepped out from where it had been leaning against the wall. A hand reached up and switched back on the eyepiece that was mounted on the left side of its face, the red light glowing back to life.

Agent C. let out a long breath.

"You're not as good as you think you are, Chosen of Shadow." He said quietly. Turning, he looked back towards Vix's Tech.

Reaching up, he activated his communicator.

"Fenix here. Go ahead, C."

"Commander, we may have a problem."

CLIFFHANGER!!...I think.

Anyway, all hell breaks loose next chapter, so get ready!

DarkShift Out!


	6. Chapter 5: Meeting of the Titans

Chapter 4: Meeting of the Titans

The next morning...

Omega heaved an irritated sigh as he kicked aside more of the debris scattered all over Celtis' apartment. Finding a half empty can of beer on the table, he swiped it and took a long drink. It had been a hell of a night, that was for sure. Ms Tara Redmont had been quite a bit raunchier than he'd expected. Still, he thought, rotating his neck, there was nothing like a good physical 'workout' for getting all of the kinks out of your system.

After their 'date' had finished, Omega had left her asleep in her apartment and had headed back to Hunter's Camp to meet up with Celtis, only to discover that the sly minx had locked him out! Well, there were other ways to get into a room other than via the door, none of which inconvenienced a man known as ' the God of Destruction'. So after the inevitable dust and noise had died down, here he was. And of course, there was not a sign of Celtis anywhere, and it was already a quarter to eight. Normally, you'd think it'd be Omega who'd need waking up, but, firstly, he didn't need to sleep at all, except as a way to pass the time, and secondly, there was a ridiculous amount of cash on the line. No way was he gonna risk missing out on that!

His super-acute hearing detected the sounds of soft breathing coming from the next room, so he figured she was still sleeping. Following the sound of her breathing, he pushed open the door and walked into the next room.

Five minutes later, he walked out just as quickly, one hand pressed to his nose. Pulling the door shut, he tilted his head back and breathed evenly for a few moments until the flow of blood stopped. It was a constant source of annoyance to Omega that despite the fact that he was James Bond's rival when it came to women, this kind of thing still happened to him at the sight of scantily clad beauties like the one in the next room.

"Easy, boy." He muttered. "She ain't naked, but damn near it."

Once he was fairly certain his nosebleed had stopped, he lowered his head, shook it a couple times in irritation and went back through the door. Even despite that, the sight of Celtis' sleeping form was still enough to make him stare.

Celtis was lying on her back, one long, shapely leg drawn up slightly, while the other one was stretched out, angled slightly away from her body. Her head was tilted towards her right shoulder, her cheek resting on the rumpled white sheets. A calm, almost serene expression graced her delicate features as she slept, a stark contrast to her normal look. She wore a loose white vest (which, in Omega's opinion, looked like it was small enough to be worn comfortably by a four-year old.) over her upper body. Sometime during the night it had ridden up, so now it barely even covered the upper parts of her breasts. Not high enough, though, Omega thought ruefully, other than to prove to him that she didn't wear a bra while she was asleep. Otherwise, she was completely naked, except for a tiny pair of lacy white panties. Her long dark green hair was unrestrained and flowed loosely down her neck and over her shoulders, forming a glossy green river as it continued on over the edge of the bed.

Omega remained motionless for a few more moments, simply admiring the view. Then Celtis stirred slightly, and he instinctively dove towards the door.

She gave a self-satisfied smile in her sleep.

"That'll...teach him to go flirting around all night...Hmph..."

Omega peered cautiously back around the door. Apparently she was just talking in her sleep...

" 'That'll teach...' Waait a minute..." An outraged look crossing Omega's face as the meaning of her words hit him. Being locked out last night might not have been an accident after all...

"Oh, so we're trying to get even now, are we?" he muttered as he stomped back into the kitchen. After a few moments, he found what he was looking for. After a quick look to make sure she was still asleep, he snuck back into Celtis' room. After a few moments, a low ticking noise could be heard, followed by the sound of running water.

His work done, Omega stepped back, folded his arms with a satisfied smile, and waited for the fireworks to start.

Now, a little known fact about egg-timers is that when one goes off, not only does it make a hellish racket ringing, but the ringing of the bell inside it also causes the whole thing to vibrate. So when the timer Omega had slipped down the front of Celtis' vest went off, the results were, to say the least, spectacular.

Celtis shot almost two feet straight up into the air, leaving the mattress with a shriek that could have cracked glass as she frantically clawed at the front of her vest. Flinging the timer aside, she landed on the edge of the bed, and had time for one panicked yelp before she slid off of it and crashed to floor, one flailing hand banging the bedside table in the process. No sooner had she hit the ground, than the bucket of water that Omega had carefully placed on the same table overbalanced and landed on her head, upending its ice cold contents all over her. The shriek that followed that particular disaster really did crack a glass in the next room.

Now thoroughly pissed off, Celtis yanked the bucket off her head, only to stop dead as she was confronted with a pair of dark crimson-colored armored boots. She followed them all the way up, to find one ticked-off God of Destruction grinning wickedly down at her.

"Morning." He smirked. "Sleep well?"

To Omega's credit, though, nobody would have expected the disheveled girl to have been able to leap three feet straight up and grab them by the throat.

Several minutes of furious melee brawling followed, trashing most of the room.

Omega, laughing until tears came to his eyes, finally managed to pin her arms and legs to the ground, ending it.

"HAHAHAHA! Oh my God, that was frickin' hilarious! Hahahaha! Oh, jeezus, hahaha, you should have seen your face! Hahaha!" He shook with repressed mirth as he tried to get it back under control.

Celtis, however, was less amused.

"You sonuva-WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?!"

Omega smirked as he brought his attention back to her.

"Well, let's just consider it payback for trying to lock me out last night."

Celtis flushed.

"What?! Um, I, uh, I did?" she lied, frantically. Omega grinned at the sight of her red cheeks, further confirming his suspicions.

"Yes, you did. On a completely unrelated note, did you know you talk in your sleep?"

Celtis was taken aback.

"I what?" Then she caught the glint in his eye. "Why, you-! How long have you been here?!"

"Long enough to know that you really need to wear more clothes at night." Omega grinned.

"Huh? More..." Then Celtis looked down at her body and the now-dripping wet outfit that she'd worn to bed, and promptly went bright red in the face.

"Y-you worthless-!"

Moments later, Omega found himself being kicked head over heels out the bedroom door, to land headfirst in the debris of the living room. The door to Celtis room slammed shut behind him, hard enough to rattle his teeth. With a grunt, he picked himself back up and shook his head to clear it.

"Man." He muttered. "Some people just can't take a joke..."

Moments later, the door opened again. Omega turned, only to get smashed directly in the face by the egg timer with enough to force to knock him clean off his feet. He flipped once in the air and landed on his face with another crash.

"AND STAY OUT THERE!!"Celtis yelled.

Omega sighed and picked himself up again. Then a thought struck him. Calling up a certain folder, he opened it to reveal the still pictures he'd taken of Celtis while she was asleep. A wicked grin crossed his face.

"Well, if push comes to shove, there's always blackmail as an option..."

* * *

Twenty minutes later, an irate Celtis stomped through the lobby, Omega not far behind. So it wasn't very surprising that she didn't see him make a stop at the receptionist's desk.

Omega walked out a few moments later, a cylindrical drawstring bag slung over one shoulder. He patted it reassuringly and smiled to himself. His late-night order had come through in time after all. Celtis gave him a suspicious look as he caught up.

"What's that?"

Omega gave her a mysterious smile.

"Oh, you'll see."

* * *

Omega pried open one eye as the light from the transfer disappeared. He'd never quite liked transfers, since the process left far too many things in the control of other people, something he'd learned to despise after Weil.

Next to him, Celtis stretched and looked around. They were standing on a transfer pad in the center of a small room, with a single door ahead of them. Next to the door was a single operator's console, manned by one operator, a young brown haired girl clad in a red uniform.

Hearing their footsteps, she flicked up the visor covering her face to reveal a pair of bright brown eyes.

"Hello there! You must be the other two members for the Commander's Hunter squad!"

Omega nodded.

"Um, yes, that's us. I'm Celtis, and this is, er, Saber." Celtis spoke up.

"All right..." The girl murmured, pulling up their files on the terminal. "And here we are!" She looked up.

"Yep, everything's in order! Okay, you can go through!"

"All right. Come on Saber."

Omega merely grunted as he followed her. Before he stepped through the door, however, he paused. Something had been bugging him...

Grabbing the doorframe, he leaned back.

"Hey, uh..."

"Jane."

"Right, Jane. Yeah, you've been here all morning so far, right? You wouldn't happen to have seen the guys from Unit V ?"

Jane gave a knowing smile.

"I had a feeling you were going to ask that! It's all everyone's been asking me! Even that cute boy from the Model A team was asking about them."

A disappointed expression crossed her face.

"But it turns out they were already onboard the train when it pulled in. Somehow they managed to get a whole car to themselves, too!" She sighed. "They're so cool...!"

A bead of sweat slid down Omega's neck.

"Er...Aheheh...Riiight... Well, I'm outta here." He said nervously, and then beat a hasty retreat.

'_A whole car...? Huh, they've got some good connections then..._'

Omega frowned as he thought about the mysterious Unit V. Something about them had set him on edge, from the moment he'd first seen their logo back in Ace's briefing. A red, triangular V... Dammit, he knew he'd seen that sign before, but for the life of him, he couldn't remember where! Whatever it was, it left Omega with an eerie feeling that he couldn't quite shake.

His thoughts were interrupted as he ran straight into someone. The collision barely pushed him back a step, but the other person ended up on the floor.

"Hey, watch where you're going, ya big lummox!" A high pitched, almost childish voice piped at Omega from somewhere above his head. Surprised, he looked up.

"What the-" Before he could finish the sentence, a small, black and white sized blur flew at him and whacked him full in the face.

"OW! What the hell?!" Omega staggered back, one hand pressed to his nose. The blur resolved into a small, fist sized device floating in midair. There was a long triangular shaped white fin extending out to both sides, and a semblance of some kind of blank face in the center of it.

"That's what you get for running into my friend like that!" it retorted.

"Hey, take it easy Model A, I'm fine." The stranger replied, getting back to his feet.

Something clicked in Omega's mind at the sound of the name.

'Model A...? Waaaait a minute.' He took another look at the person he'd run into. Short, gray hair, and a triangular scar on the right cheek confirmed his suspicion that the person he'd just plowed down was none other than the Chosen One, Grey.

"...Damn my luck..."

* * *

In another area of the terminal, Celtis was wandering around, looking at all of the activity taking place around her as the Legion security forces continued to make their preparations for the departure.

'_Whoa, looks like they weren't kidding. That Ace guy sure sent a lot of guys along on this run. Not only that, but I don't think I've ever seen a train this heavily armored or with this many weapons before..._'

That was an understatement. The train was twelve cars long, not including the engine at the front. From where she was standing, Celtis could count at least four minigun turrets mounted on each car, not to mention the much heavier and much more dangerous, automated Praetor railguns that had been mounted along the train's length. According to the specs, the Praetor was classified as an, ahem, 'anti-armor' weapon. However, for anyone who'd seen one of those things turn an entire tank into little more than a molten stain on the landscape, a more appropriate classification would be anti-_everything_. The fact that there were no less than seven of them on this one train was enough to confirm that Ace was more than certain that things would get particularly nasty on this run.

Either that, or he subscribed to Alexander's first Law of Wars: There is no such thing as too much firepower.

[_**Historical Note:** It should be mentioned that previous subscribers to this law have included some infamous names such as Fighting Fefnir, Blazin' Flizard, and, of course, Omega._]

Not for the first time, Celtis felt a slight shiver of doubt about her place on this mission. Sure, she'd gotten herself named as the one who'd taken down the S-class Black Lion Raiders, but in truth, Omega had been the one who'd done most of the work. Again, she remembered his words from yesterday, when she'd first voiced those same doubts.

'_...Just do your job to the best of your ability and to hell with anybody else. They're not paying you to show off. Just make sure the cargo gets where it's going and forget about the rest..._'

She sighed.

"Great, now I'm taking advice from a guy whose idea of caution is to smash the hell out of the enemy before they can start shooting at him. How lame is that?"

A thought struck her.

"Hey... Come to think of it, I never found out how he got back in this morning. I was so pissed off at him, I completely forgot."

She remembered the wake up call he'd given her and flushed with shame and embarrassment.

"No wonder, either..." She muttered.

Just then, she heard the sound of raised voices from up ahead.

"I thought you said there were only four of us who'd be on this mission!!" A female voice demanded.

"Yeah?! Well, maybe if you'd had your damn communicator on like I'd told you to, you'd have gotten the damn message when I sent it yesterday!" A familiar male voice retorted.

"Oh, great, more people to split the bounty with!"

"For the love of- How many times do I have to tell you that the amount you get paid isn't going to change regardless of how many other Hunters I decide to bring in?!"

'_Hey...I know that voice...!_' Celtis thought. Following the sounds of the argument, she rounded a corner and found the source.

The owner of the male voice was all too easy to recognize. His scarlet overcoat giving him away, the unmistakable Ace Phoenix stood tall, his arms folded as he continued arguing with the person in front of him.

The other person was a face that anyone who had seen the chaos of the Ouroboros Catastrophe three years ago would instantly recognise. Long, sleek silvery hair drawn back into a ponytail by a red bandanna, an orange jacket and a black bodysuit... Celtis' eyes widened in shock. The girl now arguing heatedly with the young Security Commander was none other than Ashe, the female Chosen One of Model A!

"Besides, what do you need anyone else for?" Ashe demanded. "Between me and Grey, the two of us alone should be more than enough to handle any Mavericks dumb enough to attack the train while we're on it. I mean we're Chosen Ones aren't we? After Ouroboros, how hard could a couple of Raiders be?"

Ace leaned forward.

"Plenty hard enough. I don't care if you're Chosen Ones or not, I'm making damn sure nothing goes wrong on this mission." He shrugged. "Of course, if you're worried that the other four Hunters might outperform you..."

Ashe snapped her head forward so fast her forehead collided with his.

"Like hell that'll ever happen, Phoenix! You just watch, anything that tries to make a move on this train is going to get blasted by my Busters before it even knows what hit it!"

Ace pushed back, grinning now.

"Really, huh? Care to bet on that?"

Ashe gave him a cocky smirk.

"This good enough for you?"

There was the sound of a heavy impact. Ace's expression didn't even flicker as he stared at Ashe. Further down, though, his left hand stayed in front of his chest, where it was still gripping the punch Ashe had thrown at him. The two of them stayed there for a moment, her fist still straining to break through the block.

"You're lucky someone in a position as respectable as mine can't be seen brawling around with common thugs like you, or we'd be duking it out right here and now, little lady," Ace chuckled. Ashe broke into a grin.

"Careful, or I'll go get Model A! 'Us thugs', is it? Well look at you, Mr. Elitist! Last time I checked, you still owe the Hunter's Camp administrators a bunch of money over all the stuff that got broken in that celebration party you threw last year."

"Yeah, sure. You and I both know you'll need that Biometal just for this to be a fair fight! And as for the party, well, nobody complained about it, now did they?"

Ashe laughed, finally stepping back.

"Yeah, but that was mostly because everyone was too drunk to remember most of it!"

Ace shrugged,"Meh. Well, if you can't remember, that means you had fun, right?"

Ashe shook her head,"You'll never change, will you Ace?"

"Maybe when Hell freezes over," he replied nonchalantly. "Until then probably not."

Ashe sighed. "All right, I'll still do the mission. After all, when you're as great as I am, you can't just walk away from a run like this now, can you?" She looked thoughtful. " Actually... I'm kind of looking forward to seeing this Unit V of yours. They're supposed to be pretty good."

"Well, you'll just have to wait and see like everyone else!" Ace laughed. "For now, though, you'll have to settle for meeting the other two people who'll be joining you."

He glanced over Ashe's shoulder and a surprised look crossed his face.

"Speaking of which, here's one of them now! Hey, Miss Arcana! Come over here, there's someone I want you to meet!"

Celtis started.

"What? Er, okay."

As she walked over, Ace turned back to Ashe.

"Ashe, I'd like you to meet miss Celtis Arcana. Miss Arcana, meet Ashe Sylvers, legendary hero, yada yada yada." Ace grinned at the pointed look Ashe gave him.

"What, you can't honestly expect me to go through the whole 'hero of the Ouroboros Catastrophe, Chosen One of Model A' and all of the other oh-so-great titles every single time I have to introduce you!"

"Anyway, Ashe, this is Celtis Arcana. She's one of the two new Hunters I was telling you about who showed up yesterday. She and her partner, a Reploid named Saber..." Ace looked around for a minute. "...who doesn't seem to be here right now... qualified by taking out the Black Lion Raiders yesterday, along with their boss Leos Darkclaw."

Ashe raised an eyebrow, impressed despite herself.

"The whole group? That's not half bad!"

"Thanks!" Celtis replied, amazed. A compliment from someone as powerful as a Chosen One? "But, well, you could probably have done it better."

"Damn right!" Ashe said proudly. "Actually, I was thinking about going after them myself, but it looks like you beat me to it!"

"Uh, sorry...?"

"Nah, don't worry about it. As long as somebody took down those damn Raiders, I don't mind either way. Never did like those bastards..." Ashe's face darkened slightly as she finished.

Celtis nodded her agreement. Ashe shook her head slightly, her face returning to its normal cheerful expression.

"So, what kind of weapon do you use?"

"Me?" Celtis replied. "Oh, er, I just use a handgun."

"Energy rounds?"

"No, not really, I prefer solid ammunition. I find it does more damage per shot than a normal laser round."

Ashe shrugged. "To each her own, I guess. So what are you using now?"

"Well, I don't really have any kind of preference, but I picked this up yesterday, so I thought I'd give it a try, in addition to my normal Hi-Caliber." Celtis drew the mysterious crimson handgun that she'd gotten from Vix.

Ashe's eyes widened slightly at the sight of it. "Mind if I take a look?" she asked, intrigued by the unfamiliar design.

"Sure, no problem!" Celtis replied, handing it to her. Neither of them noticed the dark expression that crossed Ace's face at the sight of the weapon.

Ashe almost dropped the gun as she felt the full weight. If it wasn't for the fact that her normal physical capabilities had been augmented by becoming a Chosen One, she probably would have.

'_What the hell?! This thing must weigh at least a kilogram and a half!_' She looked across at Celtis, startled.

'_And she can hold this with one hand?! What the hell's going on here?! She's definitely more than what she appears, that's for sure!_'

Aside from the obviously ridiculous weight, Ashe had to admit that it was a damned fine weapon. The fact that it could fire both energy and solid round ammunition was especially surprising.

"...Daaaaamn." She whistled. "This is some seriously heavy firepower you've got here. This thing is pretty good." She said finally, holding it out. "Any idea who made it?"

Celtis shook her head. "I don't think so. I just found it while I was browsing through the new shipment of weapons a friend of mine got in yesterday."

"Hmmm..." Ashe wondered aloud, "Well, whoever it is sure knew their stuff. The silver writing they engraved on the barrel was pretty intricate, too."

Celtis blinked as she took it back. "Writing?"

And sure enough, where there had just been a meaningless engraved design yesterday, there were now letters, spelling out a single word.

'_That wasn't there before..._' Celtis thought, surprised.

"Yeah. Pretty creepy name if you ask me." Ashe paused for a minute. "Although...I did notice it was a bit, uh...heavy..." she hesitated, waiting for a response.

Celtis looked up, surprised. "Really?" She glanced back down at the gun for a moment, then drew her Hi-Caliber in the other hand. She weighed them for a few moments, looking thoughtful. Then she tossed the crimson weapon up and caught it with one hand.

"I thought it was pretty light! Actually, it's a lot lighter than my last few guns have been."

A bead of sweat slid down the back of Ashe's neck.

'_There is no way in HELL that thing doesn't weigh more than a freaking assault rifle. She's definitely not normal...Maybe artificial muscles or something...?'_

Ace interrupted them with a cough.

"Um, right, I'm sorry to be interrupting your conversation, but shouldn't you two be off finding your respective partners? Most of the preparations have been completed, and the train'll be leaving in the next twenty minutes, so you might want to hurry."

"Ah! Damn, I hadn't realized that it was so late!" Ashe gasped. "I better go, before Grey and Model A go and get themselves into trouble! Nice meeting you Celtis! Later, Ace!"

With that, she turned and hurried off, leaving behind a surprised looking Celtis.

"...Is she always like that?"

"Impulsive? Yeah, as long as I've known her." Ace stared after the departing Chosen One for a minute, then shook his head with a rueful grin.

"Then again, life's more fun with people like that around, so who am I to complain, eh?"

"You're on your own there." Celtis muttered, thinking of another impulsive Reploid with whom she was all too familiar.

"Well, I'm off to go get that crazy bastard Saber." Celtis hesitated for a minute. "Umm, Ace...Exactly what level of enemies are you expecting to attack on this run?"

Ace shrugged. "No way to tell for sure. I'm just throwing together as much firepower as I can get in defense. Maybe I'll get lucky and it'll turn out that I've overcompensated, or then again, maybe not. We'll find out when we get to that point. Why? You nervous?"

Celtis gave a weak laugh.

"A little, yeah. This is the first time I've been on a mission like this, so it's a bit overwhelming."

Ace grinned. "Nah, don't sweat it. Everbody gets pre-mission jitters from time to time. It'll pass soon enough. Just rely on your teammates and you'll make it through anything that happens."

"Right!" Celtis nodded, feeling a little bit better. "Well, I'm off. See you later!

She'd only gone a few steps when she heard Ace's voice again.

"Celtis!"

"Huh?" She looked back, to find him staring at her with an unreadable look in his eyes.

"...That's an interesting gun you've got there. Just be careful when you're using it."

Celtis felt a slight chill on the back of her neck at his words. Last night, hadn't Omega said the same thing to her before he'd left?

"...Alright...?" She said, a trace of confusion in her voice. Ace merely nodded, and watched as she turned and continued on her way

He stared after her for some time. Then, he drew the custom built com out of his pocket, flicked it open and pressed it against his ear.

"Looks like you were right," he said grimly, "it's definitely one of 'those' weapons. And worse, it's chosen her as its wielder, which means it's already gone active."

"Regrettably, I was unable to see the weapon for myself on my previous reconnaissance. Also, the owner of the shop did not know much about it either. It just appeared in the shipment she received."

"You're sure there was nothing else?"

There was a noticeable hesitation on the other end of the line. When the person spoke again, there was a slight trace of embarrassment in their voice.

"Er...not exactly, sir, I can't be entirely sure. She was rather...difficult to, uh, talk to."

"Uh-huh." Ace said dryly. "Yeah, Vix tends to have that effect on most people."

"I apologize, sir."

"Don't worry about it. Any normal man would have probably handled it worse. At least you managed to get her to stay in her clothes."

"Um...er...pardon?" You could practically hear the embarrassment now.

Ace smirked. "Relax, I'm just messing with you." There was a pause as he considered his earlier statement.

"Actually, considering that this is Vix we're talking about here, you should get a bloody medal for managing that."

"So, uh, about the weapon, sir." The voice went on hastily. "From what you've told me...If it's chosen her, that means it must have found its name, then, right?"

Ace sighed. "Yes...yes, it has."

"If you don't mind my asking, sir...What name did it choose?"

There was a long silence.

"Sir...?"

"The worst possible name it could have, Hadrian." Ace said finally, using his agent's first name. His eyes turned to follow the direction Celtis had taken.

"I think we may be in a bit more trouble than I had originally thought. Time to make a change in plans..."

* * *

Still looking around for Celtis, Omega stomped off through the crowd, ignoring the incessant yapping of the two thoroughly irritating tag-alongs he'd somehow managed to pick up. Well, all right, just one of them. Except for one or two comments now and then, the Biometal had mostly remained quiet, aside from an occasional dark look at Omega. Somehow, he got the feeling it didn't like him.

Gee, that's a first. Omega thought, rolling his eyes. A football-sized inanimate object dislikes me. Yeah. Go stand in line with everybody else who was around in 22XX.

"You're Saber, right? You're one of the two new Hunters Mister Ace said would be joining us today!" Grey said.

Must...resist...urge...to...kill...small...annoying...things... Omega fumed. How in the HELL does a thirteen year old Reploid kid, and a floating, squeaky voiced paperweight qualify as 'legendary heroes'?!

Although, Omega had to admit, while the paperweight certainly didn't seem like much at first, if he pushed all of his sensors to their limits, he could just vaguely sense the outlines of an immense power hidden inside it, just beyond the limits of his perception. Of course, it wasn't even close to matching his own power, but yet it was still great enough for Omega to classify it as a level-two category threat, not great enough to qualify as an actual threat, but powerful enough that it could be an inconvenience if it ever opposed him. Not only that, but...Omega stole a quick glance over his shoulder at Model A to confirm it. Yeah, there was no mistaking it. The Biometal bore a striking resemblance to that of the annoying kid who had always hung out with X and Zero back in the old days. Come to think of it, wasn't one of that kid's specialties the ability to copy the appearance and capabilities of an opponent...?

With that, Omega moved Model A and it's Chosen Ones up a few notches on his threat listing. If that thing had some of the powers of the original Reploid, then it could prove to be even more dangerous than he'd first thought.

Omega stopped. Now that he'd mentioned it, it suddenly occurred to him that if one of the Biometals was based off of a Reploid hero of that caliber from the old Wars...

Omega made a mental note to find out everything he could about the other Biometal users as fast as possible. Their power might be far greater than he'd previously estimated... Especially if one of them happened to be who he thought it was...

It dawned on Omega that there was an announcement being made over the terminal's PA system. Too late, he realized that he'd missed it. Looking around, he saw that the various people around him were suddenly going about their tasks with renewed urgency. Muttering a curse, he swung around to face Grey and Model A.

"Alright, did either of you two catch that announcement? 'Cause I didn't, and right now I'd like to know what the hell's going on."

"Well, maybe you should've paid more attention in the first place instead of just standing around staring into space, then!"

"Hey, take it easy Model A." Grey said, a puzzled expression crossing his face. Model A wasn't usually this hostile, so why was it acting like that now?

"They said the train'll be leaving in another twenty minutes so they were asking everybody to finish their preparations and to prepare for the departure."

Omega groaned and pressed a hand to his face. Muttering a curse, he looked around for Celtis again.

"If that idiot doesn't get on board, I'm not gonna be able to collect a paycheck for this job..." After a few more minutes of fruitless searching, he turned back to Grey.

"All right, kid, do me a favor. If you happen to meet an annoying girl, about this tall, with green hair back in a ponytail and wearing a red jacket, just tell her that Saber's looking for her."

Without another word, he turned and disappeared into the crowd. Behind him, Grey looked taken aback by Omega's sudden departure. Floating in the air next to the Chosen One, Model A shivered. Noticing it, Grey remembered Model A's sudden hostility towards Saber.

"Hey, Model A?"

"Yeah?"

"Earlier, you were acting a bit weird when I was talking to him. What's wrong?"

Model A hesitated.

"I'm...not sure, actually...I just got a weird feeling from that guy..."

"What do you mean?"

"...I can't really explain it all that well..." The Biometal said, not meeting Grey's eyes. "There's just something about him that seems familiar...and dangerous..."

Model A looked up, its voice suddenly becoming uncharacteristically serious.

"Grey, if we meet up with that guy on the train, I think you and Ashe need to be careful around him."

Grey stared at the Biometal for a few moments, a worried look on his face as he considered its words. Then he turned to look back at where Omega had disappeared, wondering what secrets the mysterious Saber possessed that were dark enough to set even a Biometal on edge.

Neither he nor Model A noticed the faint shimmer in the air behind a pile of a crates a few metres away. For a moment, it resolved into the form of a slender, female figure, hidden in the shadows. Her long, sleek black hair was drawn back in a ponytail, revealing a pair of piercing gray eyes.

The girl stared silently out at the departing crimson demon's back.

'_**Reploid Saber has been visually confirmed. Should I proceed?**_'

There was a long silence as the girl's partner, on the other end of their neuro-link stared at the image of the Reploid who called himself Saber. In the darkness of his helmet, he smiled.

'_**It seems I was correct after all...Welcome back, God of Destruction.**_'

'_**Nii-san?**_' the girl thought, a hint of confusion entering the link. The man shook his head slightly and returned to the conversation.

'_**It's nothing. Go ahead.**_'

'_**Very well.**_'

With that, the connection terminated. The girl took one last look across at Grey and Model A, still discussing the strange Reploid called Saber, before she stepped back behind the crates. The air around her seemed to shimmer and she slowly faded back into invisibility.

* * *

Omega had just reached the ramp to board the train when he sensed it. Just behind him, and a little to his left, he'd caught a tiny flicker of movement in the supposedly empty air. He sighed, and switched over to thermal viewing.

"Just so you know, the last person who tried to sneak up on me in stealth mode got their ribs punched out through their spine." He said calmly. Behind him, he felt the ghostly presence suddenly stop.

"And, no, your thermal suppression's working just fine, so don't bother to mess around with it."

Omega gave a satisfied smile. One of the first things any one learned when facing a cloaked opponent was that while they could hide themselves from normal vision, it didn't necessarily mean that they could hide their thermal signatures. A quick shift to IR or thermal viewing rapidly evened the odds again and effectively nullified the opponent's advantage.

However, with the creation of thermal suppressors, devices which could mask heat signatures, anyone who survived their first few encounters with cloaked and heat shielded opponents quickly learned the second most important thing about dealing with such foes. The weakness of thermal suppressors was that they were simply too good at what they did. The field generated by a suppressor would always have a temperature a few degrees lower than that of the surroundings. To a state of the art combat Reploid like Omega, that difference was as clear as the contrast between black and white.

His opponent hesitated for a moment. Omega allowed his free hand to casually drift closer to his Buster. They probably wouldn't risk attacking him here, not with everyone else around, but still...

Then the air rippled again. To Omega's surprise a single white envelope appeared, floating in midair. From the vague shape he was seeing on his thermal filters, it looked like it was being held out to him by whoever it was behind the stealth field. Then before he could react, they tossed it towards him. It took all of Omega's willpower to fight the instinct to follow the card's movement and instead remain focused on his opponent.

He might as well have not bothered.

Omega blinked, stunned at what his sensors were now telling him. He reset his thermals twice, just to be sure and made a full 360-degree sweep of the area. Every time, the answer was the same.

Whoever it was had somehow managed to completely disappear, right before his eyes! Cursing, Omega spun around, searching for anything, some sort of clue that would tell him where the mysterious person had gone. After several minutes of fruitless searching, Omega finally had to admit that they'd successfully eluded him. Either stealth technology had made a hell of a jump, or whoever it was had some other trick up their sleeve. Plus, if they'd been planning to attack him, they'd had more than enough time while he'd been searching. From the blurry blue and purple splotches of the low temperature areas he'd picked up from the suppressor field, he didn't even have any real, easily distinguishable features that he could have used to identify the person.

A thought struck him. Taking another look at the images, he grinned. After so many years of fighting, he'd learned to identify characteristic heat patterns in his targets. Now, a century later, it looked like the patterns hadn't really changed all that much. So, if you just made the brighter areas equal to the warmer parts of a body, and then estimate the contours...

Omega's grin widened. No matter how different the body was, as long as it was humanoid, there were certain hotspots it always had to have. Whoever it was, from the shape of the thermals, Omega was about ninety percent sure she had been female. Not only that, but the reading for the chest area had been much warmer than you'd normally expect, suggesting a generator or a power source of some kind, leading him to guess that she was a Reploid. Plus, because of the warmer area, it was easier for Omega to see that the chest area was definitely curved in a way that further confirmed his earlier guess that she was female.

So, Omega mused, a female Reploid, with stealth capabilities to rival those of any he'd seen before, not to mention the ability to completely disappear from an opponent's range of detection. Now why the hell would someone like that come after him now? Back in the old days he wouldn't have been surprised, since every Maverick Hunter and his dog had wanted him dead, thanks in part to the never ending list of war crimes he had been responsible for. Now, though, in an era when his name was a little more than a myth (and possibly not even that, he admitted grudgingly), what reason could an opponent like that want with him?

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone calling his name.

"Saber!"

...Well, all right. His alias, then.

Turning, he saw Celtis walking towards him.

"About time you showed up." He growled. "I was starting to think I'd have to drag you aboard."

"Nice to see you too." Celtis replied acidly. "Would it kill you to be polite for once?"

Omega merely shrugged and started walking up the ramp. Celtis was about to follow him when something caught her eye.

"What's this?"

Picking it up, she turned it over a few times, examining it. Then she looked up.

"Hey, Omega. Did you drop this?"

Omega looked back. To his surprise, the object turned out to be the envelope from earlier, the one the mysterious female Reploid had tossed at him.

"No. What makes you think I dropped it?"

Wordlessly, Celtis handed it over, pointing to the seal. Omega's eyes widened in disbelief.

Sealing the envelope's flap shut was the unmistakable Greek symbol ?.

"Who the..." Without bothering to finish his profanity, Omega shredded the envelope, revealing its contents to be a simple white business card with the now familiar shape of a plain, triangular, red V set in the middle of the card.

"Damnit!" Omega swore. There it was again! That damn Unit V sign! The one that had put him on edge from the moment he'd seen it.

"Does this mean they know who you really are?" Celtis asked, worry easily detectable in her voice. If someone else knew that 'Saber' was in fact the Reploid Omega, legendary God of Destruction, things could turn ugly.

"If I had to guess, I'd say yeah, they do." Omega said grimly. So the stealth Reploid had actually been one of the two members of Unit V. Well, at least that explained the disappearing trick at the end. If Unit V was even half as good as Ace had made them out to be, stuff like that was probably par for the course. It also explained why she had sought him out. It wasn't to fight; rather, it was to deliver a message. But to what end?

"Oh yeah, there's something written on the back as well." Celtis said. "Looks like another sign."

"What?" Surprised, Omega flipped the card over...

...And stared.

In the center of this side was indeed another sign. This one, however, was quite easily recognizable. It was another Greek letter, resembling a backwards 3, with straight lines instead of curves, similar to a letter W rotated 90 degrees to the right.

Σ... The sign of the monster that had forever changed the face of the world, altering history in a way that even now, two centuries later, his legacy still haunted the world.

Σ... the Greek letter that represented Sigma, the former leader of the Maverick Hunters, and the cause of the century of chaos which was now known as the Maverick Wars.

Omega stared at the sign for a moment, and then flicked it back over. Switching between the V and the S, he frowned.

Now why the hell would Unit V send him something like this? If it had simply been a one-sided business card with the V on it, he could've just written it off as a warning that they knew about him or some other sinister message. But to include the sign of the Mavericks... Just what the hell was this supposed to mean?!

Sigma...V...Sigma...V...Sigma... What on earth was the connection between the two?

And then it hit Omega.

Throughout the course of the Maverick Wars, whenever Sigma reappeared, there was always one other person who was always mentioned alongside of him. A Maverick whose tenaciousness had resulted in him being brought back to life almost as many times as his master, and had made a name for himself by becoming the only Maverick who was capable of fighting the legendary Megaman X on equal footing.

Numbly, Omega ran a mental search on all of the most notable Mavericks from the Wars. The process took only a few microseconds, but to Omega, it felt like an eternity. If this was really who he thought it was...

His HUD beeped, signaling that the search was complete. Omega stared at the icon for a long time. Finally, steeling himself, he opened it.

...And there it was.

Celtis saw Omega suddenly stiffen..

"Omega? What's wrong?"

Omega was speechless with shock at the entry before his eyes. There was the sign of Unit V, in the same place it had always been, lost in the past. The face behind it stared back at Omega, as if mocking him.

Took you long enough, it seemed to say.

"Son. Of. A. Bitch." Omega breathed.

He'd met one member of Unit V already, the girl who had brought him this message. Now, he knew the identity of the second member, who was without a doubt, the leader. The man who was the true power behind the mysterious Unit V, the Maverick whose real face had never been seen, even by his closest allies, and the only one who could honestly be classified as the legendary X's one true rival.

And currently, one who had also been active at least a century longer than Omega.

Omega shut off the display and turned to look down the length of the train at the Unit V car. Celtis followed his gaze.

"What does it mean?" she asked, worried.

"It's no threat." Omega said, an intrigued smile crossing his face. " It was a bit of a challenge from the leader of Unit V."

"From the- You know who the Unit V leader is?!"

Omega nodded absent-mindedly as he continued to look down the train.

"Who is it?"

Omega snapped back to reality and grinned down at her.

"In a way, I guess you could say he was my predecessor."

And with that enigmatic statement, the God of Destruction turned and swept off, disappearing into the train car ahead of him.

"What? Hey, wait!"

* * *

Ten minutes later, the train left the station. Throughout its length, the various Hunters and Legion security personnel spread out, all of them finding somewhere quiet to relax for the next hour or so. As the train had been equipped with all of the latest in early warning systems, they could afford such a luxury. Not only that, but the fact that the town they were departing from had a sensor network that extended outward for about 5 kilometers around its walls, meant that they would at least be safe until they cleared it, as an enemy signature within that range would set off every alert system from that town to Legion HQ. Normally, the range of such a network would only be about two kilometres, but for the sake of holding the threat of an immediate full force Legion retaliation over any would be attackers for as long as possible, Ace had ordered his men to soup-up the detection gear in the town as much as possible using a prototype design that Legion had been working on. If it succeeded here, such a design could then be used to upgrade other such systems, increasing the distance at which possible Maverick threats could be detected.

At the train's current rate of speed, they would have approximately an hour and a half before they left the network's protective range after which they would have to rely solely on the train computer's sensory capabilities. Assuming that they were then able to maintain a constant speed, they'd be able to reach within Legion's detection web within three hours, and the protection its computer controlled gun batteries offered.

Within those three hours, they would have to fight off anything that came their way with nothing more than the weapons they'd brought along, since it would take too long to call in air support.

After a brief introduction to Model A and Grey, and dodging several awkward questions about her 'partner' Celtis excused herself to go wandering throughout the train. Another reason was to find out just where the hell Omega had disappeared to. A little while after the train had left the station, he'd said something about going to pay his respects and then she'd lost track of him.

Eventually, she found herself at the back of the train's last car. With a sigh, she sat down, letting her legs dangle over the edge as she watched the landscape zoom past in a blur.

"Doing a little sightseeing?" A voice from behind made her start with surprise. Turning, she found herself facing none other than the scarlet-coated figure of Ace Phoenix.

To the surprise of many people, the Commander of Legion's Security forces had also decided to come along at the last minute. To people like Ashe, who knew Ace's unpredictable personality, it was hardly surprising at all.

"What? Um, yeah, I guess you could say that."

Ace sighed, and leaned back against the doorframe, folding his arms.

"Well, I hate to break it to you, but for the next couple of hours, there isn't going to be much worth seeing. Unless of course, barren wastelands are your thing. Otherwise, you're out of luck."

When Celtis didn't reply, he raised an eyebrow, giving her an appraising look.

"What's wrong?"

"Oh, uh, nothing. I'm fine, really."

"Uh huh. And I'm the Easter Bunny. You're sitting at the back of the train, light years away from anyone else onboard, and you're staring out at a landscape that looks like ground zero for a nuke, with a sad, contemplative look on your face. Oh, and you're not very responsive. If there's a clich I've missed here just let me know."

Celtis gave him an indignant look.

"I did not have a sad expression on my face!"

Ace merely shrugged.

"Got your attention anyway, didn't it?" He grinned at the expression on Celtis' face. "Right, that one suits you better. So, what's bothering ya?"

Celtis looked away. "It's just...I'm a little nervous about this. It's the first time I've been on anything this serious."

"Ah." Ace nodded knowingly. "Pre-mission jitters?"

"Pretty much, yeah. Plus, I mean, I'm working alongside people like Ashe and Grey, so I'm also a bit worried how well I'll do."

Ace shook his head vehemently.

"I think you'd better stop that thought right there."

"Huh?"

Ace sighed. "I'm sure that friend of yours has said this already, but I'll say it anyway. Ashe and Grey have been in the business of fighting opponents far beyond the norm much longer than most people, so they've got more experience. No-one expects you to out-perform a Chosen One on your first S-class run. If anything happens, just fight to the best of your ability, and no-one can have any complaints."

Celtis blinked, surprised. Ace was right, Omega had told her that before. Maybe there was something to what they said after all...

"That's right!" Ace brought one hand up and clenched it into a fist, a fierce smile on his face.

"No matter what happens, whether it be in battle or in life, as long as you push yourself to your limits in whatever you do, you'll be able to continue forward without leaving behind any regrets!"

"Aheheh..." A bead of sweat slid down Celtis' neck. "Coming on a little intense there, aren't you?"

Ace gave her a cocky smirk,"Not at all. That's the way I've lived my life, and it hasn't failed me yet!" He turned to look at the sky.

"In this world, as long as you have the drive and will to do something, then things like hesitation, nervousness and self doubt just aren't worth caring about!"

Celtis sighed and gave him a rueful smile, "You know, for a minute there, you sounded a lot like Saber."

"I figured he'd be something like that. He had the look of a man who'd seen a lot, and fought his way through it by relying on nothing more than his own power."

Ace blinked, a thought suddenly occurring to him, "Speaking of which, where is he, anyway?

Celtis shrugged. "No idea. I lost track of him a little while ago and came out here looking for him. Knowing him, he'll probably show up when the fighting starts."

"Actually, I've been meaning to ask about that. How long have you known that guy?"

Celtis started. After she'd gotten over her initial surprise, she managed a response.

"What? Um, not all that long actually... I ran into him when Leos and his goons came after me. I gave him a lift back to Legion and well, you know the rest."

"Really? Hmmm..." A pensive look crossed Ace's face, and he fell silent, leaving Celtis to wonder about his sudden interest in Omega.

* * *

Omega leaned back against the wall of the Unit V car. Running around it was a small walkway with a railing to prevent people from falling off. It was here, just around the corner from the entrance to the car, that Omega stood.

Getting here had been a piece of cake, even despite the locked doors on the two cars connected on either side. After all, not many people would have expected someone to be crazy enough to go along the roof of the cars instead of just walking through them. To Omega, however, it was just another walk in the park.

Okay, so it had taken him about ten minutes to get his hair to lie flat again, but other than that, it had been a walk in the park. A park with hurricane force winds, anyway.

Despite the minor inconvenience, Omega was glad that they had been locked, since it would ensure that no-one else would be coming this way anytime soon. The privacy would be quite helpful in the conversation he knew was coming.

As if on cue, he heard the door of the car he was leaning on hiss open.

"Well, looks like you figured it out." A male voice said.

Omega smirked. "Took you long enough to show yourself."

"You're as impatient as the rumors always said you were, God of Destruction."

"And you seem to like your air of mystery as much as you did three hundred years ago, Faceless One."

With that, Omega pushed himself back off the wall, and walked out into the open. The purple armored leader of Unit V turned to face him, as two legends finally met face to face. Omega grinned.

"After you put the sign of the infamous Maverick leader along with your own, it was pretty easy to put two and two together. Right...Vile?"

The infamous Maverick gave an answering smirk behind his helmet. Omega raised an eyebrow at his appearance. The Vile of 24XX was a far different being than the one recorded as being present during the Maverick Wars. His armor was no longer the simple thing it had once been. His entire body had been upgraded with heavier and more durable looking battle armor, all painted in his signature violet color. Actually, the more Omega looked at it, the more he was certain that it was military-spec, capable of protecting the user from countless hostile situations. Definitely not normal armor, even for a combat Reploid. Not only that, but the shoulder mounted cannon, Vile's signature weapon, had also been modified. The reinforced muzzle and the thicker barrel suggested to Omega that it had been upgraded to at least an anti-vehicular capability.

"It's less obvious than you'd think, actually."

Omega tilted his head sideways. "Eh?"

"Most of the information regarding these past few centuries is disjointed and fragmented. There's no database in the world right now that has survived completely intact. As a result of that, all kinds of interesting bits of information have slipped through the cracks. Little things like the symbol that once represented Sigma's number one enforcer, and things like who was the driving force behind the Elf Wars..."

Omega's head snapped up at that. "What?!"

Vile shrugged. "It's true. While they know certain major details, like the names of Sigma, X, and Zero, people like you and me barely get a passing mention."

Omega grimaced.

"I'd noticed that, but I didn't think it was even possible to forget someone like Weil too...If it wasn't for the fact that I still have my personal databanks intact, I probably wouldn't have been able to confirm that it was you."

"I know." Vile nodded. You're like me, in that both of us remember the past wars clearly, since we were both quite...active participants."

Omega closed his eyes and smirked.

"Well, you could say that." Then he looked back up at Vile, all traces of humor gone from his face.

"Okay, now spill it. Why'd you send me that message?"

"Two reasons." Vile said, his tone serious. He held up two fingers.

"The first was to confirm that you were indeed the same Omega that terrorized the world a century ago, even though that generator signature of yours is unmistakable."

Omega's red eyes narrowed. His generator shielding was thick enough to be used as tank armor. There was no way in hell any normal detection system could have picked him up. Then again, there was no telling how long Vile had been active. If he had simply been wandering the earth since his disappearance in the eighth Maverick War, who knew what tricks he'd picked up?

"And second..." Vile put down one finger.

"I want to know who your master is."

The statement caught the God of Destruction off balance, "Come again?"

Vile's expression darkened. "You heard me, God of Destruction. Who do you serve?"

Omega stared at him for several minutes, before a sudden fury crossed his face.

"You think I still work for Weil!"

"It's possible." Vile said, his voice unchanging. "The last time anyone saw you, you were nothing more than a mindless servant, who destroyed everything around you, all to suit that monster's purposes. If that is still the case now..."

Vile's shoulder cannon came down to level itself at Omega.

"I don't care how powerful you are, I will not allow such madness to occur again. You _will_ die, here and now."

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Omega snarled.

Vile's expression hardly changed as he felt the venom in Omega's voice.

"If you think I still have any connection to that son of a bitch, then believe me, _you'll_ be the one who dies today!" Omega snapped.

"I take orders from _NO-ONE_! That bastard may have controlled me a century ago, but since I woke up in this god-forsaken time however many years later, my will is my own again! If that bastard's dead, then I don't give a shit! _No-one_ commands the God of Destruction! I am my own master!"

Omega stopped, breathing heavily, and gave Vile a furious look. Raising one hand, he leveled an accusing finger at the violet armored Maverick, "And get the _fuck_ off of your high horse, you Boba Fett reject! Last time I checked, you weren't anywhere near being in a position to talk to me about destruction! You're no saint yourself, dog of Sigma!"

The slight stiffening of Vile's shoulder was enough to tell Omega that his last shot had struck home. Hidden within the shadows of his helmet, Omega could feel Vile's eyes searching him, trying to determine...what, exactly? He got the strange feeling that the he was somehow being used to confirm something for Vile.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Vile's cannon tilted back upwards, and returned to its rest position on his back.

"Fair enough, God of Destruction, although I too no longer serve my former master."

Omega narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

Vile was silent for a few moments before he finally responded.

"...You might say we had a slight difference in opinion some time ago..."

Omega raised an eyebrow at that. "How long ago, exactly?"

"Long enough." Vile replied, coolly. " All that you need to know is that I now answer to no master other than myself. Call me...a True Maverick."

"True Maverick?" Omega's eyes narrowed.

Vile smirked behind his helmet.

"The name does not matter much. Just think of it as a way to distinguish me from those other pathetic fools who still call themselves Mavericks today."

"Is that so?"

Vile nodded. "They live for nothing more than to destroy anything that isn't a Maverick and simply serve whoever's stronger than them, all in the name of furthering their own twisted goals. I, on the other hand, no longer care about that. I left behind any affiliation with the Mavericks after I cut ties with Sigma. I suppose you could say I'm a wanderer, following a path that I and I alone decided on a long time ago."

Omega gave him a curious look, "So what exactly is that path anyway? The last record I can find of you anywhere is the incident at the Jakob Elevator."

Vile smiled at the mention of the old name.

"Since then, I've just been wandering the world, watching as the centuries slipped past. Along the way, I started doing the occasional odd jobs to get by, upgrading myself whenever I had the funds, doing maintenance when I didn't."

"Yeah, I kinda guessed that you'd traded up." Omega said dryly, glancing at Vile's vastly different appearance. "I think about the only thing you kept from your original look was that helmet of yours."

Vile reached up and tapped it with one finger, "This has saved me more times than I can count. It's been with me for as long as I can remember. Plus, it makes it much easier for me to disappear if I have to."

"How's that?" Omega asked, looking surprised.

The enigmatic Maverick grinned, "You said it yourself, didn't you...God of Destruction?"

Omega looked puzzled for a minute, before he caught on.

"Faceless One...Riiiiight."

There was another brief pause, before Omega caught sight of a familiar flicker in the air, and grinned.

"Well, well...Aren't you going to introduce me to the lady?"

Vile smiled humorlessly, "It was to be expected that you'd figure it out." He murmured "I suppose it won't matter now..." Glancing back to where Omega estimated the girl to be, he gave a slight nod of his armored head.

A gleaming shimmer appeared, rippling as it rapidly intensified. It finally condensed into the visible figure of a girl, standing next to Vile. She looked to be no more than seventeen years old, but on a Reploid, that was hardly any use. She was clad in a jet black bodysuit, an odd sheen on its surface that made Omega suspect it was a lot tougher than it appeared. Her shoulders were covered by a pair of slightly oversized, spherical shoulder guards, segmented to allow for easier movement, while a set of toughened metal gauntlets were securely fastened over her forearms. A simple, white, armored belt nestled comfortably just above her curved hips. Similar white armor covered her thighs, continuing down to the knee joint, where they connected to a pair of female-model Reploid combat boots. Like her shoulder-guards and gauntlets, these were also colored violet.

Her features were slender and delicate, with an almost elfin look to them. With pure white skin, so pale it almost seemed to glow in the sunlight, and jet black hair as dark as a moonless night, however, she appeared more vampiric than elven in Omega's opinion. A silken scarf, dyed a deep shade of purple, was wrapped around her neck, the rim of it pulled up to form a collar that hid the lower half of her face. The ends of the scarf drifted loose behind her, the pointed ends cut into a strange hexagonal shape.

All of this, Omega took in with a single brief glance. It was the girl's wintry grey eyes, however, that truly caught his attention.

Her gaze was as blank and emotionless as the void, empty of any kind of feeling. Omega could see nothing in them. There was not even the slightest trace of warmth in them, and yet at the same time it was not hostile. It was as though the person behind those eyes simply did not care. That alone was enough to set Omega on edge. He had seen that coldly neutral look a few times before, on the faces of both friends and foes.

And none of those times had ever ended well.

Still, he masked his thoughts with a carefully neutral expression and opened his mouth to speak. Before he could say anything, though, the girl interrupted him by turning to face Vile.

"We are currently 30 minutes away from leaving the sensor web. We should return to the trailer to prepare."

Vile gave a rueful grin behind his helmet as he looked back at his partner."I know, Rika, I know. You don't need to worry about me."

The girl, Rika, gave a hesitant nod, "Sorry, nii-san."

Omega was taken aback. Her voice was soft, and melodious, completely at odds with her dark, silent appearance. That was the first surprise. The second one was in what she had said to Vile.

'_Nii-san...? What the hell does that mean?_' he wondered. Running a brief search, he came up with a match in the Japanese language.

'_Now, lessee...means...older broth- Say_ **WHAT**?!'

Omega's eyebrows shot up.

"Okay buddy, either you've got some pretty messed up family problems, or there's something you're not telling me. Sister?"

Vile simply shook his head. "We're not related. Not by blood, anyway. I came across Rika here during my years of hunting down Maverick remnants in the post Neo-Arcadia era. I...ah...helped her out of a spot of trouble. After that, she somehow saw me as some kind of 'big brother' figure, and we've been Unit V ever since."

Omega gave Vile a suspicious look. Somehow that seemed a little too easy...He got the feeling that there were a lot of things Vile wasn't telling him. Since he had confirmed Omega's suspicion that he had been operating ever since his disappearance in the Maverick Wars, God only knew what he must have lived through. Hell, he'd made it through Omega's era completely unscathed, and that was more than could be said for 90% of the other Reploids who'd been around at the time.

"Riiight. Yeah, whatever, it doesn't matter to me anyway." Omega said finally, turning away. "So all you really wanted to find out was whether or not I was still the same kill-crazy psychopath from one hundred years ago, huh?"

He stopped and looked back over his shoulder, a dangerous grin on his face, "Well, you can rest easy on that, because I still am! The only difference is that this time around, I'm the one in control!"

Vile gave him a sarcastic look. "Oh, good." he said ironically, "that's such an improvement."

"Yeah well, screw you." Omega grumbled. "I'll be heading out now. I've got a few things to do before we hit Maverick country." To emphasise the point, he hefted the traveling bag he'd been carrying.

Vile nodded. "As do I. It was certainly interesting to finally meet you in person, God of Destruction."

"I guess I could say the same, Faceless One," Omega replied as he started walking away. With a single jump, followed by a rapid burst from his thrusters in mid-air, he landed easily atop the roof of the adjacent car. He straightened up, his long hair whipping in the gale force winds rushing past him, and started off.

Vile stared after him for a few moments, an unreadable expression on his face. He turned to look back along the train's length, to the specially armored car that he knew was carrying the mysterious eighth Biometal. He had a sinking feeling that he knew just what it was lurking within that thing.

First, Legion had discovered the mysterious Biometal, their much-vaunted prize in a hidden area of ancient ruins, and then now, not a week later, one of the greatest demons in the war-torn history of Mavericks had returned to the world of the living. Coincidence? Vile didn't think so. If a titan like the God of Destruction had not actually been destroyed a century ago, but had instead remained sealed in a deep sleep far from the light of day, who knew what other dark secrets lay hidden in this world, their existence hidden in the fragments of history that had been lost?

Vile's expression turned grim. If that Biometal was indeed what he thought it was, then perhaps a legendary monster like the God of Destruction might be exactly what this world needed...

With that, Vile turned back towards his trailer's entrance. Nodding to Rika, he opened the door and stepped into the chilled air inside. He looked up at the huge machine in front of him, its motors giving off a faint rumbling noise as it shifted to standby mode. It was not, Vile decided, unlike the low, growling noise made by a giant, monstrous beast, stirring in its slumber. He stared at it for a few moments, running a practiced eye over it, searching for any signs of problems that might have developed over the course of the train's travel thus far. Of course, there were none. Beneath his featureless helmet, Vile's face was unreadable. Over the last three centuries, he had fought against countless opponents, honing his skills until they had reached a level far surpassing what they had been during the Maverick Wars. Throughout his travels, though, he'd built up quite an amazing array of war machines. The thing in front of him was one such machine, hand-picked for this mission by Vile himself. No matter how much anyone else tried to downplay it, Vile was certain that before long they were going to be up to their necks in Maverick attackers.

A grim smile spread across his face.

Let them come. He would be waiting for them, with everything he had.

* * *

Omega raced across the train, leaping from car to car as he went, a devilish smile on his face. They were out there, all right. He could smell the stench of lesser Mavericks heavy on the air. He gave a wicked laugh.

"This might just turn out to be entertaining after all!"

And in the darkness of its specially designed case, the mysterious Biometal began to stir...

* * *

A/N : And there we go! The return of an old legend, and an encounter that's bound to lead to all kinds of trouble. Just what is the machine hidden in Unit V's trailer? What does Omega have in his traveling bag? And just what IS the mysterious Biometal anyway?!

Find out, next time on Meda- whoops, sorry. Wrong show!

Epic fight scenes next chapter! I'll try to bring that one out faster than this one, so look forward to it!

Also, the character art for Vile and Rika is now up on my DeviantArt account! Check it out, under the username MagnumPhoenixZX!


	7. Chapter 6: Eye of the Tiger

Chapter 5:**Eye of the Tiger**

A/N: For content related reasons, a.k.a spoilers, the full disclaimer will be at the end of the chapter. For now:

I don't own Megaman, Capcom does. (No matter how much I wish I did!)

* * *

"So what's it feel like to be a Chosen One?" Celtis asked. Ashe shrugged.

"Well, you don't really feel much different when you're not Megamerged-"

"Except that you're a lot stronger than you would be normally, right?" Model A cut in.

"Well, yeah, there is that." Ashe admitted.

"But when you're Megamerged, it's a whole different story, right Grey- Jeez, how many plates have you had?!" She exclaimed, looking across at the table on the opposite side of the car.

"I lost count at seven," Ace said, staring in disbelief from his spot opposite Grey. "I'm still working on my third."

"What?! We've only been here for about twenty minutes!"

Grey finished off his ninth plate and wiped his mouth with a satisfied sigh. Catching their incredulous looks, he flushed and gave an embarrassed laugh.

"Er, sorry about that..."

"Nice to see you're enjoying the new taste sensors I got for you," Ashe grinned.

"Um...yeah... it's kind of a shock to be able to actually taste things now. I guess I got a little carried away… Aheheh..."

Any further conversation was cut off by the sound of a series of heavy sounding thumps. Everyone straightened up, suddenly on the alert.

"What the hell is that?" Ashe said quietly

"Good question." Ace replied in the same tone of voice, slowly getting to his feet.

"Model A?" Grey said, looking around at the Biometal. It nodded.

"I'm ready when you are."

"Whatever it is, it's coming closer," Ashe muttered

"It sounds almost like… footsteps…" Celtis said, a puzzled look on her face. "And it's coming from the roof?"

Ace looked startled.

"What?! But we're still traveling at top speed! There shouldn't be anything that can stand there, let alone walk! Something with flight capability, yeah, I could believe that, but..."

He was cut off by a sudden, loud clang followed by a series of rapid, erratic impacts on the train roof, punctuated by the sounds someone swearing. Moments later, a blurred figure shot past the window, still cursing. Finally there was a tremendous bang, as a claw shaped dent appeared in the wall of the car.

Ace and the two Chosen Ones exchanged a bewildered look.

"What the hell?" Ace said finally. Then he caught sight of Celtis' face.

"What's up with you?"

Celtis gave a groan of disbelief and banged her head on the table. She knew that voice all too well.

"That _idiot_…!"

There was a scrabbling noise, and one of the windows slid open. A familiar clawed hand appeared, groping for a handhold. Finding one, it held onto the sill tightly as a second one appeared. Grabbing onto the window frame with both hands now, their owner pulled himself up and into the car's interior.

Omega spat out the carrying strap for his travel bag, along with a faceful of feathers. Slamming the window shut behind him, he turned his attention to his long, unruly white hair,which was sticking out almost horizontally behind him, still muttering darkly under his breath as he tried to flatten it down again.

It was only after he heard Ace give a loud cough that he realized there was anyone else in the car.

There was a loooong silence.

" Uh… hi," He said finally. Celtis sighed and covered her eyes with one hand.

"Why can't my life ever be normal?"

Ace groaned and threw his hands up in the air in disbelief as he sat back down.

"Great, I think I just lost about thirty years off my lifespan there. Mind explaining to me what exactly you were doing up there?"

Ashe leaned closer to Grey.

"Who's this guy?"

"Um, he's-"

"My partner," Celtis said gloomily. " He's the Saber I was telling you about back at the station."

Ashe looked across at her and raised an eyebrow.

"Don't even ask." Celtis sighed.

"Mind telling me what exactly you were doing on top of a train moving at high speed?"

"Me? I just felt like getting some air." Omega replied coolly.

Ace raised an eyebrow, glancing back at Omega's almost horizontal hair.

"Well, I can certainly see you were in the right place for that," he said evenly. Before he could continue, Omega cut him off.

"At least, it was the right place, until one of these hit me in the face." He said, an irritated look crossing his face. He held up a battered mass of feathers.

"Damn vultures."

Ashe looked confused.

"But...we're in the middle of a wasteland! There shouldn't be anything alive out here!"

Omega was taken aback.

"What?!"

Ace suddenly caught a metallic gleam hidden within the feathered wreckage.

"Oh, no..."

Darting forward, he snatched the bird's remains out of Omega's startled hands.

"Oi! Go get your own dead bird!"

Ignoring him, Ace tore frantically at the corpse until he found what he was looking for.

Beneath the fake feathers, below the synthetic skin, a smooth, metal surface stared back up at him.

All of the blood drained from Ace's features.

The so-called 'vulture' was a fake. And that meant...

"Oh, shit" Ashe breathed.

Ace dropped the corpse of the Mutos Reploid, his comm. instantly appearing in his hand and yelling orders before the body could hit the ground.

"All units, move to Full Alert! I repeat, full alert! Maverick scouts have been detected, direction of approach, north by northwest! Control, I want all Praetors running hot now! Tell everyone to get ready, cause we got company!" Snapping his comm shut, he turned back to face the others, alarms beginning to go off in the background.

"We've been made" he said grimly. "This is going to get really bad, really fast."

Ashe grinned.

"What're you talking about? This is where it really starts to get interesting!"

Grey smiled. "You're as eager as ever, aren't you?"

Model A shook its head ruefully.

"Yep!" Ashe laughed. "I'd never miss a chance to bash some Mavericks!"

Celtis was getting to her feet when she felt it. Everything around her suddenly faded, becoming blurred, as though a translucent fog had been dropped around her. Even the blaring alarms sounded muffled and faint. She could barely feel her own body.

Suddenly, over the sound of her companions, she heard something.

_'What the…What's happening?! Who's there?!'_

It was though someone had found the volume dial and suddenly cranked it all the way to the maximum setting. The strange sound was suddenly deafening, drowning out everything around her. Now she could recognize it.

Voices. Hundreds, if not thousands of them, all of them overlapping and mixing with each other until they were no longer understandable. The noise assaulted her from all sides, as the world around Celtis suddenly burned red.

Madness. That was the only way Celtis knew how to describe it. Pure, undiluted insanity. Enough to create whole legions of Mavericks.

And then, even as her mind reeled from the incredible assault, she sensed something else. A power, behind the madness, a power that even now was watching her.

A sudden sound from behind made Ace and the others turn.

"What the- Miss Arcana!"

Celtis was staggering, one hand pressed against the wall as she tried to stay on her feet. The other was pressed to her face tightly, her eyes staring wide and unseeing through her fingers. The look on her face was enough to set even Omega on edge. Something was terribly wrong here.

"...Make it stop...! Stop it...Please...Stop it!"

Ace grabbed her by the shoulders.

"What's wrong? Miss Arcana! Snap out of it!"

As if she could hear his voice, Celtis looked up at him. Ace's eyes widened in shock as he saw her face clearly. Behind him, Omega, who had been watching the scene from the corner of his eyes, turned fully towards them, to make sure he wasn't seeing things.

Celtis' eyes were now a deep, iridescent violet hue, a crimson corona surrounding her pupils. They seemed to be almost glowing.

"Can't you feel it...?" she whispered. "They're coming...! It's...calling them! I can hear it...!"

"What?" Ace said stunned. Then, his face went pale as he realized what she was saying. Before anyone could say or do anything, however, all hell broke loose.

In the darkness of the armored transport car, the eighth Biometal's blazing blue eyes flashed to life. A single massive, invisible shockwave blasted outwards, passing easily through the shielding around it, and expanding outwards at an incredible rate. It left no real physical traces as it passed, as thought it didn't exist. For some, though, it was all too real.

Celtis jerked backwards, a scream of agony ripping from her throat as she felt it. Even the two Chosen Ones were knocked off balance, Model A dropping a full foot from its hovering position. Omega's eyes widened slightly as he felt the sudden surge, but managed to stay on his feet..

Waiting in the desert, a force of armed Mavericks felt the surge, and answered its call.

The scarlet-clad Commander barely had time to register what had just happened before a tremendous blast shook the train. Unlike the mysterious, ghostly force that had passed a second ago, this was a real, full-scale explosion. There was a horrible screeching sound, which Omega recognized as the sound of the train's wheels going off the track, before an almighty impact threw them all off their feet. At the same time, the lights flickered and went out.

Ace staggered back to his feet, ripping out the spike of metal that had punched clean through his right shoulder.

"Son of a bitch that HURT! Control, report! What the _hell_ just happened?!"

The operator's voice was shaken as he made his report.

"Commander, they mined the tracks! Not only that, but they hooked up an EMP generator to it as well! They've fried a lot of our systems, including most of our turret controls! The signature matches that of four Disruption Charges!"

'_A Disruption Charge?! Legion's only just begun mass production of those things! How on earth could they have gotten their hands on one, much less __**four**__ of them?!_'

"What about the Praetors?! Do we still have those operational?"

"Not entirely, sir. Praetors 1 through 4 had just finished powering up when the EMP went off, so they've been completely fried. 5 and 6 were halfway through their startup cycle, so they took less damage, but it's unlikely that we'll be able to get them at their full power…"

Ace took a deep breath.

"So you're telling me that out of seven railguns, we've got a grand total of one fully functional Praetor and two others that are malfunctioning?! Do we have ANY of the other automated defense systems online?!"

"Very few of them, sir. The bomb was timed to go off when it was as close to our mainframe as possible for maximum damage."

'_Impossible! I had the mainframe secretly moved two cars back from its normal position in the front! How the hell could they have known about that?_'

Ace gritted his teeth.

"…What's the current estimate of our defensive strength?"

The operator was silent for a long time.

"…Sir?"

"Just tell me." Ace growled, already knowing the level it would be.

"…Current defensive potential…is…It's 37%, sir."

Ace's expression went dead, his mind racing. Even in his worst-case scenarios he hadn't planned on a situation this disastrous occurring.

_They were waiting for us, _he thought, shaking with anger. _They knew exactly when we'd be passing through here and managed to set a trap for us. Those_ **bastards! **_We've been immobilized, and our defenses have been severely compromised. All that's left to do is wait for them to come get us…_

Ashe groaned and picked herself up.

"Owww…That hurt."

"Oh, like you can complain. You had an easy landing!" A familiar voice growled. "Now, are you going to get off of me or do I have to send you flying again?"

"What-?" Ashe looked up to find none other than one pissed-off God of Destruction glaring down at her, _far_ too close for comfort.

With a yelp, she pushed herself back off of him, blushing furiously.

"S-sorry! Are you okay?"

Omega ignored her, and in a single motion, smashed his way free of the debris confining him. He cracked his neck, and rotated his left shoulder a few times, making sure everything was in working order before he finally replied.

"Meh. After you get dropped into an area on the nose of a city-buster missile, stuff like this doesn't even qualify as annoying."

Ashe looked confused.

"What?"

"Oh, uh, nothing I'm fine." Omega said quickly, swearing mentally at himself for being so careless.

"Hey! Everybody still in one piece?" Ace called, shaking off his dark mood.

Still red-faced, Ashe got back to her feet hastily, avoiding Omega's amused look.

"Yeah, I'm in one piece, and so is Saber!"

"I'm okay, too!" Grey said helpfully, from his upside down spot at the opposite end of the car.

"Same here!" Model A piped up, wriggling out from under a pile of broken plates.

"Miss Arcana?"

Omega looked around as he heard a faint groan.

"Hang on a sec."

His hands in the pockets of his jacket, Omega strolled over to a broken table and stopped. Without bothering to give it anything more than a cursory glance, he lifted his leg and dealt it a tremendous kick, sending the table flying. Reaching down, he rummaged around in the settling cloud of dust until he found what he was looking for.

A satisfied smirk on his face, Omega straightened back up, holding Celtis up by the back of her jacket.

"Yeah, found her. Looks okay, too, I guess."

Celtis groaned again and pressed a hand to her head.

"Ugh…O-Omega…? What happened…?"

"I don't know. You started acting all psychotic, and then the whole place blew up." Omega said, airily, trying to draw attention away from the fact that she'd _just used his real name, the damned IDIOT!_

She gave him a confused look.

"…acting psychotic…?"

"Yeah." Ace cut in. With a grunt of pain he pulled himself back up and stepped forward. Ashe gasped at the sight of his bloody right arm.

"Ace! Your arm!"

Ace waved her off.

"It's nothing. We don't have time to worry about that now!" He turned his gaze on Celtis.

"You saw it, didn't you? The madness?"

Celtis shivered as a vague memory presented itself.

"I think so… What the hell _was_ that?"

Ace's face was grim. "That was our precious cargo making its presence known to the world. I've seen it myself, once before, when my exploration team found it three months ago. Right after that, everything went straight to hell. Enough Mavericks showed up to rival Ouroboros."

Ashe nodded, her face serious. As a favor to Ace, she'd gone along on that mission, so she knew exactly what he was talking about.

"Which means that whatever's coming now, it's going to be bad."

Ace gave a low growl.

"You don't know the half of it." He then proceeded to fill them in on the full extent of the situation.

"Well, so much for your much-vaunted security." Omega smirked. " So right now we can probably expect in the next four seconds…"

BOOM!

"…That to happen." He finished, a satisfied look on his face

Ace snarled.

"I did not come this far to lose to a bunch of half assed Maverick scum! All of you get moving, now! Do NOT let them get anywhere near that Biometal!"

Ashe grinned.

"No problem! Me and Grey'll take 'em down before the even know what hit them!"

Omega snorted.

"Yeah, that's if I don't beat you to it, kid!"

Ace stopped in the doorway, his back to them.

"It doesn't matter. I hired all of you to assist Legion in the event that enemies attacked us. Those enemies are here now, and you have your orders."

He turned slightly, murder in his ice-blue eyes.

"_**Kill every single one of them.**_"

With that chilling statement, the Commander of Legion's Security Forces swept out, heading for the main control room. Somebody was going to pay for this.

Omega's estimation of the man rose a few notches. To keep fighting, even against odds like this, and to put his own life on the line by personally coming out to a battlefield like this alongside the troops he'd sent…Ace Phoenix was indeed a lot more deserving of the title than most other 'Commanders' Omega had met before.

Ashe and Grey took off. Or more accurately, Ashe took off and Grey tried to keep up.

Omega threw back his head and laughed as the three remaining Praetors fired another volley, no doubt vaporizing a couple dozen more Mavericks. The sounds of the earth-shattering explosions pleased him to no end. Already he could hear the familiar sounds of war and chaos beginning to swirl around him.

Celtis looked at him strangely.

"What's so funny?"

Omega grinned savagely.

"Nothing at all…" he said gleefully, insane lights dancing in his eyes. He looked around the room for a moment.

"Well, what're you waiting for? I thought you'd be the first one out there!"

"You go on ahead." Omega said calmly. "I've got some business to deal with first."

Celtis hesitated for a brief second, before she shook her head in disbelief and headed off after Ashe and Grey. Omega walked casually over to the other side of the car and pulled his traveling bag out from beneath an upturned chair. He laughed as he finally opened it to reveal a flash of crimson.

After all, you can't go into a fight without just the right ass-kicking threads!

* * *

If she had heard Omega say that, Ashe couldn't have agreed more.

"Come on, you bastards!" she yelled. As if replying to her challenge, a squad of Galleon Wings came swooping in towards her. Reacting instantly, she lifted her left hand A-Buster and cut loose with a storm of Lock-On shots. Out of the cloud of explosions, only one Wing made it through, still trying to fulfill its attack programming. Without missing a beat, she lifted her right hand and delivered a fully charged Buster shot right in its face.

"Whoo! Ten points to me!" She laughed. Behind her, Buckfire crashed into another squad of Mutos Mavericks, sending them flying. There was a flash of light, and suddenly the green clad form of Aeolus erupted upwards, scything into them. Before any of their Galleon comrades could get a lock, Aeolus leapt upwards one more time, using his boosters. There was another flash of light and…

Ashe winced as the full weight of Bifrost came crashing down on them like the wrath of God.

"You really like your form-changing, don't you, Grey?"

Another flash, and Bifrost disappeared, replaced by the shape of Grey in his Model A form. He smiled.

"Well, it's pretty fun to see how I can combine them into different combos, so why not?"

Ashe looked thoughtful.

"Good point. Let me try!"

Spinning around, she A-Transed in mid-step and smashed an unfortunate Galleon Hunter into next weekend with an almighty blow from Vulturon's guitar. Still turning, she flashed again, transforming into Argoyle and spin-kicked a pair of canine Mutos Mavericks into several of their comrades. She followed it up with an electrified tackle from Hedgeshock, and then finished it off with a devastating series of blows from Atlas' Knuckle Busters.

"Woo-hoo! Hey, you're right, it is pretty fun." She commented. One of the wolf Mavericks behind her growled and tried to get back up on its remaining two legs, and was promptly smashed back down with a Knuckle Buster for its efforts.

Ashe grinned. "I gotta say, this form's got some benefits!"

A thought occurred to her, and she looked down at her body again, an odd look on her face. Without looking, she brought up one of the Knuckle Busters and incinerated another onrushing group of Mavericks.

"Hey, Grey?" she said, a thoughtful expression crossing her features. "Is it just me, or is Atlas's form starting to look a bit more…I don't know, more feminine?"

Grey tripped over his own feet and went crashing into a pile of crates. He surfaced, spluttering in disbelief and bright red in the face.

"We're in the middle of a fight and you're asking me WHAT?!"

"No, really!" Ashe said, ignoring his outburst. " I swear, last time I used this form, it felt like it was a guy's! But now…" She shifted slightly and broke another unfortunate Maverick in half as it flew past.

"I mean, I'm pretty sure these weren't quite as-ack!-bouncy, dammit! It's messing with my balance!"

Grey was suddenly too busy fighting Mavericks to reply.

"Your ears are turning red, Grey…" Model A teased.

"Sh-shut up! Why don't you answer her then?!" Grey retorted, still fighting.

Model A was silent for a few moments. Then it spoke up again, in a surprised tone.

"Hey, I think she might be right!"

Both Chosen Ones stopped in disbelief.

"Huh?"

"Yeah! I just ran a check and it looks like the data for some of the A-Trans forms is changing! I don't know why, but…"

A thought occurred to Grey.

"Is that happening to any of them in particular?"

Model A paused again, humming slightly as it went through its data banks. In the meantime, Ashe and Grey resumed the simple process of bashing every Maverick that came within range. Thanks to the three Praetors and the storm of defensive fire from the security forces, most of the Mavericks were being taken out well before they reached the train, which is why the two Chosen Ones were currently able to enjoy the luxuries of a leisurely conversation like this one.

" Huh. Well that's interesting." The Biometal finally spoke up.

"What is it?"

"Well, it looks like the only data being altered is that for Aeolus, Thetis, Siarnaq, Atlas, Aile and Vent! In other words, the other Chosen Ones!"

"So what does that mean?"

Model A gave the mental equivalent of a frown. "I don't know, it's almost as if-"

Exactly what Model A was going to say, they never found out.

"Ashe! Grey!" Ace's voice crackled over the communications band. "A big one of them just got past the Praetor defense line! It's headed your way now!"

There was a roar, and the mother of all mechaniloids landed in front of them. A massive, armored lizard, the giant beast reared back on its hind legs, baring a mouth filled with razor-sharp fangs at the two Chosen Ones. Its taloned hands clicked menacingly as it loomed over them.

Ashe stared up at it for a moment, before tapping her headset.

"Gee, thanks Ace. We got all of two seconds warning there. Really useful. How much did you pay for that detection gear?"

Inside the train's command center, Ace made an obscene hand gesture in her general direction.

" Just shut up and start earning the ridiculously high salary I'm paying you already," He replied flatly.

"Aye aye sir!" Ashe grinned. She clicked off the headset and looked up at the towering Maverick, all humor disappearing from her expression. Heavy, meshing steel scales covered its body from head to toe, covering any weak points that might be taken advantage of. Not just that, but due to its overwhelming size, its reach with its claws and teeth would be a difficult obstacle to overcome. Her mouth tightened into a grim smile. This one might not be as intelligent as the Pseudoroids she'd fought before, but in terms of sheer animal combat instinct, it was definitely going to be tough.

"Ashe? Any ideas?"

"Yeah. This guy's gonna need both of us to take him down."

There were twin flashes of light, and the two Chosen Ones stood before it, both clad in the armor of Model A. With a nod to each other, they charged forward. The only worry now, was that with both of them occupied with the Iron Lizard, as Ace had so appropriately named it, a sizable amount of the Legion troops' defensive power had just been siphoned off.

Fortunately, that's why they hired other Hunters.

Celtis ran along the train, stopping to help pockets of Legion resistance wherever she found them. Her best bet right now, she thought, was to find a spot that would give her a clear line of sight on anything heading for the Biometal's car. That way, it'd be far easier for her to take down anything that would represent a risk of losing the Biometal.

There was a crash up ahead, followed by the sounds of security personnel shouting. Celtis gave a growl of frustration. It sounded like one such risk had just appeared.

Skidding to a halt, she peered around the exit door and cursed. The next car was one of the few large, open cargo transports that had been taken along as well. To make a long story short, it was a mess.

Cargo boxes were strewn all over the deck, a far cry from the neat stacks they'd been tied down in for the trip. Some were still in untidy piles, most of which had laser burns on them, mostly from Maverick forces that were shooting at them in an attempt to hit the Security forces that were using them for cover. Dead and dying from both sides were scattered among the debris, while a furious exchange of bullets and lasers flew overhead. She winced as a well-aimed bullet from a Legion soldier struck a Galleon's rocket launcher, detonating the warhead inside and sending Mavericks flying with the resulting explosion.

"Nice," She whistled. Then she caught sight of one of the bodies, clad in a khaki uniform.

"No way…" she gasped. Moving slightly to get a better look, her eyes widened. The corpse wore a familiar hostile environment face-mask.

"Raiders!"

Looking around again, Celtis suddenly became aware that there were other bodies wearing the Raiders' uniform. As she tried to figure out what in the hell was going on, she caught sight of movement on the far side of the deck. As she watched, three Raiders, followed by a squad of Galleons, appeared, moving in from the left of the deck. The Raiders took cover behind another pile of boxes, leaving the Galleons to find their own shelter. Then the unthinkable happened.

One of the Raiders raised a hand and _signaled_ the Galleons. He made a series of hand signals, the meaning of which was lost on Celtis. And then, to Celtis' complete and utter shock, the Galleons _nodded_ and moved out, to attack a nearby group of Security troops.

Celtis slowly stepped back from the door and leaned against the wall, her mind struggling to comprehend what she'd just witnessed.

There were Raiders in the attacking forces. And they were working alongside the Mavericks.

Slowly she raised a hand to her earpiece.

"Commander Ace?"

* * *

In the command room of the damaged train, chaos ruled. The EMP attack had damaged much of the primary support systems, so they were currently running on the backup generators. The dim red emergency lighting was not helping matters much. In the last five minutes alone, the scarlet-clad Commander had heard at least four collisions between his frantic subordinates. Not for the first time, he was glad that he'd had a raised platform installed for his use.

He stared up at the massive array of video projections that covered the entire opposite wall. Each one displayed the feeds coming in from the remaining video cameras that were still working.

Their situation stood as thus:

Item 1: The train had been stopped. Stopped, so effectively, that it probably wouldn't be going anywhere without a complete overhaul of the train's entire electrical system. Oh, and the fact that the entire underside of the front two cars had been turned into a godawful mess of twisted metal? Yeeeah, they were definitely not gonna be riding the rails anytime soon.

Item 2: Once the operators in charge had recovered from the surprise attack, they had immediately sent out the highest level distress-code that Ace could authorize. Again, just part of the procedure Ace had worked out for a situation like this. This would have worked just great, if it hadn't been for the fact that a jamming field had cut off the transmission moments later. Even now, his operators were still feverishly trying to figure out some way to punch through the field. In other words, as far as reinforcements were concerned, they were pretty much _screwed._

Item 3: Mavericks. Plain and simple. Or to put it in Ace's current terms: WHERE THE FUCKING HELL DID SO MANY OF THESE SONS-OF-BITCHES CRAWL OUT FROM?!

Yeah, he wasn't exactly in the best of moods.

It was simply unbelievable. How could a force of this many Mavericks have gone undetected?! Hell, from what the sensors were showing, they were only getting hit by an advance wave of the enemy forces, not even their full force. And not only that, but-

_**KRAAANGG!!**_

Ace gave an irritated sigh and grabbed onto the railing in front of him as the impact from the mortar round shook the train again. He raised his eyes upward to the ceiling and sent a venomous look at where he imagined the offending mortar tank to be.

Yeah, as he had been saying, apparently they'd managed to get a couple of FUCKING mortar tanks up as well.

All three of these things pointed to extremely well-thought out and exceedingly well executed plan. Somebody had gone to a lot of trouble to put this together for one Biometal, which no-one was even supposed to know existed. Somebody had put Ace in a situation which qualified as quite possibly the biggest damn fuck-up of a military mess since Ouroborous had pulled its ugly ass out of the ocean.

When this was over, Ace vowed, he was going to find out exactly who it was had put this together, and he was going to shake their hand. After which he'd be more than willing to kick their teeth down their throat.

The Legion Commander's foul mood was interrupted as his com buzzed. Which probably meant more bad news, since only the six Hunters had this number. Growling, he flicked it open.

"What is it?"

"Commander Ace? It's me, Celtis."

"Yeah, I guessed. What's happened now?"

There was a moment's silence.

"Raiders?! And they're WHAT?!" Ace's incredulous yell cut through the air, startling the other operations personnel.

Over the next few minutes, as Ace listened to Celtis' report, his expression went dead.

"Really. Is that so. Right. Good luck." Ace clicked off the com and stowed it, still looking fixedly forward at the opposite wall, his expression carefully blank. The bridge crew exchanged nervous glances. They knew from past experience that whenever Ace got that rigid, neutral look on his face, and started giving monosyllabic responses like that, it usually meant that somebody was going to get hurt. Badly.

"Communications!"

"Y-yes sir?" the female operator quavered.

"Would you be so kind as to put me through to Unit V?" Ace said brightly, a wide, fake looking smile on his face.

"Right away, sir!"

"I think I've had just about _enough_ of this shit."

* * *

Vile blinked as he saw the sign for an incoming message appear in his helmet display. Opening it, he was rewarded by the overly cheerful voice of Ace Phoenix.

"Hello, V!"

Vile sighed. " Well, who pissed you off this time, Phoenix?"

"What makes you say that?"

"The fact that you're talking much too loud, and much too happily. You always get like this right before you haul off and punch somebody."

The vein in Ace's forehead twitched.

"Well, in that case, I think it's time to fire up ol' Betsy and start busting some heads, don't you?"

Vile groaned. "For the last time, it's not 'old Betsy'!"

Ace gave an unconcerned shrug. "Hey, you can call it whatever you like, so long as it starts plowing those Mavericks into the dirt."

Vile grinned behind his helmet. "Even if there happen to be human Raiders in the way?"

Ace gave a short bark of laughter. "I should think that would be the least of your concerns!"

Vile's smile widened. "Indeed. I was just asking out of courtesy, you understand."

"Trust me, I could care less." Ace growled. "They threw their lot in with the Mavericks, so they'll meet the same fate."

He paused.

"No offense intended."

"None taken," Vile replied calmly, "Anything else?"

"That's it for now. Good luck!"

"I won't need that." Vile replied, before switching the link off.

In the darkness, the war machine's growling intensified, as if it could sense the time of battle drawing nearer. Vile smiled coldly.

"I guess it's showtime…"

* * *

Celtis dove for cover behind a pile of crates. Energy blasts and bullets flew past, tearing through the spot she'd been in a few moments ago.

"Why'd I have to go play the hero…?" She groaned.

Since cutting off contact with Ace, she'd gone out to see what she could do to help the Security forces. After that, it was basically a game of hide and seek, picking off any Mavericks or Raiders that she could get a clear shot on, and then running like hell when they returned the favor.

Now, though, she was beginning to think that her plan could probably have used a bit more work. She'd just fired her Hi-Caliber's last bullet, and was currently being pinned down by heavy enemy fire.

"Crap…Guess I'll have to use this one then…" she said, pulling out the new weapon she'd gotten from Vix.

As if to agree with her words, there was a sudden crash next to her. Celtis spun, startled, to find a Galleon Hunter looming over her, its buster already leveled at her.

There was no time to think. Acting purely on instinct, she brought the crimson handgun up, and pulled the trigger.

It was only as she pulled the trigger that she realized that she had never had a chance to load this gun.

"Oh…"

Whatever she was going to say was totally forgotten as something completely unexpected happened.

The weapon suddenly glowed a brilliant red. A tremendous flash of light erupted from every surface as the spiraled barrel mounted underneath it whirled to life.

BOOM!

Celtis felt a tremendous impact off to her left as the heat of a buster shot grazed the her face. She felt the scarlet weapon jerk with a tremendous recoil…

And then everything was still.

Slowly, she cracked open one eye, and then gasped in disbelief.

The Galleon, or what was left of it, still stood before her. Its entire Buster arm, along with most of its torso had been completely blown away. As she watched in disbelief, it took a single faltering step, and then collapsed in a heap of damaged machinery, revealing a basketball-sized crater in the wall behind it.

Celtis blinked. "Did…I do that?"

A sudden crackling noise drew her attention. She looked down at the gun in her hand.

"Gah! Wh-what's happening?!"

The entire back half of the gun was cracking up. Before she could do anything, the pieces shattered and fell away to reveal a new, shining surface below.

"What on earth?" Celtis murmured.

The handle was now much smaller, and fit her hand much more easily, almost as if it had been designed for her. The back of the gun was now slightly smaller as well, and more streamlined. The scarlet metal seemed to almost glow with life as the sunlight struck it.

What really caught Celtis' attention, though, was the circular metal sigil now glowing, just above the grip, where the handle met the body of the gun.

A menacing, skull like emblem stared back at her, red lights dancing in its black eye sockets. She shook herself slightly, a weird chill running down the back of her neck.

"Man, this is one weird gun…" She muttered. "I wonder what it shoots?"

Checking, she was rewarded with another surprise. There was nowhere she could find to either eject or load a magazine! For all intents and purposes, this gun had no way of reloading!

And yet, something had blasted apart the Galleon before it could do the same to her…

Celtis looked thoughtfully down at the gun again.

"Hmmm…Well, why not?"

She pointed it across at another pile of crates and pulled the trigger. There was another, albeit smaller, flash, and the pile of crates was blasted apart.

"Whoa…"Celtis breathed, amazed. "This thing's got a punch!" Then she looked around.

Drawing a bead on an exposed Galleon, she fired again. The targeted Maverick was knocked clean off its feet and crashed to the ground, its head blown almost completely off.

Celtis ducked back down, grinning like an idiot.

"I think I'm going to like this gun…" She looked down at the name written on the side of the barrel.

"…Hades, huh?"

* * *

Elsewhere…

There was a blast, and two Galleon Hunters fell, one with its neck a charred stump, and the other with a molten hole blasted through its stomach. Their comrades turned to find the source of the attack, weapons at the ready.

A short distance away, a violet armored figure stood atop a rise in the desert's terrain, the barrel of the heavy-duty cannon on its shoulder still smoking. As the dust blocking the figure faded, it revealed the cold, helmeted features of the infamous True Maverick, Vile.

The two sides stared silently at each other for a few moments. Then, without warning, the Maverick army leapt forward, intent on crushing the obstacle that had appeared in their way. The legendary ex-Maverick Hunter rushed to meet their challenge and crashed head-on into their ranks, lashing out almost immediately. However, anyone watching this battle would have noticed something amiss in his method of combat. His body seemed almost…fluid, for lack of a better word. It was though he was simply wherever the enemies' attacks were not.

Ducking under another attack, Vile came up swinging, a jet black blade emerging from his right arm. Without even hesitating, he cut through two Mavericks, and then, spinning around, put his sword right through a Raider's chest.

To any observer, they would have immediately seen something strange. The sword on Vile's arm was simply…wrong. Instead of looking as though it had slid out from some hidden recess in his gauntlets, similar to the way it would have changed into a Buster, the sword seemed to be a part of his arm, almost organic, in a way. The metal of the gauntlet seemed to almost melt into the shape of the sword, as though it was a part of him.

"Wh-what the hell…are you?!" One of the Raiders snarled. His partner stiffened at the sight of the red V on Vile's helm.

"I…I've heard of these guys! He's from Unit V!"

"What?! Unit V?! They really exist?!"

"…" The True Maverick said nothing, merely raising his blade to a defensive position.

The first Raider suddenly grinned.

"So, this guy's one of the legendary Unit V's, huh? Man, if we kill you, our group'll get a huge reputation boost!"

Around him, the other Raiders, as well as any sentient Mavericks, began to smile unpleasantly.

"Well…now, this strikes me as a rare opportunity! Whaddya say guys?"

"I say we get him!"

"Yeah! That'll teach those Legion punks to mess with us!"

With a wild yell, they charged Vile. He met their advance with a series of blows from his sword. With a flash of light, his other arm transformed as well, this time morphing into a powerful, dual-barreled buster cannon. Like the sword, this too had an odd, organic look to it.

The next few moments were a screaming melee of whirling blades and richocheting bullets. The legendary True Maverick fought fiercely, but with each strike, he continued to move backwards, towards the Unit V trailer.

Finally, the path littered with the bodies of their comrades, the motley force of Mavericks and Raiders had pinned him back against the trailer. The same Raider from earlier, now sporting one less arm and a nasty cut across his face, grinned.

"Nowhere to run now, is there?"

Leveling his rifle, the Raider fired three shots.

The shots caught Vile in his left shoulder, slamming him back against the metal wall.

"Hey! Who said you could take the kill?!"

"Well, if you had a problem, you could've shot him first, idiot!" The raider smirked and looked back at Vile.

"Don't worry, he ain't dead…yet…" The Raider trailed off as he suddenly realized that something was terribly wrong.

There was a sizable hole in the True Maverick's shoulder, where the bullets had hit, but there was…

Nothing. There was just an empty, clean edged hole running straight through him. There wasn't even a single sparking wire or broken metal edge in sight. Before the Raider's stunned eyes, the edges of the hole melted and distorted, closing in. In a matter of seconds, it was gone, leaving behind no trace. The True Maverick looked back up at them, and for an instant, the Raider could have sworn he saw a smile behind the shadowed visor. Then there was a sudden clang, followed by the sound of locks disengaging. He looked up.

It was only then that he realized that his entire squadron had been so eager to take down the infamous Unit V Reploid, that they had all clustered together. Looking up, it suddenly occurred to him that they were also extremely close to the trailer bearing the mark of Unit V. And those heavy clanging noises had come from inside there…

In that instant, he knew they had been set up. His eyes widened and he turned to run, opening his mouth to shout a warning.

He never got the chance.

There was a high pitched whine, and then a gigantic blast tore into them, blowing the wall of the car clear off of its supports and sending shards of metal shrieking through the clustered enemies with gruesome results. The blast was immense, shaking the ground itself as it struck the dead center of the mass of Mavericks and Raiders. At almost point blank range, the effect was devastating, wiping them out in a massive ball of flame and metal and blasting a twenty-foot wide crater in the ground.

As the smoke cleared, there was a pneumatic hiss, followed by the sounds of machinery shifting around and clanking as they moved into place. A low rumbling filled the air as a huge shape loomed out of the darkness of the Unit V trailer.

There was a faint groan of agony. The Raider commander stirred, levering himself back up on the charred stump that was the only thing left of his remaining arm. Despite the pain coursing through his ruined body, he still managed to gasp in disbelief at the machine that rolled out of the shadows.

"I-Impossible…! A…Crucio…Siege Tank!"

The Crucio-model Siege Tank is a war machine that even today, centuries later, still holds an almost legendary status. Making their first appearance during the Elf Wars, these fearsome machines soon established a reputation as one of the most deadly units ever to be classified in the Armored Division of the world's military forces.

Renowned for its devastating firepower and stalwart emplacement/advance tactics, the Crucio is quite a unique machine. Originally designed to be a 'final defense' security cannon, the versatility of Ride Armors showed that mobility played a crucial part in maintaining an effective military force, and so the Crucio came into existence. In its mobile form, the Crucio is armed with twin 90mm cannons, more than enough for dealing with enemy troops. However, missions such as city assaults and base defenses required far more firepower than even these machines could provide. The final solution was to provide a second mode for the tank, one that would allow it to supply artillery-based support. This was the Crucio's Siege Mode. When deployed in Siege Mode, the Crucio sacrifices its mobility, anchoring itself in place with several hydraulic supports, in order to then deploy its mightiest weapon: the awesome 150mm Shock Cannon.

In the course of time, however, the knowledge of how to create these amazing machines was lost, and eventually the numbers of functional Crucios dwindled into nothing, as the years took their toll. The last one was rumored to have been destroyed when a force of rampaging Mavericks blew up the facility where it was being kept in storage.

Now, staring up at a war machine straight out of the history books, it appeared that rumors of the Crucio's extinction had been greatly exaggerated.

Suddenly a shadow fell over the Raider. He rolled over, to see the same violet armored Reploid that had led them into the trap, its right arm morphed back into a gun form. Then, before his astonished eyes, the Reploid's entire body seemed to distort and shift, changing into the shape of a young, black-haired woman, clad in black and violet armor, and with a yellow scarf around her neck.

"Wh-who…Who the hell _are_ you people?!" He managed to say, before he collapsed, his life fading away.

Rika's expression did not change as she stared down at the dead Raider. Then, with a glow, her right arm changed back to normal, and she turned away, walking silently back to the Crucio, which, even now, was still punishing the advancing Mavericks with a deadly rain of 90mm shells.

Inside its cockpit, the real Vile expertly tracked the barrels, laying down a barrage of shells with pinpoint accuracy, each one striking vital points in the advancing line. His expression was grim as he blasted away. With the train's defenses taking a pounding from the enemies' mortar tanks, he needed to take them out quickly. With these fools slowing him down like this… He glanced across to where he had estimated the mortar tanks to be, growled, and made a choice.

"To hell with it. Rika! Diversion!"

She nodded. Transforming both arms into the long black assault Busters she preferred to use for ranged combat, she opened up on the disoriented Mavericks with devastating effect. Behind her, she heard the loud, mechanical sounds of the Crucio transforming into Siege Mode.

The two treads suddenly shifted outward, forming an X-shape beneath the tank. As the locked into place, two clamps suddenly extended from the body, and slammed down into the ground, anchoring it further. The twin barrels of the 90mm cannons shifted and interlocked, forming a single massive cannon. Additional plating slid into place, reinforcing it against the incredible power it was about to unleash.

Viewing the spectacle on one of the screens on the command deck, Ace heard one of his operators exclaiming in disbelief at the sight of the Crucio's fully transformed Siege Mode.

"You might want to cover your ears." He grinned. "Things are about to get loud!"

* * *

Still locked in combat with the Iron Lizard out on the deck, Ashe and Grey felt the blast from the Shock Cannon before they heard it. A shockwave raced through the ground, reverberating through the metal surface of the train deck, followed by a roar, and a flash of light as Vile fired.

Moments later, an entire cliffside seemed to simply vaporize, in a tremendous, incandescent explosion that consumed everything within its immense radius.

"Holy hell!" Ashe swore.

High above the cliffs, a massive figure stared down as Vile's Shock Cannon fired again, this time hitting nearer to the Maverick's mortar tanks. It growled as it saw the Unit V logo.

"Unit V has made their appearance, Master."

A voice came across the figure's comm., distorted by the numerous security encryptions that had been put in place to hide its owner's identity.

"Just like I planned. Have the tanks continue to draw their fire. While the Unit is occupied, all that's left to contend with are the two Chosen Ones."

"What about the other two?"

The unseen person gave a derisive snort. "Them? They're nobody. They qualified for this mission through sheer luck. I hardly think they'll be more of a challenge than the Chosen Ones."

The hulking figure grinned unpleasantly. "Well, then, this should be fun…I guess it's time to launch the real attack!"

Turning, he signaled one of his lieutenants.

"Yes sir?"

"Have our troops continue to draw off the Siege Tank. Order the 5th division to move up and start the attack."

"Right away, sir."

The hulking Maverick paused for a minute, before a wicked smile crossed his face.

"Oh, one more thing. Tell Siger that the Hunter responsible for the fall of Leos is also down there."

"Understood!"

Watching his subordinate run off, he chuckled. "Well, that should certainly brighten up his day…"

As the lieutenant ran off, the massive Maverick commander turned back to stare down at the wrecked train, a pensive look crossing his face.

"It's odd, though…I could have sworn that the 3rd was supposed to be attacking from the east…"

After a few moments, he shrugged. "They probably got sidetracked. No matter. They were to serve as merely a distraction anyway…"

* * *

On the eastern side of the train…

A lone white-haired figure strolled among the ruins of what had previously been the 3rd Division humming along to the sounds of the heavy metal music blasting in his ears.

"…Once again there is pain, I bring cold I bring flames…I'm the Blood Red Sandman, comin' home!"

He stopped, glanced down at his new outfit, and brushed off some ashes, no doubt the remains of one of the unfortunate members of this Raider/Maverick squad. He turned and gave a sigh as he saw more enemy troops closing in.

"More of you losers? Man, when are the real fighters gonna show up?" he complained, and threw himself back into the fray.

* * *

Satisfied that he'd spooked the mortars enough for them to stop firing, Vile hit the command for the tank's mobile mode, and fired one last Shock Cannon directly in front of him, before the transformation started.

From the moment the tank's clamps released their grip on the ground, Vile had the throttles to their stops, sending the Crucio rolling over the scorched earth that had been left by his attack.

"Nii-san." Rika's voice sounded warningly. Vile's eyes narrowed.

"I see them." He muttered, staring at the oncoming wave of enemies. Keying open Ace's personal line, he brought the double-barreled turret to bear on the approaching Mavericks, and opened up.

"Ace, we've got a problem."

The blond-haired commander's voice was grim as he replied. "Tell me something I don't know. What's the situation?"

"There's more of them coming in. At this rate I'll be cut off from the train."

"I guessed as much. They're trying to draw off our best defenses, so that their troops can get in. I'd order you back, but I think I've got a better idea. Exactly how much power does that Crucio of yours have?"

"More than enough to deal with these weaklings. What did you have in mind?"

"Simple." Ace grinned. "We use their own strategy against them. I want you to go straight through them, doing as much damage as possible. With any luck, it'll break their forward advance, and they'll start trying to focus on stopping you instead, giving us some breathing room. Hopefully that'll give us time to deal with those that're already pounding on the front gate."

The True Maverick leaned back in his seat and stared up at the ceiling for a few moments, calculating.

Then he shrugged. "Why not?"

"All right." Ace said. "Good luck. I'll try to support you with the Praetors as much as I can."

It was right at the moment that Ace cut the connection with Vile, that alarms started going off all around the command center.

* * *

"Wh-what the-?!"

"Commander Ace! We're picking up a massive energy signature closing in rapidly! Confirmed Maverick signature! Definitely Boss-class!"

Ace leaned forward, gripping the iron railing.

"_SHIT!_ Get Ashe and Grey, now! Where's that bastard heading?!"

"According to the enemy's trajectory, the target is…Here!"

Ace's head snapped up to stare at the massive screen as a schematic of the train and the surroundings flashed up.

"What? But that doesn't make any sense! That's an empty section! There's hardly any fighting there! Why not just jump straight to the armored carrier car? What's going on…?"

Then a flashing green symbol caught his eye.

"Wait a minute… that's one of the Hunters' signals!"

"Sir, we've just gotten a match for the signature in the database!"

"So it's a known Maverick?"

"No sir! It's a Raider match!"

"Bring it up!" The commander snapped. Almost immediately, the requested data appeared. Ace took one look at it, and everything fell into place.

_This is BAD! This one's target isn't the Biometal!_

He whipped around, giving a desperate yell.

"Scratch that last order! Get me a link to Arcana, now!"

* * *

Celtis emerged from one of the cars, into an open area that was relatively free of fighting. She gave an irritated growl as she ducked under a mechaniloid's flamethrower. Blowing it away with a point-blank shot from the Hades, she suddenly became aware that Ace was yelling something at her.

"-have to get out of there NOW, Arcana! There's a Maverick boss coming your way and he's after your _head!_"

"Say what?!"

There was a feral roar that shook the earth, and a massive form crashed down in front of Celtis, sending dust and debris everywhere. Celtis stumbled back, shielding her face.

"Wh-what's going on?!"

"ARRRCANNNNNNAAAAAAAA!!"

With another roar, the beast reared up in front of her. Finally catching sight of her attacker, Celtis gasped in shock.

"Leos Darkclaw?!"

"That's not Leos!" Ace yelled over the line. "That's Siger von Feuersturm!"

Celtis eyes widened. "The Firestorm Tiger?! What's he doing here?! He's supposed to be halfway across the continent!"

As if to further confirm it, flames burst into life from the linear heat vents all over his body, creating the glowing pattern of flaming stripes that gave Siger his name. Celtis winced as a wave of dry heat slammed into her, feeling the temperature of her surroundings rise by at least ten degrees as the roaring Maverick Raider powered up.

"Yeah, well, apparently nobody told him that." Ace said sardonically.

"_Jager_ Celtis Gisborne-Wingates Arcana! Prepare to meet your demise at the talons of the Infernal Brigade's _Oberst-fuhrer_! Me, the Firestorm Tiger, Siger von Feuerstuuuuuuuuurm!" Siger threw his head back and howled, his flames suddenly surging even higher.

"Aaagh!" Celtis cried out. "What the hell does he want with me?!"

Ace hesitated for a moment, then took a deep breath.

"Well, you noticed that he kind of looks like Leos…?"

"Yeah, so? What's that got to-" Celtis stopped as a terrible thought struck her. "Oh no…"

"Ohh yes…" Siger growled. Despite missing Celtis and Ace's conversation completely, the look on Celtis' face was more than enough for him.

"Leos Darkclaw was my brother, you Hunter _bitch_!" Siger snarled. "By killing him, you incurred my wrath! As his elder brother it is my sworn duty to slay his murderer, and avenge him!"

As Siger spoke, the flames around him pulsed with life, seemingly feeding off of his raging anger. Already the area was beginning to feel like a sauna, the heat sapping at Celtis' strength. Despite this, she could feel the icy cold touch of fear in her heart as she stared at the blazing Mutos Maverick.

_'…shit shit shit SHIT! This is bad! This is really bad! Leos was one thing, but this guy's in a whole other league! Leos wasn't even serious about fighting me, and Omega was the one who beat him anyway!_' She winced again as another wave of heat passed over her.

'_Damn! With that kind of heat, I won't even be able to get close to him!_'

"Celtis! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU _DOING_?! _**MOVE**_!"

Celtis jerked as Ace screamed in her ear. Startled back to reality, she instinctively leapt aside as a massive blast of fire scorched the air where she'd been standing, blasted from Siger's claw. She coughed, choking on ash as she rolled behind a huge shipping container.

Von Feuersturm growled, lowering his claw slightly.

"Your reflexes are admirable, but that will not save you forever Hunter girl…"

Celtis wiped off some of the sweat on her face and grimaced. He was right. As a normal human, there was no way she could hope to match up to a full-sized, experienced Mutos Reploid like Siger, even if he wasn't completely blind with hatred for her. The result of her fight with Leos had shown that quite clearly. Unconsciously, she touched her side, where he had broken her ribs.

"Celtis, you need to get out of there! You can't hope to take a guy like that on in normal combat!"

Celtis shook her head. "Trust me, Ace, as much as I want to do that, I can't. Even if I could outrun him, his flames would get me before I could get to any kind of cover."

Ace growled in frustration, knowing she was right. Even so, what could he do? He was stretched thin as things were already, and couldn't afford to divert any more resources towards helping her.

"And not only that," Celtis hesitated, "but he's only after me, isn't he?"

Ace looked up. "Yeah, he is. He bypassed most of the real fighting and just took a direct route towards you."

"Well, I guess I'll just have to keep him busy, then!"

"Wha-" Ace opened his mouth to protest, and then he realized what she was suggesting. By using herself as bait, Celtis could keep Siger occupied with her, thus keeping his attention off of the rest of the fighting, and more importantly, the Biometal itself. If a Mutos Maverick as powerful as Siger was allowed to join the fray, with Ace's six 'specialists' scattered across the battlefield as they were now, the consequences could be devastating for the already strained defenders.

"You sure about this, Arcana?"

Celtis looked down at the Hades, red lights glittering on its crimson surface.

"Not in the slightest," she said finally, getting to her feet as she heard Siger's approach.

"But, then again, this is what I'm getting paid for, isn't it?!" she yelled, and ducked as flash of orange appeared in her vision.

His red-hot talons cutting through the metal as cleanly as if it were butter, Siger sliced the container horizontally into two pieces. The heat of his claws left a glowing afterimage behind as he swatted away the upper half of the wrecked container. He stepped forward and-

-Celtis, lying on her back on the ground, leveled the Hades directly at him and shot the Firestorm Tiger in the face.

Unprepared for it, the force of the shot was enough to knock von Feuersturm back almost a full two paces. Pressing a claw to his feline features, the Maverick's eyes widened as he felt the dent in his armor.

"Well, it seems there's more to you than I expected," he growled, his eyes on the crimson handgun as Celtis got to her feet.

"But you'll need far more than that to take me down!" he roared suddenly, taking his hand away from his face and sending two massive fireballs hurtling towards her.

"Aaagh!" Celtis darted sideways, feeling the heat of the blasts singe her clothes. She didn't have time to stop, though as Siger immediately summoned two more and hurled them after her. She zigzagged frantically, somehow managing to avoid them, and fired wildly in Siger's direction. Two shots struck home, getting him in the right shoulder and chest, pushing him back. Not missing a beat, Siger moved with the impacts, turning it into a spin and came around again, his left claw glowing with energy as he brought it down.

"Take this!" he snarled. "_**MAGMA-REISSWOLF**_!"

His outstretched claw dug into the ground as he continued his turn, and flashed as the pent-up energy was released. Ripping it back upwards with tremendous force, Siger sent the power racing outwards, towards Celtis in a shockwave of rocks and flame.

"Oh crap!" Celtis yelped and dove to her left. As the wave of molten debris rumbled past her, Celtis got back to her feet firing at Siger again. He merely growled, and held up one hand to shield his face as he felt the impact of her bullets.

'_Something's not quite right here…' he thought, launching two more streams of flame towards her. 'The way she moves, the way she attacks…It's like she can see the weak points in all of my moves, and somehow manages to fit herself through one of those weak points!_' He grimaced again as more bullets slammed into him.

' _And not just that, but she's avoiding aiming for all of the vital spots a normal Mutos Reploid should have. Instead, she's hitting the weak points that I have, even though this body was custom made! Weak points that no-one else should even know about!_'

Drawing both claws back, he slashed them through the air in front of him diagonally.

"_**BRANDFLECK SLASHER**_!" he roared, as a huge, X-shaped wave of fire shot towards Celtis. Too wide to dodge, too low to dive under, Celtis did the only thing she could think of. Turning around, she ran back to where a pile of crates lay scattered in an untidy pile where they had fallen. Leaping frantically from crate to crate, she reached the top and leapt off, just as the Slasher crashed straight into the pile in an explosion that sent the rest of the crates flying in every direction.

As Siger gaped in disbelief up at her, she grasped the Hades in a two handed grip and brought it down to aim straight at him. In that instant, Siger saw her face, and he froze in shock.

Her eyes now a glowing spiral pattern of blazing crimson and neon violet, Celtis leveled the muzzle of the Hades and fired.

All eight bullets struck home with devastating force. The Firestorm Tiger reeled back as they hit him, stunned. Each one was timed perfectly, striking milliseconds after the last, hitting him in exactly the points that his full weight was concentrated. As the force of the first bullet caused him to shift his weight, the next one struck in that spot, forcing his weight to shift again. By the time the eighth bullet hit him, Siger had been knocked into a position where there was no possible recovery from. Celtis landed as behind her, Siger, the collective impacts finally proving too much for him, overbalanced and crashed to the ground on his back, hard enough to shake the ground. His eyes widened, and he gasped explosively as all of the air was knocked from his mechanical lungs by the fall.

Celtis looked up at his fallen form, her face a rictus of disbelief and awe.

"H-how the…Did I do that?"

In the Command Center, nine jaws hit the ground simultaneously.

After a few moments, Ace recovered enough to say what they were all thinking.

"What. The. Hell."

* * *

Nearby, still locked in furious combat with the Iron Lizard (literally, since Ashe was using Atlas' immense strength to keep it in a headlock, while Grey's Buckfire form had locked its arm backwards, and was now trying to keep it still while Ashe punched it in the head.), both Chosen Ones looked up as they felt the tremor caused by Siger's fall.

"Whoa. Ace, what's going on?"

There was a long pause.

"Ace? Are you there?"

"Wha…um…yeah, I'm here."

"What's going on? You sound kinda weird."

The Commander stared down at his phone for a moment, and then looked back at the screen, where Siger was trying to pick himself back up.

"I just watched Celtis drop a twenty-ton Mutos Maverick on his ass."

There was silence for a moment.

"Oh."

* * *

Celtis gave a squeak of alarm as Siger started to move again. With a low growl, he rolled over onto his stomach and slammed one claw into the ground. Levering himself up, he fixed her with a burning glare.

"I see…Now I understand the secret behind your strength. You wield the _Dämon-Augen_ of the legends…You truly are no ordinary human…"

The ground trembled as the massive Maverick slowly stood up.

"However, even with that at your disposal, you will not be spared my retribution! I underestimated you once, Celtis Gisborne Wingates Arcana. I will not make that mistake again!"

Celtis backpedaled, suddenly nervous. "Wait, what are you talking about?"

Von Feuersturm gave her a searching look, noting that her eyes had once again returned to normal.

"So, it seems as though you yourself remain unaware of it…No matter…"

Siger crouched down on all fours and growled a command under his breath. The vents all over his body suddenly burst into life with a high pitched humming sound. As Celtis watched him, alert for any kind of warning, she was aware of the humming growing higher and higher in pitch.

Ace turned his attention back to Celtis' situation just in time to see Siger's pose, and his eyes widened.

"No!" Desperately, he reached for his comm., knowing that he'd never warn her in time-

Siger growled again, the heat emanating from his body now reaching a point where the very air around him shimmered.

"_**TRUGBILD-FLAMME**_!"

-And vanished, leaving behind only ripples in the air.

Celtis gasped. "What the-!"

Ace's voice suddenly rang out. "Arcana! Behind you!"

Celtis whirled around, and was slammed backwards by the force of Siger's charge. She struck the ground hard enough to bounce, her vision blurring with the pain. Before she could recover, Siger's tail lashed out, ensnaring her right arm. She screamed in agony as the red hot metal seared into the skin of her forearm, burning through cloth and flesh, straight down to the bone.

At the sound of her scream, Siger smiled cruelly. "That's right, Hunter! I'm going to make you suffer, just as much pain as my brother did before you killed him! I'll make you pay dearly for his death! You. Will. PAY!"

Roaring with rage, Siger used his tail like a whip, swinging Celtis around through the air like a ragdoll, punctuating each word with a devastating impact. Slamming Celtis into a wall, the floor, a pile of crates, another wall and then, slamming her back down on the floor with enough force to put a crack in the heavy duty steel, he finally released his grip, grinning evilly at the smell of scorched flesh as the metal tore free of her charred skin. Celtis' back arched, her face a rictus of agony from the beating Siger had just given her. She couldn't even draw breath to scream again.

Siger reared up to his full height and glowered down at the girl's broken body.

"Does it hurt, Hunter girl…?" he sneered. "Now you know a fraction of the pain that I felt with the news of my brother's fall!" Reaching down, he closed two of his razor sharp talons around her neck, and tilted her head towards him. Bringing his face down to hers, Siger smirked.

"So pathetically weak and tiny…I could slice your neck open with just a flick of my fingers, and you wouldn't even know you were dead!"

His smirk widened. "Of course, wouldn't you just love for something like that right now?"

He paused. "You know…a quick, easy end to the agony you're in…?"

The Firestorm Tiger leaned in and grinned maliciously.

"All you have to do…is _beg_ me for it…!"

"Gk…kuh…" Celtis managed to choke out, blood running down her chin. Seeing the hatred and anger suddenly burning in her pain-dulled eyes, von Feuersturm merely laughed. Throwing her limp form carelessly back down he stood up and stepped back.

"So even now you do not yield…It seems you need to be taught your place, girl! Very well then!" he roared, laughing. Raising his hands over his head, his claws suddenly glowed anew. From the tip of each one, a stream of white-hot plasma flowed forth. They swirled around in the air above him, wrapping around one another, forming a sphere of blazing orange and white energy. As Siger fed more power into it, the sphere swelled, growing until it towered over their battleground.

"I'll grant you the most painful death I can! I'll burn you till even your bones are ash!"

Her mind slipping in and out of consciousness, Celtis stared dully up at the towering form of von Feuersturm. She was vaguely aware of the sounds of Ace screaming bloody murder in her earpiece, as if from miles away. The rest of her body felt numb, as though it didn't even exist any more. Of course, in a few moments, it really would cease to exist, if that giant glowing mass over Siger's head was anything to go by… Celtis felt something warm and wet underneath her, and realized that she was bleeding. A lot.

_Snap out of it you fool!_ She screamed in her head. _You're going to die! Get up! Get out of the way!_

Her body's response was something along the lines of, sorry, but from our perspective that fireball's starting to look reeeally good now, so if you don't mind, we'd rather just lay down here and get incinerated, thank you very much!

As the blood ran down her ruined right arm, it trickled over her hand…and the crimson handgun that still lay clenched within it.

Unnoticed by anyone, the eyes of the skull sigil set just above the Hades' grip began to glow. A dull, ominous, red glow.

As the light from the massive fireball caught Ashe's eye, she looked up and gaped in amazement.

"What the hell is that?!"

Ace cursed. " That's his signature move! The one that earned him the name of Firestorm Tiger!"

"_ENTSCHEIDENDER_… **FEUERSTUUUURRRMM!" **Siger howled, launching it towards her. As he released the power that held it in check, it erupted into a single massive beam of concentrated plasma energy that raced through, vaporizing the metal of the deck in its wake, and bearing down on the motionless Hunter like an unstoppable tidal wave of flames.

For Celtis, time seemed to slow down.

_'…Damn…it…! Even with this Hades gun, I'm no better than I was when I faced Leos…Am I really so weak that I have to keep relying on other people to keep saving me…?_'

An image of Omega, laughing madly as he fought Leos, taking every blow aimed at him and returning it effortlessly. Never tiring, never faltering, he would continue fighting until every last opponent was defeated.

' _That's what I need…' she thought. '…Power. A power great enough to fight even monsters like Siger…!_'

A strange feeling swept over her body, and for a moment, the world suddenly leaped back into focus, sharper than ever before. She was suddenly acutely aware of the pain her body was in, but more than that, she felt a surprising strength flow through her body. Without even turning to look, somehow, she knew that it was the work of the Hades.

Suddenly, she could move again. Time returned to normal, and she stared up at the full mass of Siger's raging flames bearing down on her. Rage of her own burned through Celtis' veins, rage at this monster, in his misguided grief for his equally wretched brother, rage at herself for her own powerlessness, and finally rage for all of the grief and torment Siger and his kind had caused her throughout her career as a Hunter.

The eyes of the Hades' skull suddenly ignited, blazing with power. Red light burst forth from the metal of the weapon, as crimson energy crackled through the air. The casing of the upper barrel suddenly exploded outward, revealing a jet black metal, its surface broken by six golden circles. Each of them suddenly shot outward, becoming six cylindrical tendrils, whipping backwards towards Celtis. Spinning around each other, they wrapped themselves around her forearm, completely enveloping it. The golden ends then attached themselves to her upper arm, clamps locking them in place. Almost immediately, electric sparks began to dance across their surfaces, moving from Celtis towards the Hades, consuming her entire right arm, and the Hades itself, in a storm of coalescing crimson energy. As sudden strength surged through her body, Celtis' eyes snapped open to reveal pure scarlet irises.

"GIVE…ME…POWER!!" Not knowing, nor caring, what was happening, intent only on the destruction of the foe before her, she leveled the Hades, its muzzle lit by the incredible energies now surging within it, and pulled the trigger.

It was as though the world imploded. A solid wave of light and sound blasted outward, temporarily robbing everyone of sight and hearing.

The blast was enough to put even Vile's Shock Cannon to shame, cutting the very air with its raw power, the sonic boom rattling even the Crucio's armor, a kilometer away. It ripped through Siger's attack as if it wasn't even there, blasting it apart into so many sparks of plasma. As the massive crimson storm raced towards him, von Feuersturm could do nothing but watch in horror as metal, earth and even the air in its path were torn away, swallowed up by its unrestrained might.

"What…what the hell…is this power?!" He roared, panicking as he tried to hold it back, his much vaunted armor disintegrating before the immense force. "Where the hell did you get this strength?!"

That was the last thing the Firestorm Tiger would ever say. With a final scream of agony from Siger, the bolt tore through his mechanical heart like a flash of scarlet lightning, blasting a three foot wide hole through his chest. The full force struck seconds later, overwhelming what remained of his defenses, and consuming him in a storm of lightning and fire, completely and utterly erasing him from existence.

Its hunger unabated, the unleashed energy continued outward, devouring anything and everything in its path. Two cars away, Ashe and Grey heard Model A's warning shout and dove for cover. The Iron Lizard, alerted by the growing light, turned, only to be struck head on by the devastating blast.

Not even slowing down, it lashed out further still, carving a twenty foot wide scar in the landscape in its wake. Its thirst for destruction finally satisfied, the massive crimson bolt died out, leaving behind almost two acres of desert, turned into blackened, molten slag, littered with the charred corpses of those who had been in its path.

* * *

Far to the east of the train, the God of Destruction whirled around as the light and sonic boom of the blast reached him, a strange feeling crossing his mind.

"Something's going on…" he muttered grimly. A small sound drew his attention back to his previous situation. He stared down the length of his saber at the female Raider before him, his swordpoint hovering just millimeters from her throat, and sighed.

"Well, looks like your lucky day. I've got business to attend to, so we'll be parting ways here." Withdrawing his sword, he watched in amusement as the girl collapsed in exhausted relief, one hand at her throat, as if to make sure it was still there. She stared up at him, anger coloring her features.

"I'll kill you for this, you monster!" she spat.

The silver haired Reploid glanced casually around at the remains of an entire division of Mavericks and Raiders.

"What, this?" _h_e shrugged. "Okay, suit yourself." With that, he turned and sauntered off, whistling. The girl watched him go in disbelief. He'd killed well over six hundred enemies in less than thirty minutes, and he'd just treated it as if it was nothing?!

Then the white-haired reploid stopped, snapped his fingers in recollection, and turned back to her.

"Oh yeah, here's my number." He tossed a piece of paper towards her, "Gimme a call when you want to start with the whole revenge thing. We can talk about it over drinks later."

With that, he resumed his stroll back towards the train, leaving behind an utterly bewildered Raider.

* * *

In the command center, the air was filled with groans as the battered operations personnel recovered, the lights blinking shakily back on. A hand reached up and grabbed onto the railing of the command platform as Ace levered himself back up onto his feet.

"What in the name of all that's unholy was that…?"

As if responding to the Legion Commander's question, the screens came back to life, bands of static flickering across them, as evidence of the battering they had taken. As he saw the carnage that lay before him, though, the poor quality was the last thing on his mind.

He felt a chill run down his spine as he stared out at it, aghast. "This devastation…"

His uninjured hand tightened into a fist. Baring his teeth, he swore quietly.

'_The Final Bolt…! But how?!_' He thought, shocked.

"Ace! Ace, are you there?!" A familiar voice caught his attention and he started.

"Ashe? You two okay?"

"Yeah, we're fine." The gray-haired Hunter clambered to her feet shaking her head as she tried to rid herself of the ringing in her ears. "My head's still spinnin' though. What the hell _was_ that?"

"I'm…not sure…"Ace said evasively, his mind racing. An attack of that magnitude could only have come from-

All of the blood drained from Ace's features.

…Oh _**no**_…

"Get me Arcana! Now!" He snapped.

"She's not responding, sir!"

"Well, find her and make her respond, dammit!"

* * *

Outside on the deck of the ruined train, while Ashe waited impatiently for Ace to fill her in, she suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Um, Ashe?" Grey asked, looking in the other direction.

"Not now, Grey. I'm trying to figure out what's going on!"

"But-" Grey tried again.

"Oi, Ace! What the hell are you doin' in there?! Answer me, dammit!" Ashe yelled into her comm., too annoyed to hear Grey.

"Ashe, you're a good person and all, but shut the hell up and turn around. Now."

Something in Model A's voice made Ashe realize that whatever it was, it was serious. She turned around slowly.

After several minutes, she reached one hand up to her earpiece.

"Ace?"

"I see it." Ace replied hoarsely. "I'm seeing it, but by God I wish I wasn't."

Before them, lying at the start of the long crater that had been left behind by the Final Bolt, it seemed as though matter itself had been distorted and damaged. A piece of wreckage that looked as though two different train cars had been melted down, mixed up with whatever rocks and debris happened to be lying around, and then re-solidified into a vague…mess of silvery, lumpy metal reached up from the ground, its eerie lines glimmering, almost with a life of their own. In the shadows cast by the towering clouds of smoke and dust, Ashe could have sworn that she saw bodies in there as well.

A lone figure was standing atop the bizzare monument, its long hair swaying in the wind. Some of it had come loose and now hung forward, hiding her face. Its jacket blew loosely behind it, the edges tattered and torn. In one hand, it held nothing, the fingers clenched loosely at it its side. In the other, a familiar crimson handgun glowed menacingly, a dark, malicious aura almost visible around it.

Then, the light glinted off of green hair, and Ashe stiffened.

"Is that…Celtis…?"

"I don't know." Ace replied tersely. "I've been trying to raise her, but she's not answering."

Switching lines, he tried to call the motionless Hunter again.

"Hunter Celtis Arcana, respond! I repeat, please respond!"

Then, Celtis moved. Her free hand reached up towards her earpiece, and Ace breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God. For a minute there I thought-"

He choked on his words as Celtis pulled off the earpiece.

"Wha- what the hell are you doing?! Arcana!"

Then Celtis turned her head to look back at the screen, and Ace jerked back so quickly that he hit the back wall, the blood freezing in his veins.

Gone were the friendly violet eyes he'd looked into when he had first encountered the high-spirited Hunter girl. Now they stared back at him, even the whites glowing dark crimson, the violet spirals of her irises almost lost in the sea of red. Then, as he watched, an icy dread running down his spine, their violet color faded, dimmed, and then was slowly replaced by a black as dark as midnight itself. And it was in that moment that Ace knew that the person staring back at him through those eyes, was not Celtis Arcana.

Then the screen sparked, and went black.

* * *

Grey started in surprise as he heard Ace suddenly yell.

"What's she doing now?"

"Um, it looks like she's just walking away…"

" What?! No! Stop her!"

"Huh? What're you talking about?!"

"Just grab her! I'll explain later!"Ace snapped.

As the two Chosen Ones leapt forward, there was a horrible, screeching roar, and the Iron Lizard burst from the ground in front of them.

"It's still alive?!" Grey gasped.

"Not quite…" Ashe replied, staring at it. The Iron Lizard had not escaped completely unharmed. Its entire left side was gone, eaten away by the Final Bolt. Its left leg in fact, was barely attached, holding on by a tattered wreckage of circuitry and metal bones.

It roared again, and took a clumsy step forward, its remaining claw raised to attack. Behind it, Celtis paused for a second, looking back at it, and then turned away, disappearing into the smoke.

"Oh, come on!" Ashe yelled in outrage. "Can't you bastards just stay dead anymore?!"

Grey said nothing, instead shifting to an attack position, then leaped forward.

Then, from high above them, a red light flashed through the sky.

Grey skidded to a halt as he saw it, startled.

"Is that… a transfer…?"

* * *

In the cliffs, Vile, his Crucio raining molten death into the hordes of enemies surrounding Unit V, looked up as Rika alerted him to a short-range transfer in the airspace above the train. Catching sight of the transfer point as its light changed from blue to red, he gave a slight smile.

"Now the real show begins…!"

* * *

Ace looked around, startled, as he heard the officer in charge of the backup trans-server come on the line, babbling about how a crimson clad stranger had burst in and hijacked the still damaged trans-server. Almost immediately, the screens found the destination point.

"Overhead?!"

* * *

Sensing danger, the Iron Lizard looked up as a familiar voice rang out, thundering over the sounds of the battle.

"OMEGA… IMPACT!!"

A single, heavy armored boot crunched down in the Lizard's face as a crimson figure plummeted from the heavens, white hair whipping in the air rushing past its face, and landed the mother of all dropkicks on the massive Mutos. The force was enough to crush the Iron Lizard's body in on itself, tearing it in half, and smashing the remains to the ground hard enough to slam the edges of the car upwards at right angles to each other. Moments later, the Lizard's remains erupted, exploding in a massive fireball of smoke and metal.

In the shocked silence that followed, a figure appeared out of the flames, its red eyes blazing, and a demonic smile on its face. With the jet-black Greek symbol for Omega emblazoned on his back, a flame-edged dark crimson overcoat billowing out behind him and a familiar pair of scarlet fins running through his ice-white hair, the legendary God of Destruction drew a pair of triangular shades from the inside of his new coat, snapped them onto his face, and grinned evilly at the battle before him.

"Looks like I made it just in time for the party!"

* * *

A/N : I'm starting to think that I'm doing these cliffhangers a _little_ too much…

Anyway, enjoy! For those of you who were expecting Vile's Ride Armor, don't start screaming at me yet, cause there's still plenty more to come in the next chapter! And for those of you who think I wrote too much for Celtis, and not enough for Omega, relax, cause he's going to be getting a lot more screentime in the near future! Remember, the real boss is still out there!

Additional disclaimer: The Crucio Siege Tank belongs to Blizzard Entertainment, and their kickass game Starcraft 2! (If you hadn't already guessed)

Oh yeah, a quick translation of Siger's moves:

**MAGMA-REISSWOLF**: Magma Breaker

**BRANDFLECK SLASHER**: Scorch Slasher

**TRUGBILD-FLAMME**: Mirage Flame

And of course:

**ENTSCHEIDENDER FEUERSTURM**: Ultimate Firestorm (Now you know why it's his signature move!)

Additional translations-

_Dämon-Augen_ : Demon Eyes

_Jager:_ Hunter

_Oberst-Fuhrer:_ Supreme Leader (...I think.)

Also, concept art for Omega's new outfit is up on my DA. Check my FFnet profile for the link to get to my account. Major points to whoever recognises the shades he's wearing! Plus, you should probably have some idea now of where exactly it is I'm heading with the constant outfit changes.

Well, that's that for now, but the next chapter should be up much sooner, so look forward to it! Expect many more explosions and a lot more violence!

DarkShift Out!

P.S. If anyone recognizes the song Omega's singing along to when fighting the Third Division, you get a million points. It'll be in the next chapter in full anyway, so think of it as a preview!


	8. Chapter 7: BloodRed Party!

**Chapter 7: Blood-Red Party!**

Disclaimer: See previous chapters!

* * *

Ashe stared up at the crimson figure, her jaw hanging.

"Is that…Saber?"

Ace stared at the screen in disbelief. "According to the signals…yes, that's Saber."

Grey gave a whistle of surprise. "Well, he certainly upgraded himself."

Omega stared out at the hellish battlefield, and took a deep breath, savoring the scents he'd always loved.

"Ah, nothin' like the smell of fresh devastation in the morning!" he said, pleased.

He overheard Grey's comment and his grin widened. He was quite proud of his new outfit, particularly the coat and the shades. He hadn't been able to salvage his entire helmet, so instead he'd just taken the fins and the earpieces off of it. After all, the crimson fins were sort of like a trademark for him so far. The coat, boots and general armor, he'd come across in a shop on the way to meet Tara Redmont last night. A little extra EC had gotten him the sweet customization, and well, here he was! The shades he'd just happened to see in a display case nearby. Something about them just seemed to suit him, and he wasn't sure why…Either way, he liked them, and with a pretty much unlimited account of EC, what the hell.

Actually, combined with the crimson fins of his former helmet, the long pointed ends of the shades went pretty well, making him look as though he was a demon with four horns. Which in his opinion, suited him just fine. Adding that to his kick-ass entrance, all he needed now was a couple hundred opponents to plow into the dirt and hey, this day might actually turn out to be pretty good after all!

He felt an annoying beeping sound, and realized that somebody was trying to call him. He sighed in irritation. Trust his 'employers' to ruin the moment.

"What do you want?"

"Where the hell have you been?! We've been up to our necks in Mavericks and Raiders for the last hour, including two boss-class Mavericks, one of which was Leos Darkclaw's brother! What the hell have you been doing?!"

"Just a little clean up duty over in the east." Omega yawned. "Now, do me a favor, will you? Get your guys out of the way. There's a fresh squad of these Maverick idiots coming, and I'd rather not have my pay getting cut back for killing any friendlies dumb enough to get in my way."

"Wh-" Ace was temporarily rendered speechless with rage at the Reploid's audacity. Just who the _hell_ did this man think he was?! The scarlet-clad Commander opened his mouth to reply with some exceptionally foul language when a thought struck him.

'_Clean-up? What clean-up? There weren't any enemy readings in that direction!_'

"What's the status on the eastern sector?" he demanded. The operator's report was far from pleasant. Apparently, without Ace ever being informed of it, the two squads he had assigned to policing that section had been called off in order to reinforce a group nearer to the armored car. It was only now that reports were beginning to come in reporting the presence of a large dark spot in their threat detection net. Surprise, surprise, guess where the dark spot was. A blind spot that size could only have been caused by a dedicated jammer, one of which had been detected close by up until a few moments ago. And sure enough, at the exact instant in time that the jammer had disappeared from detection, was the exact instant that Saber's signal had reappeared on the map. And what was more, his signal had been detected moving towards the blind spot long before the protective squads of soldiers had turned their attention elsewhere. The current information also seemed to confirm it, as the sensors were now beginning to pick up large scale energy residue, indicating that a sizable battle had been fought there.

Ace's hand shook, with a mixture of anger and shock. He had very nearly been supremely outflanked. The timing and the execution had been near-perfect, relying on him to be so occupied with dealing with a frontal assault, and planning on his forces having orders to prioritize the defense of the Biometal's car, that he wouldn't notice an attack coming from his rear.

As much as he hated to admit it, he owed Saber. Big time. Despite that, he wasn't going to let this obnoxious bastard simply do as he pleased.

"Not quite." He said flatly, his anger simmering down. "If you really think you can handle them alone, well, that's your opinion. Sensors show that there're some massive signatures in that oncoming wave. However…"

Ace grimaced as he said the next few words.

"…It appears that I owe you some thanks for your efforts in the eastern sector, so I am willing to make a compromise. I'll pull my normal troops out, but I'm leaving Ashe and Grey nearby, in case things don't turn out as well as that ego of yours hopes." Ace's mind raced, already finding ways to turn the situation back to his advantage. If Saber was capable of taking down a full squad of Mavericks and Raiders on his own, then combined with Grey and Ashe's abilities, dealing with the new attackers shouldn't be too much of a problem. Then, that would force the Mavericks to shift their attention away from Vile, redirecting them this way. That meant he could then move Vile up and…

To the Commander's surprise, the God of Destruction simply threw his head back and laughed.

"Backup, huh? Well, why the hell not? I guess a little competition wouldn't hurt!" He flashed Ashe a challenging grin.

"Try not to slow me down, beautiful!"

Ashe felt the color rise in her cheeks as she spluttered in indignation and embarrassment.

"Wh-What?! Why you-!" She could see Grey trying to hold back a laugh.

"Don't laugh too hard, scarface. The same thing goes for you too, kid!" Omega commented lightly. This time it was Ashe's turn to stifle a chuckle as Grey yelled back up at the God of Destruction.

"Scarface?! What's that supposed to mean?! And I'm not a kid either!"

Omega laughed again, enjoying their reactions immensely. For a moment, he was reminded of fighting alongside Flizard, Schilt, Foxtar, and the other members of the Numbers, decimating countless legions of enemies who were foolish enough to stand against their might.

He sighed and shook his head, the smile returning to his face as the first Mavericks crested the hill in front of them.

"Well, at least I still get the whole 'decimate hordes of enemies' bit!"

With that, he strode forward to meet the charging horde, a devilish smile appearing on his features. Ashe started as she saw him stop and fold his arms, staring impassively at the attackers as they drew closer.

"Wh-what are you doing?! Wait, you can't just-"

Sunlight flashed off of Omega's shades, and just for an instant, his eyes were clearly visible to the oncoming wave. In that instant, everything changed.

Ashe froze, the words choking in her throat as the Mavericks suddenly began dying. Arms torn off, bodies ripped open, machinery shredded, there wasn't even time for them to scream. They simply died where they stood, without even a chance to defend themselves. The air and the earth was suddenly a brilliant shade of crimson, stained with the lifeblood of countless Mavericks. Then a sudden impact shook her body. Without even looking, somehow, she was aware that her left arm was gone. Another strike and she couldn't feel her legs. Nearby, she saw something tear through Grey's waist, cutting him in two. Then she saw a flash of violet light hurtle towards her face, and-

Ashe slammed down on all fours, retching, her eyes wide in shock. Grey managed to stay on his feet, staring ahead of him in shock, both shaken by what they'd just witnessed.

"Wh-wh…what the hell was that…?!" Ashe managed to gasp out. The vision, whatever it was, had shaken her so badly that it had broken her Megamerge with Model A. Then she looked up, and realized the answer.

The world was no different than what it had been before it had dissolved into a crimson nightmare of death and carnage. In front of him, the Mavericks and Raiders had, to a man, come skidding to a halt, some on their knees, some on all fours and some still standing on trembling legs. In their faces, she could see the same overwhelming emotion, the one that had stopped their headlong rush.

Fear. Complete, overwhelming fear, crushing every other thought present, replacing it with a senseless urge to just get away. To run as far away as possible, and not look back. Even Ashe and Grey, Chosen Ones who had faced down the full might of Ouroboros itself, were not immune to the terrible pressure bearing down on all those who were present.

And the very reason for the terrifying, oppressive feeling in the air stood before them, facing the Mavericks and Raiders.

Omega still stood exactly as he had moments before, his arms folded across his chest, a demonic smile on his face. Behind his crimson shades, his red eyes blazed like the furnaces of hell, radiating barely restrained madness. Laughing like the devil himself he faced the enemies before him, all momentarily paralyzed by the raw, unchained killing intent that swirled around him in an almost visible spiral.

Because that is what Ashe now knew it was. Killing intent, far greater than anything she had ever experienced before in her life. Even Grey, a Reploid, could feel it in the air. Even the former Master Albert, who had possessed the almost limitless strength of a demigod when the two Chosen Ones had fought him, paled in comparison to a man like this. A desire for death, chaos and destruction, miles beyond anything Ashe, Grey, or even Model A had ever encountered.

There was no doubt in any of the minds present, Maverick, Reploid, human or otherwise, that hidden in this man's shadow was death itself.

Grey remembered Model A's words.

_"I just got a weird feeling from that guy…There's just something about him that seems familiar…and dangerous…"_

Model A hadn't been able to explain it at the time, but now Grey knew exactly what the Biometal had meant. Next to him, Ashe shakily managed to get back to her feet, and for a moment, Grey was thankful that he was a Reploid. If not for the enhanced motor control that was present in all Reploids, his legs would have been no better than hers.

Her face still pale, Ashe looked up at the black sigil of Omega, rippling as his coat billowed in the wind. Even standing behind him had not been enough to save them from the effects of that terrible aura.

"What the hell…are you…?" she whispered.

If Omega heard her question, he gave no sign of it. Instead, he turned his full attention on the enemies before him and grinned.

"So, which one of you wants to try taking me on?"

When there was no answer, he continued. "Well, come on, no need to be shy! If you're that afraid, why don't you all come at me at once?!" His voice took on a mocking tone.

"Or is it that the oh so terrifying Mavericks and the infamous Raiders I've heard so much about are nothing more than a pack of sniveling _cowards_?!"

That did it. One of the Mavericks, a bestial wolf-humanoid screamed her outrage at the insult and leapt at him. Omega gave a whistle as he started up his music playlist.

"Daamn, but you're one ugly bitch! Let's see if I can't fix that!" he grinned. Laughing wildly, he lunged forward. There was a flash of blue light, and he buried a battle-axe in her face, clear to the neck. Leaving it embedded in the corpse, he blew past it, already looking for his next target. He wasn't disappointed.

The wild lunge of the first Maverick seemed to have broken the spell of terror that had held them back. Now, as though a switch in their heads had been flipped to 'attack', every single Maverick or Raider present charged at him. Yelling a battlecry, he cranked up the volume, loud enough to be heard on external speakers, and threw himself into the fray as the unmistakable music of Lordi's Blood Red Sandman rang in his ears.

_They call me the Leather Apron_

_They call me the Smiling Jack._

_They prayed to the heavens above,_

_That I would never ever come back!_

"Got that right!" Omega laughed, his claws dancing through the air, streamers of blood trailing from their fingertips.

_Can you hear how the children weep?  
Chills of fear like a sawblade cutting deep _

As if in time to the music, his claws bit deep into his foes, slashing open gaping wounds, cutting through flesh, metal and bone, all with ridiculous ease. Whirling around, the blue light of his palm-mounted trans-servers flashed again, a riot shotgun appearing as if by magic.

_Once again there is pain  
I bring flames - I bring cold_

He pulled the trigger at point blank range, blowing a football sized hole through a Galleon hunter. Without hesitating, he slammed the shotgun forward through the hole, impaling the Maverick, and then fired again in the same motion, impaling another Raider with the same technique. Without hesitating, he tossed the now useless shotgun aside, leaving it skewered through the two corpses, already materializing his next weapon.

_I'm the Blood Red Sandman coming home  
On this unholy night I will make you my own_

Blue light flashed. A long, silver broadsword whipped out in a wide arc, decapitating one Raider and slicing open three others, mortally wounding them. At the end of the arc, Omega didn't even bother with a recovery, simply releasing the sword. It hurtled through the air like a streak of quicksilver, passing cleanly through two more Raiders, before striking a Galleon. The metal armor proving harder than the Raider's soft bodies, the blade sank up to the hilt, jerking the Galleon off its feet. Finding a mark in the bodies of two more of the Maverick's comrades, the blade finally pinned all three of them to the body of a griffin-like mechaniloid in a macabre shish-kebab, the sword's point burying itself deep in the griffin's tiny, electrical brain. At least a dozen more enemies went down in the explosion that followed.

_  
Blood Red Sandman  
Coming home again _

The air around Omega shimmered, and four black-clad Raider assassins appeared, leaping at him as they deactivated their stealth fields. Without even a flicker of surprise, Omega planted both feet solidly on the ground and reached both hands back on his right side.

"Eat warhammer, bitch!"

Roaring aloud, he brought a massive long-handled war hammer around, still materializing, and slammed the titanium head into the ribs of the first assassin, feeling bones giving way with a most satisfying crack. Not stopping, he continued, swinging around in a complete circle and collecting all four of them on the end of it. Then, as he completed his spin, he let go of the hammer, sending it and the four Raiders rocketing off. Carving a path of broken and damaged enemies as it flew through the mob of opponents, it slammed into a Raider tank with enough force to dent the armor and rock it off its treads. The four Raiders were killed instantly, the warhammer punching through their stacked bodies on its way to the tank, their blood staining the metal a dark crimson color.

_Red drops stain satin so white  
The way I sign my name!_

Then, before anyone could react, Omega brought his right hand up in a lightning motion, and pulled the trigger on his O-Buster. A fully charged blast hurtled out, destroying anything in the way, and slammed into the tank, obliterating it and anyone close enough to the explosion.

_The neighborhood's pretty dead at night  
And I'm the one to blame!_

A massive wolf Reploid leapt at him from the left, hoping to catch him surprise. Grinning, Omega simply lifted his Buster wielding arm and brought it to rest along his shoulders, the side of the Buster resting against the back of his neck. To the Chosen Ones' astonishment, a _second_ fully-charged shot emerged, blasting the wolf in half, and carving a long path through the horde of Mavericks, finally burning itself out with the destruction of another tank.

_Scream all you want you won't wake up when you scream!_

As the swarm of enemies reeled, stunned by the overwhelming frenzy of attacks, Omega's grin stretched into a full-fledged demon's smile, his trusty saber already out of its sheath on the Buster. Lightning danced along its violet length as he brought it around, the ground shattering underneath his feet.

"_**KOUGENJIN!!**_"

An enormous, crescent shaped wave of energy hurtled out in front of Omega, slamming into the front ranks of the advancing attackers with devastating effects. Those who weren't sliced apart by the lightning wave itself were blasted away by the aftershocks, and the hurricane-force winds that followed close behind it.

_No-one leaves.....  
..... The Monsterican Dream_

In the shocked silence that followed, Omega stood tall, the flames of his crimson coat-tails dancing in the frenzied air, his saber in hand as he stared down at the enemies, who were now beginning to realize that they had bitten off far more than they could chew. All around him, the bodies of his victims lay scattered, in some cases, one body scattered all by itself. The number was staggering, amounting to somewhere in the nineties.

All killed, in a little under five minutes.

The two Chosen Ones hadn't even had a chance to attack yet. The mysterious Reploid named Saber had torn through almost a quarter of the attackers before they could react.

_Can you hear how the children weep? _

Omega lifted the saber and looked at the countless opponents still standing, a dangerous light in his eyes.

Ashe swallowed as she stared, aghast, up at his crimson clad shape.

'Wh…what on earth are you…?!" she whispered.

_Chills of fear like a sawblade cutting deep_

Hearing her clearly through the eerie silence, Omega smiled. _If you only knew…_

_Once again, there is pain_

_I bring flames-I bring cold!_

Shouldering his blade for a moment, he suddenly turned and looked back at Ashe and Grey, a cocky smile on his face.

"Well, what're you two standing around for? I thought you two were planning to 'show me how it's done'! After all, it's not half as much fun unless I've got somebody to compete with!"

His teasing words brought them back to reality. Ashe shook herself, deciding that whatever Saber was, now was not the time to be worrying about that.

"Y-you caught me off guard, that's all!" she shot back hotly, her face slightly red. "I thought you were just another no-good slacker with an oversized ego and a big mouth!"

Omega threw his head back and laughed with delight. "You've got some spirit! Good, I like that in a woman!"

"What?!"

Model A and Grey watched the two of them yelling at each other, a bewildered look on the boyish Reploid's face.

"Honestly, I don't think I'll ever understand that girl." Model A said finally.

"You and me both." Grey replied.

"All right!" Ashe yelled, the armor of Model A reappearing around her as she shouted up at the grinning God of Destruction. "I let you get a head start, but don't think I'll let you win that easily! Grey!"

"Yeah!" Grey responded, a smile of his own appearing.

"Let's show these guys what we're really made of!"

"Right!" _There's no time to be standing around in awe, or wondering what's going on with this guy,_ he thought fiercely. _Ace believed he was reliable enough to be brought on a mission like this, and that's all that matters. For now, we just have to do what we do best, and fight!_

Omega's smile widened as the lights of determination reappeared in their eyes. Despite seeing the mayhem and carnage he had caused, they had shaken off their wonder and had made it their goal to surpass him!

'Head start' indeed! He laughed aloud. Despite his first impressions of them, perhaps these two did indeed have what it took to be strong fighters. Maybe they really were worthy of the title of 'heroes' after all…

Omega shook his head, and turned back to the battle ahead. Worthy or not, it made no difference to him. Right now, only one thing mattered.

"You're two hundred years too early to even think about surpassing me!" he grinned.

Then, with a wild laugh, and the two Chosen Ones at his sides, he threw himself back into the fray, roaring the chorus aloud, the mad delight of battle thundering through his veins.

"_**I'm the Blood Red Sandman**_

_**Coming home!!"**__**

* * *

**_

In the command center, Ace looked up at the screen and heaved a sigh of relief. It appeared as though his gamble had paid off. With those three there, there wasn't a chance in hell of any Mavericks getting near the train. Now, maybe he'd have a chance to turn the tables on the bastard commanding them…

"Um…sir, what are you going to do about Hunter Arcana?"

Ace's features darkened. There was still that to worry about.

"We're switching over to Code Zero. Transmit all incoming information and data to my neuro-system. I'm linking to the main server now. I'll send all my orders through here."

The operations personnel gasped. "B-but sir, that means…!"

Ace tapped in a command, and a scarlet helmet materialized on his head, completely covering it.

His eyes glinted dangerously for a moment, before he spoke again.

"I'm going after her myself." He said grimly.

The large, triangular faceplate slammed into place with a pneumatic hiss, hiding his features behind a black-tinted visor.

With that single ominous statement, the Commander swept out of the room, leaving a shocked silence in his wake.

As the door slammed shut behind him, Ace felt the cybernetic implants within his neural system kick in. Now he had access to all of the information going into and out of the Command center. In effect, he was now a mobile command center, able to see the entire battlefield and give the necessary orders to ensure victory.

He generally hated using this, since the disorientation of having so much raw data channeled directly into his mind usually left him sick for hours afterwards. Not only that, but with his arm still damaged, his combat capability was greatly reduced. He pulled out the custom Desert Eagle he kept for situations like this, a collector's item that had cost him a fortune to upgrade using Legion's technology, and sighed. Leaving his command post in the middle of a fierce battle like this was hardly what could be considered a good idea.

But if his suspicions about Celtis were correct, then he had very little choice in the matter…

Setting his mouth in a grim line, he started running.

I can only hope I'm not too late…

* * *

The Crucio rumbled over the remains of the mortar division that had previously been harassing the wrecked train. Silently, he scanned the surroundings as the tank rolled onwards.

"It's too quiet…" He murmured.

At the exact moment he thought those words, all hell broke loose. The ground in front of the tank suddenly erupted in a series of explosions. The tank rocked under the impact, and it was only Vile's immense skill that kept the Crucio from taking a severe pounding. Moments later, something shot by overhead, a sonic boom cutting the air in its wake. More followed it, until the air was filled with the whining howl of engines. Vile looked up grimly, a dark smile crossing his face.

"Just as I thought."

A high-pitched laugh rang through the air.

"My my, a Crucio? Such an out-dated, crude method of fighting. It certainly suits land-crawling slugs like you commoners!"

Vile said nothing as he silently stared up at the figure that appeared in the air before him.

A man, clad in winged, elaborate green armor descended through the clouds of smoke, his polished armor sparkling. Vile raised an eyebrow. For one shocking moment there, he had though that one of the infamous 'evil' Chosen Ones had made their appearance, the one whose appearance was so similar to the now-forgotten Sage Harpuia.

However…

Despite his normally cold demeanor, Vile couldn't help but feel a slight sense of disbelief.

No matter how similar they might look, there wasn't a single chance in hell that either of those two would be caught dead wearing an outfit like the one before him. Everything was lined with golden edges and needlessly elaborate designs etched into the armor, all polished so brightly, it almost hurt to look directly at the man.

The True Maverick raised an eyebrow. For God's sake, he had a helmet with feathered metal wings and a knight's visor!

He sighed. All in all, it looked like the kind of shiny pristine armor you'd imagine being worn by heroes and princes in fairytales of old. In other words, a suit built to look like what someone thought a suit of armor to look like, rather than to be a suit of armor that would actually be practical. There were useless pieces all over it, but even with all that, it didn't deny the fact that it was still, unmistakably, pure ceratanium armor.

The violet ex-Enforcer's eyes narrowed. Ridiculous looking or not, that flying armor would still be no easy target to destroy. And on top of that…

More shadows appeared behind the stranger, resolving into countless flying units. Vile counted at least two full squads of Galleon Wings, and more of that in aerial Mechaniloids.

"Tremble in fear, lowly worms, for I, Lightning Eagle Aerios have arrived! Hahahahaaa!"

Vile groaned and brought his head to rest on one hand, shaking it slowly in annoyed disbelief. He had hoped he was wrong, but…

WHY, out of all of the possible Raider factions that could have made an appearance now, WHY did it have to be the Thunder Eagles?!

As a warrior who had been roaming this cursed earth for more than two centuries as a bounty hunter, Vile had come across some nutcases before, but out of all of them, Aerios took the cake.

And even then, maybe not just that, but possibly the icing, party balloons and assorted snacks as well. And a few candles, too.

He'd only ever heard of the excessively flamboyant Raider leader before, and none of it had exactly sounded great. Aerios, apparently, looked up to the Chosen One of Wind, with something close to religious worship. Thus, his goal was to become a fighter who would become the perfect servant for his 'Lord Aeolus', a man whose beauty, strength, wisdom etc. etc. would be so impossibly amazing that his beloved 'Lord' would welcome him into his heart with open, loving arms.

The last Vile had heard, 'Lord' Aeolus was currently filing for at least four different restraining orders against Aerios, none of which had a minimum distance under a kilometer.

The problem here, though, was that for all his thoroughly irritating personality, and slightly scary obsessions, Aerios was a fairly skilled leader. In his obsessed quest to become even more like his idol, Aerios had created a modified 'flight armor', based off of that of the Galleon Wings. Of course, he had also managed to work his own 'faaabulous!' style into it as well, which would explain all of the excessive glitter and the pointless attachments all over it. Not only that, but the armor was far more, er, 'form-fitting' than Aeolus' own and, in Vile's personal opinion, looked like it would be better off being worn by a female user.

Aerios' weapons of choice were the two long, wrist-mounted energy blades that he could activate and deactivate at will. Almost as long as a man's arm, the two blades had a long reach, and Aerios' skill with them guaranteed that only death awaited opponents foolish enough to step inside his reach. This was easier than it sounded as thanks to his flight capabilities, it was all too easy for the Lightning Eagle to swoop down and attack, and then be long gone out of the enemy's reach before they could retaliate.

Naturally, they were a bright pink color.

"Well now, no response? Hah, that's only to be expected! I can't blame you for being completely overawed by my beauteous-"

**BOOM!**

Aerios was rudely cut off as he was forced to dodge a shot from the Crucio's double 90mm cannons.

"Wha-how dare you?! A lowly worm like you dares to- Ack!"

**BOOM!**

"Are you quite finished?" Vile's calm voice came through the Crucio's external speakers, a trace of amusement clearly audible. "If you'd like, I can keep doing this all day."

Aerios' face twisted in outraged fury. How dare these upstarts behave so impudently?! He was Aerios, the Lightning Eagle, chosen by the Master himself for this mission! He was the Lord of the Heavens, surpassed only by the magnificent Lord Aeolus, the Chosen of Wind! His name was infamous among Raiders everywhere, and yet these fools were treating him as some kind of joke?!

"Then you've signed your own death warrant! I, Lightning Eagle Aerios, will crush that pathetic, ground-bound existence of yours with the full might of my Galleon Armada! Go forth, my beauteous servants, and destroy-Yeek!"

**KA-BOOM!**

Aerios broke off with a panicked squawk, frantically swerving in mid-air to avoid the white hot plasma blast of a 150mm Shock Cannon, courtesy of the Crucio's Siege Mode, and Vile's complete lack of interest in Aerios' speech.

The True Maverick himself merely leaned back in his seat, the fingers of his left hand drumming idly on the armrest of his command throne. He said nothing, simply looking amusedly up at Aerios as he unsteadily recovered his previous altitude.

The last of the Lightning Eagle's patience left him. A vein pulsing in his forehead, he screamed the order to attack, and the airborne Galleons swooped in.

"Finally." Vile muttered. "Rika, you've got eight seconds."

"Confirmed." Came the toneless reply. Her mind and body linked directly to the tank's main computer systems, Rika ran several hundred calculations in the space of a few microseconds, and found her targets.

She lifted the Shock Cannon eight degrees up and four degrees left and fired. Almost immediately, she swiveled it six right, then two down and fired again. Finally, she shifted it four down and three right and fired her third shot, feeling the Crucio beginning to transform back into its mobile form as Vile counted off the eighth second.

The effects of her three attacks were, to say the least, remarkable. By running a prediction algorithm factoring in the Galleons A.I, and combining that with a calculation factoring in their reaction time, and all of their possible evasion routes, she had found several points that a majority of the Galleons would pass through, if they were to, say, swerve to avoid a few 150mm blasts. Selecting the co-ordinates of a point that would have a sizable amount of targets, she made her move against the oncoming Mavericks.

Ironically, neither of her first two shots was aimed at those co-ordinates. The first one only got three kills, the Galleons' thrusters easily carrying them out of the way. The second shot took out seven, as the evading Galleons found their paths being blocked by some of the units that had escaped the first blast.

The third shot was the kicker. The Galleons that had escaped outward from the two previous blasts were lucky. The ones who had been forced into a position between the shots weren't. Their movement severely hindered by their comrades, the Galleons no longer had room to maneuver freely, and could do nothing as the blast slammed into them.

In three shots, taken in the space of eight seconds, thirty-seven of Aerios' elite fliers bit the dirt. You do the math.

As the tank's treads locked back in place, Vile gunned the engine. Snarling defiance, the Crucio leapt forward as the recovering attackers launched a barrage of attacks in return. Vile didn't even flinch as he felt the attacks strike the spot that he'd been occupying moments ago. As usual, he'd timed it perfectly.

He smirked as he heard the dual barreled 90's fire again. He didn't even need to tell Rika what to do next.

In the turret, Rika's expressionless features didn't change as she mercilessly pounded any attacker that came within range. She knew that ordinarily, her Nii-san was more than capable of controlling both the turret and the tank's movement at the same time.

However, even though she knew that he'd never say it aloud, the real reason that he had her inside the turret was because he didn't want her out in the open, where she'd be relatively unprotected from the attacks.

They both knew that such caution was probably unneeded, since her 'special' body required a tremendous amount of punishment to be rendered useless, but after so many years of traveling alongside the taciturn True Maverick, Rika had learned to understand him better than anyone.

For the first time since the battle began, a slight smile spread across the girl's face.

"Thank you, nii-san…" she whispered, before returning her attention to the fight outside.

Below her, the ghost of a smile crossed Vile's face.

Then Aerios' high-pitched screams of outrage, followed by the explosions of his troops' renewed fire cut in, and it was back to business as usual.

* * *

A massive Mutos Maverick roared in outrage and lumbered forward, intent on crushing the tiny obstacle in its path.

Said obstacle flashed with light for a moment, and then Buckfire's kick smashed the Maverick in half. Grey gritted his teeth, and spun around, firing off two more rapid fire kicks at the swarm of enemies surrounding him, and leapt back. A quick A-Trans, and Aeolus' thrusters gave him the extra boost he needed to get clear of the crushing mob.

"Where the heck do these guys keep coming from?! It's endless!"

There was a wordless scream of anger from somewhere nearby, and Mavericks were thrown into the air as the titanic mass of Bifrost exploded upwards, breaking free of the numerous enemies around.

"GET…THE…HELL…**OFF OF ME**!!"

Grey got the feeling that he wasn't the only person getting frustrated by the number of opponents. Ashe sounded madder than he'd heard her in ages.

Bifrost's jaws slammed shut, again and again, crushing dozens of enemies as Ashe vented her irritation on the annoyances that continued to attack her.

"Why!" **CHOMP!** " Don't!" **CRUSH!** " You!" **SMASH!** " Bastards!" **CRUNCH!** "Frigging!" **MAUL!** " Die!" **BITE!** "Dammit!"

Even with the massive casualties inflicted by Bifrost's powerful jaws, and mammoth size, Ashe found herself still being pushed back.

She gritted her teeth.

"Okay, that is IT!"

Spinning around, she swept Bifrost's tail across the ground, sending the Mavericks flying backwards as it crashed into their ranks. Finally getting some breathing room, she A-Transed again, this time transforming into Siarnaq.

She drew both her arms back, her fingers glittering with the massive amount of kunais clutched between them. With a savage snarl, she launched them forward, countless silvery blurs lancing through the air towards the enemies in front of her, eagerly finding their targets.

**"WHY DON'T YOU PUNKS JUST DIE ALREADY."** Even with Siarnaq's emotionless voice, Grey could easily tell that she was pissed. Abandoning Bifrost's overwhelming force in favor of a non-stop barrage of rapid-fire attacks, her arms were a blur of motion as she rained metallic, razor-edged death into the tightly packed ranks of the Mavericks before her.

Grey shook his head. Why was it that, despite the fact that he was the younger one, he was the more level-headed of the two?

Aeolus' twin sabers flashed in his hands, dismembering any Maverick that strayed too close. To be honest, Bifrost didn't really sound like a bad idea right now, if only he wasn't so ridiculously slow! Grey knew that in a situation like this, single target attacks like Model L's spear and Model H's swords were next to useless. With this many targets, attacks specialized in wide-scale area damage were the ideal thing to use.

As if to mock Grey, a series of thunderous explosions tore through the battlefield, scattering Mavericks like leaves in a hurricane. He sighed.

And there was the other reason Ashe was in such a bad mood.

No matter how much he and Ashe did, or how hard they fought, all of their efforts paled in comparison to the cause of the explosions. Not for the first time, he heard the now-familiar, raucous laughter of the Reploid called Saber ringing out over the sounds of the melee.

Grey had never seen anything like it. The man seemed to be everywhere and yet nowhere all at once. Ducking, weaving, slashing, shooting…he was constantly in motion, constantly pushing the enemies back before him, and more importantly, constantly killing anything that got within six feet of him. Even when he was completely surrounded on all sides by his enemies, he never missed a step.

It was almost as if the battle itself was as much a part of him as much as he was a part of the battle.

Omega brought his fist crashing down on the head of another wolf Maverick as his O-Saber tore out the throat of another Raider. Whirling, he planted his boot squarely in another's chest, slamming the unfortunate man back into his comrades.

The Milkor MGL-140 grenade launcher that materialized in Omega's free hand fired two rounds into them at point-blank range.

Omega himself was thrown back by the blast, but he was laughing even as he slammed into the Mavericks behind him, and skidded along the ground. He bounced back up into the air and somersaulted, landing back on his feet. Still grinning, he brought his right hand up, only now it no longer held the O-Saber.

Two more fully charged Buster shots slammed into the mob, leaving a path of death and destruction in their wake. Whistling, Omega leaned back, nimbly avoiding the attacks that danced around him as he weaved around, his Buster twirling idly in his hand.

As the enemies around him leapt towards him in attempt to overwhelm him by sheer weight of numbers, he checked the weapon's charge level and grinned. At the last minute, he brought the glowing muzzle down, slammed it into the dirt, and pulled the trigger.

Grey winced as he watched over a score of Mavericks and Raiders get blown away by the tremendous shockwave of Omega's attack, medium-powered Buster shots flying in every direction, a further testament to the effectiveness of area-wide attacks.

Omega checked his Buster for a moment, then stowed it, drawing his saber. He caught Grey's look and grinned.

"And that wasn't even fully charged!"

Grey could only shake his head in disbelief at the other Reploid's careless attitude. Ashe on the other hand, grew only more determined to beat him.

Thoroughly irritated now, she didn't hear Grey's warning shout until it was almost too late. Alerted by a sudden green glow, she threw herself sideways as a brilliant, green laser chewed up the dirt behind her.

Coming out of the roll, she turned to face the attacker.

"Oh, you have GOT to be kidding me."

Standing before her was the easily recognizable form of a Golem, already reaching out to grab her with one of its massive hands. She A-Transed into Hedgeshock and rolled under it, Trans-ing again into her Model A form. She didn't even bother to ask why an outdated relic like a Golem would be here, since it was irrelevant right now. All that mattered was that one was standing in front of her right now, trying to kill her.

"All right, you bastard, try this!"

Ashe released her fully charged Lock-On shot. A violet bolt of light streaked out, hitting the Golem's body head on. On impact, the beam ricocheted, striking another part of the Golem. It continued to bounce all over, hitting the Golem multiple times before finally dying out. The impacts weren't serious, as Ashe well knew, since the Lock-On shots were meant to be used mostly on infantry-type targets, rather than on heavily armored ones like this. Then again, Ashe hadn't been planning to destroy it with that.

As it tilted backwards, Ashe brought her Charge Buster up, already at maximum charge, and fired. Already off balance from her first attack, the Golem couldn't move to defend itself as the fully-charged shot slammed into its head, destroying it.

Ashe lowered her weapon as the giant machine coasted to a stop in front of her, its levitation units still keeping it upright.

"Hah, how'd you like that?!" She grinned up at its headless form.

Grey flashed her a quick thumbs-up, before another attacker forced his attention back to his own fights.

Ashe turned to leap back into the fray, when a sudden grinding noise made her pause and look back.

The Golem's massive fist crashed squarely into her chest, knocking the wind out of her and sending her flying backwards, where she landed almost six feet away.

Ashe barely felt the ground hit her as she landed. The entire front of her body felt like she'd just had all of her ribs caved in by that one attack. Even though she was a Megamerged Chosen One, that didn't mean she was invincible. She staggered back to her feet, one hand clutching her chest.

"What…the…hell?!" she gasped for breath as she looked back at it.

Then, a laugh rang out.

"Shocking, isn't it? It seems as though even the great Chosen Ones can't handle the power of one of my Granz Golems!"

Ashe's eyes widened. "Granz Golem…?! It can't be…!"

"Oh, but it is! Gearhead Granz, at your service!"

Ashe bit her lip. Granz was an oddity among Raider bosses in that he worked alone, rather than with a crew of lackeys, like most of the Raider gangs currently in operation. The reason for this was, to put it simply, that he didn't need any lackeys.

Granz controlled what was believed to be the largest army of Mechaniloids in the world, second only to Legion itself, and even that wasn't certain. No-one had ever seen Granz in person, as he was extremely paranoid and preferred to have all contact with the outside world from on the other side of a communications screen. Never present on the battlefield, his method of fighting was to deploy his forces and simply control his mechanical minions from afar. One such example was the Golem standing before her now.

Ashe scowled. Not only were Granz-model Mechaniloids upgraded to be far superior to their original designs, but they were also renowned for having any number of nasty little surprises built into them, particularly in the case of the higher ranked models like the Golems and Doru Ghoras , which Granz often liked to personally control. Much like what he was doing now, probably just for the thrill of it.

Which explained why, even with its head completely destroyed, the Golem was still moving. As she watched, stunned, its chest compartment snapped open to reveal the squat, snub-nosed shape of a heavy-duty laser cannon similar to the one that had been mounted in the Golem's head. Just another one of his little 'surprises'.

Still recovering, she threw herself into a sideways roll as the beam lanced out towards her. Without waiting, she A-Transed into Hedgeshock and continued the roll, moving in a semicircular path that brought her around to the Golem's back. She came out of the roll, and leapt into the air.

"All right you bastard…" she gritted. "Let's see you try THIS!"

With a wild yell, she brought both of Model F's Knuckle Busters smashing into the back of the Golem. There was a flash of fire, and the whole Golem was thrown forward. Its stabilizers unable to keep up, the massive war machine tottered forward, and landed on its face with a crash that knocked everyone nearby off their feet.

"Oh ho!" Granz sounded impressed. "Not bad, miss Ashe…"

As Ashe closed in for the kill, the chest compartment of the Golem snapped open again. To her amazement, the laser fired point blank into the ground, blasting the Golem back upright. As it did so, the entire upper body swiveled 180 degrees around to face, her, bringing its right fist swinging down towards her as it continued turning.

"But still not _nearly_ good enough, I'm afraid!"

Knuckle Buster met fist, and the fire that blasted outward incinerated any surrounding Mavericks that had gotten too close.

Ashe felt the ground below her breaking up as she was forced back. Gritting her teeth, she looked back up in alarm as she saw it begin to rotate back the other way, this time bringing its left arm around to punch her. Again she matched it, wincing as she felt the shock race through her arm. With the momentum of its entire body behind the blows, these punches were far more powerful than the first time it had hit her. The Golem continued swinging, delivering a series of punishing blows that Ashe was forced to counter again and again. With each consecutive impact, Ashe was forced further and further back, unable to keep herself in place.

Grey gasped as he saw her situation.

"Ashe! Hold on, I'm coming!"

"DON'T!"

Grey stopped, startled by the force in her voice.

"Ashe?"

"I'll deal with this guy! You take care of the other small fry!"

"What?! But you're in trouble!"

"I said I'll handle it! Stay out of this!" Ashe's eyes found Omega, standing tall as he battered down wave after wave of enemies, effortlessly annihilating all who stood in his way, and felt her determination returning.

_'I'll show him…I'm the Chosen One of Model A, Ashe Sylvers! There's no way I'll let an arrogant, self-centered jerk like that do better than me! I won't allow that to happen!'_

"That's right…" she growled. "I'm the Chosen One who fought Ouroboros! After something like that…"

She heard Granz give a surprised exclamation as his next punch was blocked.

"A reclusive, paranoid weirdo like you doesn't even count as a warm-up!!" she screamed.

New strength suddenly coursing through her body, she knocked away the Golem's fist and went on the attack, her countering punches growing stronger and stronger with each hit. She felt her boots digging into the ground, opposing the Golem's advance. Bit by bit, she felt her backwards movement slowing down. She grinned triumphantly.

"Now, it's my turn!"

"What the-?!" Granz was completely taken aback by the ferocity of Ashe's counterattack.

This time, it was the Golem that was forced to retreat. As Ashe's strikes grew in strength, so too did the flames that roared out with each impact. Suddenly, it staggered as a particularly heavy blow struck it.

"Damn!" Granz cursed, fighting with the controls.

Finally seeing her opening, Ashe leapt into the air, and with a resounding yell, slammed Model F's fully charged Knuckle Buster through the Golem's armored chest plate. Raw, red-hot flames blasted out of its chest cavity, mangling countless vital components as she released the pent up energy in a devastating explosion

As the Golem collapsed, Ashe used the recoil of the explosion to propel herself backwards. She landed on both legs and skidded as she killed her speed. Grinning triumphantly, she looked back up at the ruined form of her opponent.

"How do you like that?! Not bad for a 'great Chosen One', huh?"

Granz's voice growled over the speakers that still functioned in the Golem's wrecked chassis as he responded to her taunt.

"It seems I underestimated you. Don't go getting too complacent in your victory! This isn't over yet!"

There was a click as the audio feed was cut off, and the Golem finally ceased functioning as Granz severed his connection to it.

Ashe dropped to one knee, biting back a cry of pain. Despite A-Transing into Model F, this copied form was not as strong as the original. While Atlas could probably have been able to match the Golem's force, Ashe's body was not that tough. Both her arms now hung limp at her sides, completely useless while Model A repaired them.

Despite that, Grey breathed a sigh of relief.

Before he could start towards her, though, the ground suddenly rumbled and he realized that Granz hadn't been lying when he had said the battle wasn't over.

"No way…Ashe, look out!"

Ashe looked up startled, as the ground erupted around her. A massive snake-like appendage exploded out of it and slammed into her, sending her flying into the air.

"…Ahgh…! Wh..what…?!" The Chosen One could only choke as she felt the tremendous impact of the blow. Far below her, the earth crumbled away to reveal a gigantic crevasse. From within its dark depths, an ominous light gleamed as a familiar voice echoed upwards.

"I warned you not to get complacent, girl!" Granz's voice rang triumphantly. "Now since you seem to like that fire-based form so much, let's see what a little thunder can do!"

A second gigantic mechanical snake erupted from the ground, this one glowing an incandescent green. Ashe suddenly realized what was coming and desperately tried to switch forms, but it was already too late.

The serpent's massive jaws closed around her waist, almost crushing her. Moments later, it released its stored up charge and sent almost 4 million kilovolts of electricity slamming into her. Ashe screamed in agony as the electrical surge tore through her, her entire body convulsing in pain.

"ASHE!" Grey yelled, desperately fighting towards her. Granz laughed again.

"Don't worry, I won't kill her just yet! You, on the other hand, could do with a little cooling off!"

"What?!"

A third snake smashed its way out of the ground and reared above him, this time with blue armor plating. As he saw the icy fog escaping from its jaws, Grey said a word that no-one his age should know and desperately tried to get out of the way as the serpent's jaws opened, cutting loose with a beam of pure, freezing coldness. As it carved a path through the battle around them, it left behind a trail of gleaming, frozen statues in its wake.

Grey gritted his teeth and bit back a cry of pain. He had managed to dodge most of the attack, but not all of it. His entire left side was frozen, his leg anchored to the ground by a gleaming sheet of ice.

"Grey, look out!" Model A's warning shout came as the shadow of yet another serpent fell over him.

"And now, how about a little warming up?!" Granz cackled gleefully. The red armored serpent reared up and spewed a hurricane of flames at the helpless Reploid, broiling countless victims in the raging flames.

Badly scorched, Grey leapt out of the flames as Model H, his boosters getting him out of range. Catching sight of Ashe still struggling weakly in the grip of the first head, Grey gritted his teeth and rocketed towards her.

"Oh, trying to play the hero, are you?" Granz smirked. "Well, sorry, but you won't be saving this princess today, boy!"

There was a flash of light deep underground, and not one, but three more heads shot upwards towards the shocked Reploid. Grey gave a yell of pain as he felt their powerful jaws close on his body. Pinned around the waist by one, and with another one biting viciously into his right arm, Grey was left only with his left to defend himself. As the two blue armored snakes loomed up in front of him, ice-cold gases already gathering in their jaws, he glanced quickly down at the two gripping him, and made a desperate gamble.

"Here goes nothing…!" He gritted. Stabbing his remaining free saber down into the head of the red armored dragon biting into his waist, Grey tightened his grip and channeled as much electrical energy as he could generate into the draconic machine.

His gamble paid off.

The machine gave a screech of pain, and let go, rocketing back down into the crevasse, writhing as it tried vainly to rid itself of the electricity coursing through it. Now held up only by one arm, Grey dropped down, swinging. Both blasts of ice shot over his head and collided squarely with the green plated snake that was still holding Grey's arm.

There was another metallic screech, and Grey felt the snake release him as it jerked around, its entire upper body crackling as the metal approached sub-zero temperatures. Like the red-plated one a moment ago, it too shot back down into the darkness, Granz's yells of outrage floating up in its wake.

Grey smirked triumphantly. He had been right. Each of the 'snakes' had a distinct elemental attribute. Just as Ashe had been weak against an electrical attack while in Model F form, the fire-type snake had been equally weak against the thunder element of Model H. Likewise, the thunder attribute snake had been weak against an ice attack.

His victory, however, was short-lived, as both ice-elemental serpents now turned their attention on him. Dodging continuously as he drew closer to Ashe, he didn't see the two heads he had previously taken out rise up behind him and smash him down into the ground.

Grey struggled to rise as a massive shape loomed over him. Ascending out of the crevasse came a huge, hexagonal cylinder. A single conical 'eye' glowed brilliantly at one end of it, made out of a clear, green tinted material. As it came to bear on Grey, he could see the optics behind the lens contracting to focus the massive Mechaniloid's attention on him.

For that is what the creature was. As Grey watched in disbelief, another serpent emerged from the body, bringing the count up to eight total serpents. Two crackled with the electricity of a Thunder-attribute, two burned with the heat of a Fire-attribute and still another two heads hissed with the cold gases of an Ice-attribute. The remaining two heads didn't seem to have any attribute he could see, but from the hungry look they were giving him, he didn't think that would matter very much.

"Like it?" Granz grinned smugly. "My prized Guard Orotic, an eight-headed hydra capable of using all three elements in addition to its own incredible strength! This is one of the most powerful Mechaniloids I possess! I was planning to save it for the train itself, but well, I guess I'll just have to crush you two first!"

"Go…ahead and…TRY!" Ashe's voice interrupted him. Granz whirled around as an alarm went off in his control room. One of the other heads turned to give him the necessary camera feed, just in time for him to see Ashe blast the snake holding her in the eye with one of her Knuckle Busters.

It gave a squawk and jerked, involuntarily releasing her in the process.

Granz cursed as the Orotic lurched, momentarily distracting him. Ashe took the opportunity to fire two more mid-powered shots at the Orotic's main body, but they were blocked by two of the serpentlike 'arms'.

"Ashe, watch out!"

It suddenly occurred to Ashe that she had completely forgotten about her landing. She looked up to see the ground approaching much faster than she would have liked.

"Maybe I should have thought this through a little better…"she muttered, and braced for the impact.

Instead, she felt a powerful hand close on the back of her jacket and she was jerked upright at the last minute. She landed hard on her rear as something rocketed past her and smashed aside a series of fireballs that Granz had fired.

Ashe shielded her vision with one hand as the smoke and flames blew past. When she finally lowered it…

"What…?!" Granz's shocked voice was the next thing to be heard, as he stared in disbelief at the sight coming through his Mechaniloid's remote cameras.

Ashe looked up in amazement as the jagged edges of a crimson coat blew across her vision.

Sunlight glinting off his shades, the legendary God of Destruction stared challengingly up at the Guard Orotic, his sword held out at the side, and without a trace of damage from the attack

He looked directly into the cameras hidden in the war machine's chassis, and gave a dangerous smile.

"Mind if I cut in?"

* * *

Vile swerved the tank around yet another blast crater, feeling the twin cannons pounding away at Aerios' troops whenever they drew close enough. The resounding clang of a bomb detonating against the Crucio's armor rang out, temporarily deafening him. His eyes narrowed.

While his Crucio was an almost unstoppable force on the ground, capable of taking on pretty much any enemy ground units in head to head combat, it was still just a tank, with all of the weaknesses of one.

In other words, against air units, he was at a tremendous disadvantage. Thus far, only the Crucio's remarkable speed and maneuverability, unique among armored vehicles and further improved by Vile's relentless upgrading, had allowed them to survive this long. As with all tanks, the reason the Crucio was weak against flying opponents was its inability to fire at targets directly above it. Thus, the only way to compensate for this was to make sure that they kept moving, keeping enough distance from their attackers so that they remained within the turret's angle of fire, and also to keep them from being able to get into the Crucio's blind spot.

So far, Vile's strategy had worked. But now, with more and more of their battlefield being blasted into craters that blocked the Crucio's path, Vile's ability to move was being drastically reduced.

Now that he became aware of it, though…Vile glanced around for a moment, and smirked, his suspicions confirmed.

It seemed as though Aerios did have a brain after all. Perhaps his reputation as a tactician was not entirely undeserved…

Vile slammed one throttle forward, and the other back, accelerating the Crucio's right and left side tracks in opposite directions as the ground in front of him erupted in explosions. The massive tank did an almost perfect 180-degree turn, and came to a stop facing the way it had come. Surrounded by destroyed ground behind and both sides, the only way the Crucio could go now was straight ahead.

Unfortunately, there was a slight obstacle in the way.

Aerios' arrogant laughter filled the air as he descended into view. With a snap of his fingers, his aerial squadron fell in, interposing themselves safely between their master and Vile's Crucio, all of their weapons aimed at the trapped Unit V.

"How sad…It seems as though the worm has run out of ground to crawl on!"

Vile's voice was bored as he responded.

"Congratulations. And it only took you a whole half an hour to manage even that. If you'd like, I could clap for you."

A vein pulsed in Aerios' forehead. Ignoring him, Vile continued.

"But if we're going to talk about space to move, I guess I should be equally surprised by you."

Aerios grinned in satisfaction.

"Ah, so you admit that you can't keep up with my magnificent speed!"

Vile shook his head theatrically.

"No, no. I'm just surprised that there's even room for your troops to move up there with that oversized ego of yours taking up so much airspace."

Aerios was momentarily speechless with rage.

"H-how…How…DARE YOU!!!" he screamed, losing his temper completely. Before he could do anything though, a swarm of rockets arched up towards him.

"What?!" Jerking backwards, he used his troops as a shield, sacrificing them to protect himself. Those that weren't hit used the opportunity to shoot down the remaining rockets. Out of a dozen missiles, only three struck their targets. As the smoke cleared, Aerios laughed at the sight of Rika standing in front of the Crucio, her arms and shoulders transformed into an array of missile launchers.

"Hah! Is that the best you can come up with?! My fliers can shoot those down all day!"

"I know." Vile's voice spoke again, an ominous tone in it this time. "They were merely a distraction."

There was a pneumatic hiss, and vents of steam burst from spaces in the tank's armor. Aerios looked down at the Crucio in amusement.

"And you think your prized Siege Mode will fare any better against me? That ungainly weapon will never be able to touch one as graceful as I!"

For the first time since the battle had started, Vile laughed. The eerie, echoing sound sent chills down Aerios' spine. Any question he would have asked died in his throat as he saw what was happening to the Crucio.

On the screens in front of Vile, a single message flashed up.

***SYSTEM CALIBRATION COMPLETE***

***MODE 3 INITIALIZED***

***TRANSFORMATION SEQUENCE COMMENCING***

The lower half of the tank separated into two sections along its length, the treads shifting sideways for additional support. Connecting these two pieces was a central bulky body, which supported the massive turret. Then, to Aerios' astonishment, the turret slid forward, and then tilted straight up, pointing 90 degrees straight upwards into the air. Startled, he realized there was a recognizable design on the underside. Even as he finally figured out what was happening, it was already too late.

The massive, rectangular cannon split in two, the barrels moving away from each other. There was a clang, and then the two halves shifted downwards, locking into place on either side of the turret. Then they swiveled downwards to level themselves directly at Aerios and his forces, as additional weaponry slid into place alongside the 90mm cannon that was now mounted on either side of the turret.

As the Lightning Eagle stared in stunned disbelief, a head, its armor specially customized to resemble the signature helmet of its master, extended upwards on a mechanical neck, and then tilted forward to look at him. Behind its black visor, red optics blazed into life.

Hidden deep inside, Vile smiled as he felt information flooding in from his machine's sensors. Above him, the transformed Crucio's head moved in sync with his own, and fixed its cold gaze on the enemies before it.

"…A Ride Armor…?! How on earth do you have such a thing?!" Aerios demanded.

**"Ride Armor: Punisher…On-Line."** The cold mechanical voice of the now fully transformed Crucio ignored him.

A smirk crossed Vile's face as he stared up at the Lightning Eagle.

"I believe you were saying that my guns couldn't hope to match your 'magnificent' speed, were you not?"

There was a loud clank as the two long cannon-arms of the Punisher locked onto Aerios' units. Four long-barreled Gatlings slid out of their recessed ports and anchored themselves alongside the cannons.

"Care to test that theory now…?"

* * *

Omega stared up at the Guard Orotic's single metal eye and grinned.

"Huh, first a Golem and now an Orotic? What are you, some kind of an antique collector?"

"Tch. Watch your mouth, punk. Antique or not, this Mechaniloid has enough power to take on damn near anything I can think of! It wouldn't take more than five seconds to turn an impudent tick like you into little more than a grease stain on the landscape!"

Omega's eyes widened and a delighted smile spread across his face as he looked up at the massive machine before him.

"Oho, is that so…? Well then, you outdated, pompous, cowardly, slag-brained, big talking, multi-headed, piece-of-scrap-metal _relic_, why don't you come down here and try me?! I'll tie those necks of yours in a knot!"

Granz was apoplectic with outrage.

"Why you little- AAAAARRRRGHHH!" Granz let out a roar and the Orotic attacked.

Omega threw back his head and laughed. It was always so easy to rile up the scientist types!

"Time to slay the dragon!" he whooped.

He sidestepped the jaws of the first one, and kicked it in the side of the head so hard that Grey could see its eyes vibrating. With the force from the kick, he shot sideways, dodging twin bolts of lightning and fire, and brought his saber down on the neck of one of the ice-snakes, slamming it straight down into the ground with a terrific crash.

To his surprise, the blade hadn't managed to cut it at all! Instead, there was just a huge, bent crease in the metal where he'd struck.

"Hah! That pathetic sword of yours'll never be able to cut through my Orotic's reflective armor!"

"Screw you!" Omega shot back, and flung the saber overhand into the head of one of the non-elemental heads. It went in one eye socket, and the tip emerged from the next, spearing the thing straight through the head, and rendering it completely blind. The O-saber remained stuck there, but Granz ignored it. The snake could still move, so it wasn't a serious problem. Instead, he directed the other heads towards the crimson Reploid who had thrown it.

"And now you've thrown away your weapon, too! You're certainly making my job easier!"

Omega drew one fist back. "Oh really?"

Ker-WHAMM!

The feed coming from the cameras suddenly went completely haywire as the world turned on its head. In his hideout, Granz cursed and angrily tried to get the Orotic back into the fight, wondering what on earth had just happened.

For Ashe and Grey, the answer was all too obvious. Omega had punched the oncoming head so hard that the force had transmitted its way along the neck, spinning the entire body around and had sending the entire Orotic careening wildly into a cliff.

Grinning, he stomped after it. "Feeling better now?!"

Granz snarled as he finally got the controls working again.

"Go to hell!"

Omega leapt up as another head tried to bite him in half. Landing easily on top of it, he crouched down, and as it whipped up to shake him off, he kicked out at the top of its arc, shooting forward like a red bullet. He reached out as the neck of another head zoomed past and sank his claws into it. Reaching back, he gripped the thick metal trunk with both hands, and let his forward acceleration do the rest.

Granz's view suddenly jerked as the whole Mechaniloid was abruptly yanked backwards. Omega grinned, and put his full strength into it.

"The bigger they are…!"

Granz frantically tried to recover as the blue sky suddenly flashed on the monitors, before turning back to a view of the ground, which was coming closer with startling speed.

"…the more awesome I look when I kick their ass!"

With that last triumphant yell, Omega swung the massive Mechaniloid down, its other seven heads flailing uselessly behind it, and smashed the whole thing into the ground with an almighty crash that shook the whole battlefield

Ska-BOOOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!

Ashe stared in open-mouthed disbelief.

"D-did he just…"

"Um…yeah, I think he did…"

Omega dropped the Orotic head, and slammed his boot down on it triumphantly. Leaning forward he tugged his sword free. "You planning on staying down, or you wanna finish getting stomped into the dirt?!"

There was a warning rumble. Before he could react, the snake beneath him suddenly snapped upwards, catapulting him into the air.

"Whoa!" Omega gave a yell of surprise. Then, as a massive shadow fell over him, he realized his mistake.

One of the other Orotic heads slammed straight into him, knocking the wind out of him and sending Omega flying all the way back towards the train with the force of the impact. He hit one of the Praetor fitted cars and knocked it clean off its wheels.

Granz laughed aloud as he watched the dust settle.

"Come back in a hundred years, you amateur!"

A burst of explosions slammed into him again. Irritated now, he whirled around, just in time for a storm of Lock-on shots to smash into his Mechaniloid's multiple heads.

"Who the…?!"

"Oi, ugly! Remember me?!"

He grinned as he saw the shape of Ashe appear out of the smoke, her Lock-on buster glowing. Next to her, Grey was also back on his feet, a determined look on his face

"Oh, so you two want to go another round, do you?" With a savage laugh, he launched his massive war machine at them, its eight heads hissing.

As a result, he didn't see the crimson-clad legend smash his way free of the wreckage and stand back up, now thoroughly pissed off.

"All right you bastard, playtime's over!" As he stepped forward, a glint caught Omega's eye. Curious, he turned his head to see the source, and received a pleasant surprise.

Moving aside some debris, Omega felt a smile spread across his face.

He looked back up at where Granz's Orotic was in the middle of a furious brawl with the two Chosen Ones, both of whom seemed to have gotten their second wind.

"Oh, it's on now, punk!"

* * *

Aerios gave a screech of rage. It had been less than ten minutes since Unit V had unveiled their tank's third form, and already the difference could be seen easily. The Crucio's combat capability had increased almost two-fold, and its reaction time even more than that. No matter how his soldiers moved now, maneuvers that would have taken them to safety earlier only served to get them blown to pieces. The twin cannon arms of Punisher tracked them effortlessly, delivering its shots without almost flawless accuracy. In addition to that, the articulated treads that Punisher used for movement had boosted the tank's mobility far above what it had previously possessed, sending it racing across the hard packed earth in a zig-zagging path that nimbly evaded all of the flying attacker's best attempts to hit it. With the addition of a pair of acceleration thrusters on the back of the upper torso as well, it even gained access to a limited 'dash' function, allowing it an extra burst of speed for a few moments. Even the wrecked ground that had stopped the Crucio's movement now provided little more than a slight hindrance to the Ride Armor.

Aerios wasn't sure if it was the capabilities of the Ride Armor itself, or the skilled hand of the driver guiding it, but the fact remained that a single armored vehicle and one lone girl were making mincemeat out of his prized forces.

"Grrr…! Try this!" Leaning forward, he kicked off into a dive, hurtling down towards the violet armored machine.

"Those guns of yours won't be any good at close range!" he shrieked, and fired up his energy blades.

"You're on, Rika!" Vile snapped. The yellow scarf whipped in the wind as the Reploid girl turned silently to face the oncoming Raider. Light flashed as she transformed her hands into her two swords and raised them to an attack position.

'Oh-ho… modified body parts!' Aerios thought to himself.

She met Aerios' mad rush without so much as a flinch. Pink energy blades clashed against jet-black metal in a flurry of strikes that were almost too fast to be seen, and then Aerios was gone again, a hurricane of air in his wake.

Caught off guard, Rika stumbled back, only to receive a brutal slash on her back from Aerios on his return trip. Wincing, she willed the injury shut and watched coldly as he accelerated back up out of range.

"Hyeeehahahah! Your choice in machines may be first-class, Hunter, but your choice in sidekicks is sadly lacking! She can't even keep up with my slowest attacks!"

"…" Vile stared evenly up at Aerios. Normally, he was a fairly even-tempered Reploid, but Aerios was slowly grinding down the last few strands of his patience.

"…Rika, you're clear to go. Keep him busy for five minutes, and I'll finish it up."

His partner hesitated for a moment.

"Are you sure, Nii-san…?"

A slight smile tugged at the corners of Vile's mouth.

"When am I ever not sure, Rika?"

She looked surprised for a second, and then she nodded, the ghost of a smile crossing her features. Then just as suddenly, it was gone again, hidden behind her emotionless mask as she looked up to where Aeolus was readying himself for another dive.

He saw her adopt the same stance as before and gave a shrill laugh as he rocketed downwards again.

"You don't learn, do you?! I'll just have to tear that ungraceful form of yours to pieces, then!"

Both of his sabers flared with light. Slashing his left arm forward, he launched a crescent shaped blade of energy through the air towards her, a move he'd learned from watching countless videos of Aeolus in battle. Rika's eyes widened in surprise as she lifted her arms to block it. The explosion sent a cloud of smoke and flames washing over her.

Aerios laughed triumphantly, and drew back his other arm as he continued his headlong rush, planning to skewer her before she could regain her bearings.

"Here I co-!"

Aerios choked off as Rika appeared right in front of him, her speed so great it seemed as though she had appeared out of thin air. Behind her, the clouds of smoke were blown away as a sonic boom tore through the air. Before Aerios could do anything more, Rika's right arm glowed, transforming into a massive metallic battering ram.

The blow would have instantly killed anyone not wearing Ceratanium armor. As it was, Aerios was knocked flying through the air, smashing through countless numbers of his own aerial units before he could recover.

"Gh…You…!" He staggered back upright, one hand pressed to his bleeding head. Most of his helmet had been completely ruined by the attack, bits of it crumbling off even as he stared hatefully at the girl responsible for it.

"You…what the hell are you?!" he spat, enraged beyond measure at the sight before him.

Rika was gazing coolly at him on the same level. On her back, four translucent, delicate dragonfly-like wings spread out to their full extent, glowing gently with the power of their anti-gravity generators.

"Wings, too?! So, you want to fight me, do you? Here, in the air, on my home turf?! Do you honestly think you can mock me like this and get away with it?! You think you can just get a pair of wings and that's all you need to match me?! You, a mere modified Reploid?!"

Aerios' voice rose to a scream.

"I'll tear those fake wings of yours off and scatter that unsightly body of yours to the four winds! I am Aerios, the Lightning Eagle!"

With that, Aerios launched himself forward at a blinding speed. On her back, Rika's wings pulsed brightly, and she too shot forward.

Far below them, Vile smirked as he sent a lethal array of shells hammering into the ranks of Aerios' rapidly dwindling troops.

" 'A mere modified Reploid'…? As if that was all it was…" The violet armored Maverick chuckled to himself.

* * *

In the darkness of the armored carrier, the sound of the fierce battle raging outside was oddly muted, a result of the numerous layers of armor plating. Inside, all that could be heard was a faint, metallic scratching sound.

A single Galleon continued its work, mindlessly following the instructions in its programming. Finally, with a loud crack, the last seal on the container in front of it broke, smashed to ruin by the Galleon's repeated hammering.

As the Maverick drone pried it open, a faint red glow began to seep out. A single pencil thin beam of light flickered into life, tracing a path across the Galleon's features. After a moment, a cold mechanical voice rang out.

"Error. Subject is of substandard quality. Verdict: Unusable as a host body. Conclusion: Terminate." The light flashed bright red, and the Galleon collapsed, twitching, all of its circuits fried.

A small, hand-sized object slowly floated out of the broken container. Its blue eyes glowed menacingly as it scanned the surroundings.

"Resuming core programming. Initiating search for suitable host. Scanning…"

Its glowing blue gaze swept the darkened room, when it suddenly met an equally luminous crimson stare. The object pulled back slightly, re-focusing on the pair of glowing red eyes, the only thing visible in the darkness.

"Subject found. Physical parameters have been found to be acceptable. Estimated compatibility is at 99.90 %. Additional recalibration may be required to further improve compatibility. Verdict: Acceptable host. Conclusion:…"

The object's eyes turned a matching crimson color.

"Initiating fusion."

The object moved forward, and attached itself to the chest of its new host. Streamers of red light flickered out and began to encircle the person's body. Familiar crimson armor began to slowly materialize.

Suddenly, there was a tremendous crash and the entry hatch was brutally kicked down.

A scarlet overcoat fluttered in the wind, and sunlight glinted off the blank black faceplate of the intruder's helmet.

"Celtis…! So I was right…" Ace said harshly as he stared at the person standing inside the car. With a swift motion, he brought his Desert Eagle up to aim at her.

"You're being controlled, Celtis. Snap out of it, now!"

He saw her shoulders shift, and instantly tightened his grip on the trigger, ready to react if she made a hostile move.

"Take another step towards the Biometal, and…I'll…"

Ace's voice trailed off as he realized that something was wrong. As his helmet compensated for the dim lighting inside the car, he made out the crumpled figure of a Maverick Galleon further inside.

"What the…" His eyes found the broken container, and his heart stopped.

"…Dear God, no…"

Too late, he registered the unnatural energy readings coming from Celtis. As she turned to face him, Ace's eyes widened in horror.

"Jesus H. Christ…"

Then, before he could react, there was a feral snarl and the green-haired Hunter charged at him.

* * *

A/N: Okay, this was actually _not_ supposed to end here. The original plan was for this whole epic train battle to have been wrapped up in one chapter. However, as I'm only now checking the word-count, it seems I wrote too much, and now I currently have enough here for two chapters. So in short, the bad news is you've got another cliffhanger.

On the other hand, the good news is that since I've already written so bloody much into the _next_ chapter, that one's practically 75% done in advance, meaning you guys won't have to wait as long as you normally would!

…At least, that's the theory anyway…

Also, the Punisher Ride Armor is not in fact, an official Capcom-designed Armor. It's something I came up with myself, and concept work for it should be up on my DA account soon. So you can look forward to that too.

And by now, you should have realized that things aren't quite normal for the mysterious Biometal. Don't go getting your hopes up for another floating, chatty one like all of the others. I've made some creative, ah, adjustments…to this one…

You'll see what I'm talking about.

As for Aerios…well, basically, I just decided I'd try my hand at writing a character who was a bit on the bizarre side of things. Don't read too much into it. Likewise for Granz.

And speaking of Granz, for those of you who didn't recognize it, the Guard Orotic is a boss taken from the first Zero game. You know, the boss in the first factory mission, before Phantom tried to blow the whole place to pieces? Yeah, that one. There's an official picture of it floating around online, so you can look that up for a better idea of what I'm talking about.

Also, the Kougenjin is the official Japanese name for the move where Omega launches a slash-wave at you.

…Wow, this was a long Author's Note. Anyway, I'm off to go finish up the next chapter!


	9. Ch 8:WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM ?

**Chapter 8: WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM?!**

Disclaimer: You know the drill by now.

* * *

Unnoticed in the skies over the battlefield, twin specks of light darted through the air, crashing into each other again and again in a shower of sparks and energy.

The glittering figure of Aerios laughed wildly as he pursued Rika, hurling bolt after bolt of electricity after her.

"Hyaahahahaha! How do you like this, you imitation! Taste the power of the Lightning Eagle's Volt Sabers! Hyaahahahaha!"

Rika weaved around the attacks coming at her, occasionally pausing to return fire with her own projectile weaponry, then switching to her blades when Aerios closed in for melee combat.

_Just a little further..._

"I have you now!" Aerios yelled triumphantly. Caught off guard, Rika had no time to dodge as yet another bolt of lightning screamed down from the heavens. It struck her body dead center, and sent a huge charge of electricity coursing through her. She jerked back, the slightest of cries forcing its way past her clenched teeth.

"And now, how about some of this?!" As the lightning died away, Aerios was instantly on her. Darting back and forth, coming at her from every direction, the Lightning Eagle's blades lashed out, biting into her with every pass. After almost a minute of this, Aerios suddenly appeared directly overhead.

"And finally, the coup de grace! ELECTRIC CRUSHER!"

As both of his blades descended towards her head, Rika raised her arms above her head, and transformed them into their sword forms.

In a tremendous flash of light, Aerios' attack made contact, electrical energy exploding in a huge, crackling aura all around them.

Rika staggered backwards, battered and exhausted. Keeping her body transformed like this was difficult enough, but after a series of devastating attacks like that, she knew she was approaching her limit.

Slowly, Aerios descended into view, his old arrogant expression back on his face.

"It seems as though we've reached the inevitable conclusion. That modified body of yours has quite a number of tricks up its sleeve doesn't it?" He smiled cruelly. "I'll be sure to take great pleasure in dismantling it. Now be a good dog and die!"

He swung his swords down at her neck, their blades eagerly crackling with energy.

In that instant, Rika heard a faint beep. In the corner of her HUD, a digital timer was blinking. On its display...

The numbers 0.00 glowed brightly.

A familiar metallic clang echoed through the air, followed by the pneumatic hiss of steam. Startled, Aerios missed, his blades cleaving empty air as Rika darted away.

"What?! What was..."

The Lightning Eagle paled as he realized just how badly he had miscalculated. In his fight with the girl from Unit V, he hadn't even noticed how far they had descended. He had come so low down, in fact, that he was in line with the top of a row of cliffs that rose out of the desert. And sitting at the top of those same cliffs, where Rika had blocked it from Aerios' view moments before, was the Crucio, in full Siege Mode.

A smug grin crossed Vile's face as the targeting computer bleeped cheerfully.

"Hello."

The 150mm plasma shell hit Aerios head-on in an explosion that shook the ground and echoed over the battlefield with a resounding boom.

Coughing, Aerios emerged from the clouds of smoke. Both of his sabers had been completely destroyed from blocking the tank's mighty Shock Cannon, and much of his armor had been severely damaged.

"How the- where are my troops?! They were supposed to be taking care of that damned tank!"

Aerios suddenly began to realize that the skies around him were uncharacteristically empty. The ground, however...

"Impossible...!" He gasped, staring down at the wreckage of his entire battle fleet. "They were defeated?! By a mere ground-crawling slug?!"

"Maybe you should worry about yourself instead of them." An ominous voice rang out. Aerios looked back as the sound of a revving engine reached him, only to see the entire Crucio hurtling through the air towards him.

"WHAT THE HELL?!?!" Aerios gave a screech of absolute shock. The maniac had used the cliff as a ramp to launch the whole damned tank at him!

He barely escaped. As it was, the tank's front clipped him a devastating blow as it sailed past, continuing its long graceful arc down towards the ground. He turned to watch it go.

"A suicide attack?!" he gasped, clutching at his injured side. His answer came as the tank transformed yet again.

Shifting into its Ride Armor form again, Punisher slammed both of its cannons down and fired a full ten shots, its dash boosters blazing on its back. The Punisher landed on its treads with an impact that must have been felt a kilometer away, shattering the ground all around it.

Aerios laughed.

"How intriguing! It seems even a slug like you can learn to fly! But what will you do now, Unit V? I will not fall for the same trick a second time, and you'll never be able to catch me, even with those upgraded weapons! Either way, I win! This match is over!"

A shadow fell over him.

"I couldn't agree more." A cold voice spoke.

Aerios looked up to see an unmistakable figure, clad in royal purple armor, plummet towards him from far above. Before he could react, his head was seized in a powerful grip, a metal-gauntleted hand clamping painfully over his face as the opponent dragged him earthwards.

'_I-Impossible! How did he get above me?!_'

Aerios thrashed desperately, trying to escape. "You can't do this to me! I'm a human! Reploids like you aren't allowed to harm humans!"

"Maybe." Vile murmured, "but then again, I'm no normal Reploid."

As the ground hurtled up to meet him, Vile drew the arm holding Aerios back and slammed him headfirst into the ground with an impact that rivaled that of the Punisher's touchdown. Chunks of rubble were blown almost fifteen feet into the air by the force, carving out a huge crater.

Slowly, a figure stood up. Brushing dust off of his armor, Vile strode out of the clouds of settling debris, heading back towards the tank. He smirked as he remembered the incredulous look on Aerios' face as he realized someone had gotten above him. It never even occurred to him that Vile hadn't been on the tank when it reached the ground.

"Remote control is a wonderful thing." The legendary ex-Enforcer smiled to himself. Spotting Rika near to the tank, he nodded to her.

"Damage?"

"Nothing serious, Nii-san. I just need to rest for a bit."

He nodded again, and then stopped, whirling around to face the sky.

"Nii-san...?"

Vile stared grimly at the sky.

"That's time we may not have..."

* * *

In his darkened hideout, Granz whirled around as an alarm went off. One of his screens was flashing red. With a grunt of annoyance, he hit the killswitch, and the screen went dark.

"So, Aerios bought it, huh? Swell, that means I'm stuck cleaning up his mess. But, on the bright side, I guess that means more reward for me! After all, that fool Siger managed to get himself wiped out too."

Which meant that basically, out of the three Raider commanders assigned to this mission, he was the only one remaining. Now, he alone controlled this combined army!

Reconnecting himself to his Guard Orotic, which had been running on auto-pilot while he supervised the operation of the rest of his attack forces, he arrived just in time to receive a full power kick from Buckfire.

Without even hesitating, he let the Orotic's head get knocked away, and used the momentum to launch his two Thunder Element heads forward, smashing Buckfire away.

Grey gave a yell and transformed back into Model A, unleashing a withering storm of Lock-On shots.

Granz sneered and batted them away easily, pulling his massive Mechaniloid back.

"Where do you think you're going?!" Ashe yelled.

"Sorry, but it seems I can't afford to waste any more time playing around!" Typing in a command in his control room, Granz activated the Priority One code.

A contingency plan for just such a situation, the Priority One was a code that signaled the defeat of two of the three Raider Commanders that had been hired for this job. Upon this code's transmission, all remaining Raider and Maverick units were to fall under the command of the last surviving commander, thus ensuring that the makeshift army would not falter due to any sort of communication problem between the component factions.

In other words, with the Priority One being sent out now, Granz, as the last surviving commander, now controlled not only his own Mechaniloid army, but the combined might of Siger's Raiders, and Aerios' Maverick drones as well.

He grinned as he stared down at the two Chosen Ones.

"It's time to bring out my final trump card!"

The Orotic gestured dramatically to the skies overhead.

"Now...BEHOLD! The _true_ might of the Granz Armada!"

"What?!" Ashe looked up. "What are you..."

Her voice trailed off as she saw them. High above them, dark shapes were slowly becoming visible through the clouds overhead. Even as the Legion forces below became aware that something was wrong, the shapes grew in number, countless more of them appearing in the sky as the mysterious objects dropped towards the battlefield. As they drew closer, Grey's eyes gradually began to make out metallic armor plating, huge, bulky bodies, and glowing power conduits.

"Holy..."

Nearby, Ashe had taken a step back, the blood draining from her features as she realized what she was looking at.

"No way...! This shouldn't be possible! Where in the hell did you manage to get so many of those things?!"

The gigantic mechaniloids descending from the heavens were all too familiar to Grey and Ashe, as both of them had clashed with this particular machine before. There was no mistaking the ponderous ovoid bulk of the main body, accompanied by two smaller floaters both ending in a huge mechanical hand.

Doru Ghoras. Dozens of them, filling the sky, numbering almost a hundred in total, all falling into formation in the air behind Granz's massive floating Guard Orotic, their master's voice echoing gleefully across the battlefield as he saw the stunned looks on the faces of his enemies.

"Magnificent, aren't they? Of course, they aren't nearly as energy-efficient as my other toys, but they more than make up for that shortcoming with their other talents..." Granz laughed evilly.

"Most proficient among these being the ability to crush anything in their path!!"

"Tch..."Ashe gritted her teeth as she stared up at the floating armada. Sure, she and Grey had beaten these things before, but that was when they were one on one! In a huge army like this...

Even as Ashe thought that, a Buster shot screamed over her head and slammed into one of the Doru Ghoras. It rocked back for a minute, then righted itself and moved back into position, its external armor slightly singed by the blast. Both Chosen Ones whirled around, startled.

"What?! Who dares-?!" Granz stopped as he saw the figure standing atop the destroyed train carriage.

"So you're still alive, are you?" He smirked.

The barrel of his O-Buster still smoking, the God of Destruction gave a cocksure grin in reply.

"'Fraid so. I'm a hard man to kill."

"Well, I suppose I should commend you for your stubbornness. However-!"

Granz gestured triumphantly at his massed forces.

"Even so, what will you do now, dog of Legion? You now stand against an entire army, all under my command! All of these Raiders, all of these Mavericks, and of course, my prized Mechaniloids, I now control them all! With a mere command, I could have them crush you into nothing more than a red smear! Even with those two Chosen Ones helping you, you'd never have a chance!"

It was at this point that Grey had to restrain Ashe from leaping headfirst at Granz in a blind fury.

"Oh yeah?! Well come out here and try me, you pompous windbag! I'll tear you a brand new-!"

Granz ignored her and continued talking.

"And you've already seen that your weapons can't even scratch my Doru Ghoras' reinforced armor! This is your end!"

Omega's grin spread into a wide, frightening smile.

"Oh, don't worry, that shot wasn't supposed to do any damage. That one was just to get your attention."

Granz's eyes widened in shock. "What?!"

With a demonic laugh of delight, Omega slammed his boot down on the wreckage beneath him. Shattered pieces of metal and debris were knocked aside, as a huge object was catapulted into the air.

Grey instantly recognized the massive oblong shape, one end ending in a hexagonal shape, and the other ending in a wide flattened barrel.

"No way, that's-!"

Ashe gasped. "That's the Praetor from the car he wrecked! But what is he..."

Light flashed off of Omega's shades as he took a step forward, the massive cannon falling back towards him. His left arm snapped out and caught it as it came down. Drawing his right back, he curled his fingers into claws, the omega sigil glowing through the built-in transervers, and slammed his hand deep into the Praetor's main body.

"O...KNUCKLE!" He roared triumphantly.

The crimson gauntlet glowed a brilliant shade of scarlet as it plunged into the metal. Connections were made, power conduits redirected, and targeting computers rebooted. Just like the moment when Omega had claimed Leos' Titanium Reavers, there was a flash of red light and the gigantic Praetor railgun hummed to life with a menacing sound.

The turret's main body covered his entire forearm, the oversized, bulky barrel jutting out even further, almost twelve feet long. He hefted the massive cannon with ease, and leveled it directly at Granz's hovering armada.

"What the hell?!" Granz exclaimed, stunned.

Omega laughed savagely. "Sure, I could kick all of your asses with just my Buster, but since you knocked me all the way over here and let me get my hands on this, I figured I owed you a little reward!"

Omega's eyes burned red as the Praetor's humming increased in pitch.

"So, here you go!"

With a thundering howl, the Praetor fired. Before anyone could react, the shot slammed into the ranks of Granz's floating Mechaniloids. The superheated plasma ate through metal, circuitry and armor effortlessly, before detonating in a gigantic fireball that consumed anything in its blast radius.

Granz's Orotic heeled sharply as the shockwave slammed into it, disorienting him, and temporarily disabling his link with his troops. Fighting desperately to get back in control, Granz could only watch helplessly as Omega went to town on his prized army's collective asses, raining blast after blast of plasma into them.

"How is something like this even possible?!"

As the Doru Ghoras recovered and began to advance, returning fire, Omega raised his new weapon upwards, and pumped in a fresh burst of energy, recharging it. Lasers and missiles detonating all around him, the crimson-clad Reploid merely grinned.

"All right, if you want to play it that way, then I'll take you all on with my newest weapon!"

Bringing his Praetor cannon back down to aim directly at the oncoming armada, he yelled aloud.

"I call this one..._**SUPREME BUSTER!**_"

The ground shook as the massive railgun fired, the air itself ripping apart before its magnetically accelerated plasma blasts.

Now Grey and Ashe were forced to pull back as flaming wreckage began to streak down towards the battlefield. Panic spread through the ground forces of both sides, the battle forgotten as they tried desperately to avoid being crushed.

In the air, the slow moving Mechaniloids were completely defenseless, unable to dodge or block any of the insanely powerful attacks coming towards them.

Omega's terrifying laughter rang out over the mayhem as the Praetor roared in his grip. He fired again.

And again.

And again.

And again.

He fired until the air and the earth itself burned red with destruction. Granz could only stare in horror as his once prized armada slowly disintegrated before his eyes.

And still Omega continued to fire.

"What...What on earth?! My invincible army...is being destroyed by one man?!"

His screens flickered to show the image of Omega, standing tall atop the wreckage of the train, launching blast after blast into his forces, a demonic expression on his face.

"This is impossible! This man was supposed to be a nobody! A complete weakling, who qualified for this mission through luck alone! How the hell is he doing this?!"

Gritting his teeth, he gave a yell of anger and sent more of his mechanical minions forward.

"All units, attack! Get rid of that faker, before all of my Ghoras are destroyed!"

A Golem veered away from the battle and raced towards Omega, its fist already raised.

"Look out!"

At the sound of Grey's warning yell, Omega merely grinned. With a single, fluid motion, he disengaged his O-Knuckle, and flipped the Praetor upwards. As the barrel came within reach, he grabbed it with both hands and brought it around in a wide arc, the air howling in its wake.

With a tremendous crash, Omega smashed it head-on into the Golem's face, almost breaking the Praetor in two as it sent the Golem hurtling back the way it had come, completely destroyed.

"DON'T FUCK WITH ME, ASSHOLE!" Omega snarled, tossing aside the ruined Praetor.

**[Cue Music: NeedLess OST- Assailant in the Night by e-ZUKA]**

"Don't underestimate me, you bastard! Mere Mechaniloids, controlled by you, their cowardly puppet master, will never be enough to stop me!"

Omega drew his sword back in a two handed grip, channeling all of his power into it. Then with a roar, it brought it shrieking down to slam into the ground before him.

"SABER...CRUSH!"

The earth exploded, a tidal wave of energy rocketing outward from Omega. To Grey, it seemed similar to the charge moves he had used earlier with his Buster, but by using it with his energy saber instead, the destructive capability of this version far outclassed the previous one!

Ashe stared in awe as Mavericks and Raiders vanished before the blast, either being flung head over heels through the air, or simply being consumed by the chaotic energy as it roared past them, shaking the ground in its wake.

"What on earth...?"

Finally, after annihilating almost half an acre of land, the wave died out. As it faded a crimson bullet blasted through it.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! **COME ON**, I'M NOT THROUGH WITH YOU BASTARDS YET!"

Demonic laughter rang in the ears of the beleaguered Raiders as Omega plowed into them, his face distorted with an expression of insane delight. No longer was he using anything complicated, like his trans-server arsenal. Now it was just a simple, bloody free-for-all of savagery and violence. His O-Saber radiating violet flames of energy, Omega hacked and slashed mercilessly at the packed enemies before him. He was everywhere at once, his Saber leaving violet afterimages in its wake as it flashed through the air. His blade hummed with delight as it danced, cleaving through countless foes with each bloody strike. He was an unstoppable whirlwind of death, his movements almost too fast to be seen.

Over all of the carnage, the sound of his insane laughter could still be heard, drowning out the screams of the dying. Blood splattered his coat, his face, his boots and his hands, slowly staining his already red figure with the darker crimson color of fresh blood. Even as the enemies finally lost their courage and tried to flee, still he pursued them, mowing them down one after another.

The two Chosen Ones stared in disbelief as the mysterious crimson Reploid that had come out of nowhere, an unknown person who had simply happened to qualify for this mission, carved a bloody swath of devastation through the opposing forces of Granz's army, a destructive, merciless rampage that threatened to make even the worst of the Ouroboros incident look like mere child's play. Even the Legion soldiers had stopped in their defensive efforts, all of the Raiders having been forced back almost effortlessly by the actions of one man.

Grey's jaw was set tightly as he watched the slaughter. While the enemies were still Raiders, nothing more than criminals, a fate like this...

"This is just...a massacre..." a voice said weakly.

He turned. Next to him, Ashe had pressed one hand to her mouth, a nauseated expression on her face.

"I'd've thought you would have been more cheerful, Ashe."

The silver haired girl shook her head vehemently.

"It's true that I hate Raiders and Mavericks, but this..." She flinched and looked away as Omega impaled a man on his O-Saber and tore him apart with the claws of his free hand, scattering a bloody mess through the air.

"This is horrible..."

Granz finally shook himself out of his shocked state, and gave an angry shout.

"What are you fools doing?! He's just one man! All of you, attack! Hurry up and kill him!"

Immediately responding to the command, all of Granz's remaining Mechaniloids, including the Galleon forces opened fire. Countless guns blazed, disregarding any hapless allies who happened to get in the line of fire.

"Look out!"

Ashe's warning shout came too late. The full wave of attacks from Granz's Mavericks slammed into Omega with devastating effect. The lone crimson figure instantly vanished behind a wall of explosions. The earth cracked and shook under the force of each fresh blast, the tremors reaching almost as far back as the train itself.

"That's right!" Granz roared over the deafening thunder of his troops' guns.

"Die and disappear! For daring to act as though a lone idiot like yourself would be able to take on my army, you deserve nothing more than total eradication! Only a fool would try something so stupid! Know your place, dog of Legion!"

Heh heh heh...Oh, is that so...?

Granz froze. His mind had to be playing tricks on him. There was no way he could have just heard that sound. It was impossible.

_**Heh heh heh heh heh...**_

Violet light glinted through the clouds of smoke.

"No way...! No...freaking...way!" Ashe gasped.

_**Heh heh heh...AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!**_

His terrifying laughter filling the air, crimson light blazing in his eyes, the God of Destruction was still coming. Unbelievably, he seemed almost completely unharmed. His O-saber was a blur in front of him deflecting any and all shots that tried to hit him. Even massive artillery rounds had no effect, the violet blade slicing them apart as if they were nothing more than paper.

"_**Then I'll just have to show you who the REAL fool is!**_" Omega thundered.

"He's blocking them with just a single sword?! That's impossible! Even Model ZX isn't capable of something like that!" Ashe gasped.

Model A was silent, hardly believing the incredible sight before them.

A demonic smile on his face, Omega's eyes burned with the fires of hell itself as he stared at the forces arrayed in front of him.

"You'll have to do better than that if you want to take me down!"

Omega laughed aloud in delight. These fools truly had no idea of what they were dealing with, did they? He was Omega, the God of Destruction, emissary of the end, terror of the Elf Wars and in general, one kick-ass son of a bitch! And here they were, trying to kill him with mere guns?! He was the man who had walked through the nuclear firestorm of an exploding city-buster, and they were hoping to kill him with small-arms fire? HAH! Even explosive rounds did little more than knock him off balance! Against opponents like this, he didn't even need to use his self-repair ability!

His O-Saber flashed, and a barrage of rockets exploded harmlessly around him. Another swing, and a solid tank-fired shell split neatly in two, both halves shooting past to detonate far behind him.

And still he pressed on, swinging his saber in two hands as he blocked and deflected every tank shell, missile, rocket and all other types of high impact ammunition. Smaller bullets continued to hit him, but if he noticed these trifling impacts, he didn't show it. As he drew closer to the ranks of the Mavericks, their barrage intensified, desperately trying to bring him down.

Then, a message flashed up on Omega's HUD.

**O-SABER DEFENSIVE PARAMETERS MET. INITIALIZING DEFENSE MODE.**

" 'Defense mode'?" Omega raised an eyebrow. "What the hell is-?"

Before he could finish, a flood of new information raced through his mind. In real-time, the process took barely four milliseconds, but to Omega, it felt like ten minutes. His eyes widened as he deciphered the data and he skidded to a halt, stunned.

"Wha...This is...!"

Granz saw the crimson-clad Reploid suddenly stop, and immediately he seized his chance.

"He's open! All units, hit him with everything you've got! NOW!"

Omega was shaken back to reality as a thunderous roar shook the ground. Looking up, he was rewarded by the sight of a barrage of weapons fire that made Granz's last all-out attack look like a firework display. He gritted his teeth in a fierce snarl and, snapping one hand out towards the oncoming blitzkrieg he put the new information racing through his mind to the test.

"In...your...**DREAMS**!!"

In front of Omega's outstretched hand, there was a burst of light, and the deactivated handle of his O-Saber appeared, floating in mid-air.

"And just what do you think you're trying to do?" Granz sneered.

Suddenly, brilliant violet energy burst from the triangular hilts at both ends of the handle, materializing into not one, but two O-Saber blades. Then, it began to spin, slowly at first, but then rapidly picking up speed, until the blades blurred into the shape of a single, wide disc of spiraling energy ten feet in diameter.

"A shield...?!" Model A gasped.

The crimson Reploid was lost amidst a sea of plasma and molten metal, as the Raiders' attacks finally made contact with their target. Even Ashe and Grey, as far away as they were, had to retreat, as the effects of the full-scale bombardment spread outwards, rapidly consuming the surrounding area.

"Damn...! He's really going all-out!" Ashe winced, a wave of heat blasting past her.

"Fire! Fire! Don't stop shooting until even the ground vanishes!" Granz yelled frantically, adding his own Orotic's powerful attacks to the barrage.

A howling wind suddenly tore through the air. A tremendous vortex formed, sucking in all of the flames and smoke. Even Granz's full powered blasts were pulled in by the force of the whirling maelstrom.

"Wh...What the hell is this?!"

Omega's new weapon howled as it spun, everything being sucked in by its whirling blades. Cannon shells, plasma blasts, bullets...Anything entering within reach of the raging winds was instantly pulled in, spinning around in a non-stop whirlwind of chaos.

An earth-shattering roar shook the world, and then the entire vortex was blasted outwards in a tremendous wall of force. In an instant, all of the Raiders' attacks were repelled, hurtling back the way they had come, and raining death and destruction into their ranks.

Even Granz was forced to dodge, as his own lightning, fire and ice attacks rebounded directly at him. Barely evading them, he looked up in disbelief.

"What on earth...?"

The furious winds instantly torn apart by the shockwave, the cause could now be seen all too easily.

Amidst the destruction left by Granz's furious assault, Omega still stood, his arm out to his side, the violet disc of energy now whirling just above his wrist.

"I-Impossible...!" Granz stammered. "He knocked everything back...with a shield...?!"

"So I was right..." Omega muttered. He_ had_ recognized the weapons data that had suddenly appeared in his mind. He was all too familiar with this particular weapon. In his last battle with Zero, his arch-rival's Z-Saber had possessed a capability almost identical to this.

His eyes narrowed as he remembered his hated nemesis calling its name aloud as he launched it at Omega, a century ago.

"Shield Boomerang..." Omega murmured. He looked back up at Granz and his forces coldly. Why the hell his O-Saber would possibly have that weapons data built into it was something Omega swore to find out, but for now, he'd be more than happy to put it to use.

First things first though...He grinned.

"Shield Boomerang is such a lousy name." With a wild laugh, he drew his arm back, channeling power into his weapon.

"So how about I call it..._**RED RIPPER!**_"

With a reckless yell, he snapped his arm forward, hurling the newly named weapon straight at the enemies before him with blinding speed. Before the stunned Raiders, or even any of the Mavericks or Mechaniloids processors, could react, the shrieking buzzsaw of violet energy chewed through their ranks in a bloody whirlwind.

Granz's Orotic ducked as it shot past. Before Granz could even figure out what was going on, the Ripper curved in a wide arc, still slicing through his troops, and shot back to Omega, who had by this time, taken advantage of the distraction to cover the last few metres between him and the enemy army. He caught the Ripper by the handle, instantly stopping its revolution, and now, armed with a double-bladed O-Saber, smashed into Granz's front ranks.

Enemies fell before him like wheat before the scythe. Alternating between swinging it around by hand, and then letting it spin back into buzzsaw mode, Omega carved a bloody path straight towards Granz.

"Come on you bastard! I'll take you on here and now!"

Granz gritted his teeth in anger. Again and again, he had tried to destroy this man, and yet he kept on coming, growing stronger with each failed attempt. It was almost as if he was evolving with each victory he won.

"...As if! Completing my mission comes before wasting my time on someone like you!" Sneering, Granz beckoned a fresh wave of Mechaniloids forward.

"These will be more than enough to keep you occupied!" Laughing triumphantly, his Orotic started to rise, climbing out of range as it prepared to head towards the train.

Omega gritted his teeth in anger. At best, these new troops wouldn't do anything more than slow him down for a few brief moments, but at this distance, that was all the time Granz needed to reach the train!

And if that happened, it meant that Omega would have...lost?!

"Not in this lifetime, bitch!" he snarled, and redoubled his efforts. At that instant, a green blur slammed into the Guard Orotic, knocking it sideways. Granz reeled, angrily searching for the intruder.

"Who in the hell?!"

The light of an A-trans flashed, and resolved itself into the figure of Ashe in Model A form, standing atop one of the Orotic's massive necks.

"...You!" Granz growled. Ashe gave a smirk.

"Damn right it's me! I still owe you some major payback for what you put me through earlier!" So saying, she leapt forward, her Busters blazing.

"Go ahead and try!" Granz roared, and lunged to the attack.

Below them, Omega grinned. That Ashe girl had a reckless streak that rivaled his own! As he turned his attention back to the enemies in front of him, a sudden shadow fell over him. Looking up, his eyes widened and he dove to the side as the massive shape of Bifrost crashed down, scattering Mavericks and Raiders alike.

"Hey, what the hell do you think you're doing, scarface?!" Omega picked himself back up, readjusting his shades as he snapped at Grey.

"Sorry about that!" Grey replied sheepishly. Then his voice turned serious.

"You're going after Granz, right?"

Omega snorted. "Well yeah, so what?"

"In that case..." Grey hesitated.

"Could you...uh...keep an eye on Ashe for me?"

Omega looked at him in surprise. This was certainly unexpected.

"Why?"

"She'd never admit it, but she's in a lot worse shape than she lets on. Since this battle started, she's been pushing herself to the limit to compete with you. If this keeps up, I'm worried she'll really hurt herself."

"So why ask me? Why not do it yourself?" Omega retorted, annoyed.

"Why, are you planning to stay here and defend the train while I go fight Granz?" Grey answered wryly.

The God of Destruction opened his mouth.

The God of Destruction closed his mouth.

'_Okay, he has a point there.'_

Omega took a deep breath and counted to ten as he reigned in his bloodthirsty impulses. Just go along with the kid for now, get the girl out of troub-

Waaaaait a minute...Girl? Omega's mind flashed back to the female Chosen One. He paused for a moment, remembering her nicely curved body, fiery temperament and brash attitude, and a slow, evil smile spread across his face.

Then again, this might just work out after all...

* * *

Ashe ducked as an Orotic head hurtled over her, its jaws slamming shut on empty air. Pointing her Buster straight up, she delivered a fully charged Buster shot into its neck at point-blank range. Screeching angrily, it retreated back into its socket in the Orotic's body to regenerate. Before Ashe could press the advantage, another head lunged at her, forcing her to leap to another neck to avoid getting turned into deep-fried Mechaniloid chow.

Granz gave an angry growl as he continued trying to nail the annoyance that kept darting around his war machine.

"...Why you little...! Stop moving, dammit! You're like some kind of god-damned fly!"

Ashe grinned as she caught on to the neck of one of his fire-element heads and peppered the main body with her Ricochet charge shots.

"Careful, old man, this 'fly' has one hell of a sting!"

Granz used two more of his heads to block the shots, and fired a blast of electricity at her. Ashe gave a grunt and leapt, just as the bolt struck her last location. As that head screeched and shot back into its regenerative compartment, she transformed into Queenbee and darted upwards, firing shot after shot down at the Orotic. As one of his earlier heads finished its regeneration, Granz, brought it out and launched a stream of bone-chilling ice needles up at her. Ashe veered sharply to avoid them, wincing as she felt Queenbee's thrusters eating into her energy with each passing moment.

'_Damn...! I can't get close enough to attack his main body with those snakes protecting him! And no matter how many times I take them down, they just repair themselves and come right back at me!_'

"What's this? Don't you know spacing out in a fight will get you killed?"

She gasped as she heard Granz's leering taunt. Looking back at him, she realized both of his lightning heads were aimed straight at her, electricity already crackling in their jaws.

"Damn it...No time to dodge!" she cursed. Canceling her transformation, she changed back into Model A form, hoping to drop out of the way.

"Too slow!" Granz laughed, and brought his two fully repaired fire heads out to aim below her.

"Crap, it was a fake!"

Twin jets of flame roared into life below her as Ashe plummeted down towards them.

"This is gonna hurt...!" she gritted her teeth and braced for the searing heat.

It never came. Instead, a new voice roared:

"**CHAIN SABER!**"

A long, harpoon-tipped chain of violet energy lanced out and speared one of Granz's fire heads through the neck, hooking it.

"What-?!" Granz gave a startled yell as a sudden weight jerked his Mechaniloid off balance. As the Orotic tilted downwards, both of its flamethrowers veered off course, missing Ashe by miles.

"Who the heck...?" Ashe's wondering question was cut off as she felt a strong hand grab her around the waist, and suddenly she was going back up rapidly. Her rescuer yanked on the chain and sent them swinging around back towards the disoriented Orotic.

As they sailed through Granz's furiously snapping snakes, her rescuer smashed the main body a devastating kick as they passed, adding to Granz's fury as his entire screen went haywire from the impact.

A violet flash of light, and suddenly the chain disappeared, resolving into an all-too familiar energy saber. Ashe's eyes widened, and she looked up, into the triangular, crimson shades of one God of Destruction.

"You?!" she exclaimed in outrage.

"Of course!" Omega laughed. "It'd be a shame if I let a beautiful girl like you die here!"

"Quit playing around- Hey, how the heck do you plan on landing?!" Ashe screamed over the sound of the wind rushing past her face.

Omega grinned and flipped his Saber around into a reverse hold.

"With as much destruction as I can possibly cause!"

His saber flashed again, and once more shifted into a different shape. This time it resembled a tonfa-like energy blade, crackling with energy. Raising it over his head, Omega brought it screaming downwards to meet the ground.

"I call this one...**SHOCK ROD!**"

A tremendous explosion shook the ground, sending a plume of wreckage shooting almost thirty feet straight up into the air, and scattering enemies in every direction.

As the dust settled, Omega staggered out of the huge crater he'd created with a crazy grin on his face.

"That...was totally...AWESOME!"

After he had received the weapons data for Zero's Shield Boomerang, his diagnostic systems had informed him that there were several other similar files that had been packed in with it. At which point Omega had immediately told it to open them up as well.

The result of this was that in addition to his O-Saber's newly discovered Shield mode, he now had access to three other brand-new weapon modes. The Chain Rod (promptly renamed as the Chain Saber), the Recoil Rod (the newly-christened Shock Rod), and finally the so-called Triple Rod, which Omega had yet to figure out what the hell it did.

Ashe coughed as she too walked unsteadily out of the dustcloud.

"Ow...You...are one crazy bastard...Anyone ever tell you that?"

Omega shook his head to get the last of the dust out of his hair, and gave her a thumbs up.

"Everyone I've ever talked to!" he grinned.

Ashe groaned and pressed a hand to her face.

"Why is it that all the guys I meet are complete nuts?"

An ominous shadow fell over them.

"Are you two quite through yet...?" Granz's tone was almost murderous. Omega looked up, a bored expression on his face.

"Oh, it's you again."

Ashe gritted her teeth. "This bastard just won't quit..." She started to bring up her Charge Buster, but winced slightly.

'_Damn, I must have gotten more banged-up than I thought..._'

Omega glanced at her for a moment, stifling a grin. Scarface had been right. If he hadn't shown up when he did, chances were good that there wouldn't have been much left of that attractive body by now. As a rule, Omega generally preferred his women alive. Dead ones tended to be a lot less appealing.

And yes, that pretty much summed up his entire motivation for playing hero.

Granz saw his amused look and bristled.

"You think there's something funny?!"

"Aside from your face, no, nothing." Omega replied coolly.

He looked back over his shoulder at Ashe while Granz tried not to explode with anger.

"Sorry, but I work solo. Go help your pal back at the train. He's the one who asked me to come save your pretty little ass, so the least you could do is make sure he doesn't get himself killed. Things were looking pretty bad down there."

"Well, excuse me!" Ashe flared. "For your information, I didn't need saving! And what, you think you can take on that thing by yourself?! Look, Saber, or whatever your name is, not that I don't appreciate the thought or anything, but I'm a Chosen One, and even I could barely deal with him! Do you honestly think you'll be able to take him down?"

For a moment, Omega was silent. Then he turned around and grinned.

"What do you think?" he replied calmly.

The flat, simple question was enough to catch even Granz off-guard. He couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of it.

"Hah! You really think you'll be a match for me?! I don't care if you've got a bunch of fancy sword moves, or a whole arsenal of those trick weapons! Against the strength of my Orotic, those are all completely useless!"

Omega turned back toward Granz, his eyes hidden behind his shades as he looked up at the colossus before him. Behind him, however, Ashe stared at the crimson clad Reploid, a shaken look on her face. For the first time since she had met the strange Reploid, she had been able to see that his eyes clearly, and it had stricken her to the core. She had seen darkness and death, and a madness that made normal, clinical insanity seem sane by comparison, a lust for violence that would sicken even the most monstrous of beings. But beyond that, rising above it all, was the sense of complete and overwhelming self-confidence.

Belief in himself, and his own strength, to the extent that it went far beyond mere arrogance. And yet somehow, it wasn't arrogance. For this man standing in front of her, it was simply an inescapable truth. For this man, the foe standing before him was already defeated. It was as though the laws of cause and effect had been reversed.

The 'effect' here being Granz's complete and utter defeat. The only thing that remained to be determined was the 'cause'. Or to put it another way, the exact method by which the Orotic was going to get trashed.

Ashe bit her lip.

"...Dammit...Fine, I'll leave it to you. But..." She gave him a meaningful look.

"Don't think this means you've won! I'm just letting you finish this fight because I have to go help my friend! That's all!"

With that last demand, she turned and started running back towards the battle. Omega merely grinned.

"Well, that takes care of any spectators." he murmured to himself.

He looked up at the giant Orotic, and bared his teeth in a savage grin.

"All right, now that the wishy-washy hero crap is out of the way, time to do what I do best!"

With a roar, he launched himself at Granz, his Saber blazing.

* * *

Ashe heard a series of massive explosions behind her, but she didn't stop to look back. While it was true that she technically did owe Grey some thanks for sending help (although she was never going to admit it!) she was still thoroughly pissed by the fact that he had thought she had needed it in the first place! And worse yet, he'd asked that guy, of all people, to come and help her!

She gave an involuntary shudder as she once again recalled those burning crimson eyes. The last time she'd been this creeped out was back when they had fought Siarnaq, and even that didn't come close to the feeling that this new Reploid had given her.

Worse still, she'd let him talk her into running away from a fight! Her fight!

The more she thought about it, the more she wondered why the hell she'd let that happen in the first place! Thoroughly incensed now, she was about to turn back to go and clobber Granz herself, but she suddenly felt Model A's presence return.

"Uh, Ashe? Not to rush you or anything, but, uh, Grey could kinda use some help down here!"

Ashe gritted her teeth. Her pride was one thing, but if her friend was in trouble...

"AAARGH! Dammit, fine, I'm coming already! Tell Grey if he dies before I get there, I'm gonna kill him!"

Ashe kicked off the ground and activated her dash boosters. As the sounds of a tremendous brawl behind her continued to grow louder and more intense, a grim look flitted across her face as she once again remembered the sight of that crimson-clad back.

"You'd better not go off and die after talking big like that, you jerk...!" she muttered darkly.

* * *

"Alright Grey, I got Ashe! She'll be here in a couple of minutes, and boy is she mad!"

Straining to hold open the jaws of a doglike Mechaniloid as it tried vainly to sink its fangs into his face, Grey managed a smile.

"Oh...good! No hurry, right...? Ahehehe..." he laughed weakly.

A tremendous wall of fire suddenly slammed into the enemies surrounding him, knocking the wolf on top of him flying. As Grey got to his feet, he saw a figure advancing through the flames.

"Finally! I thought I was really gonna buy it for a minute there! Thanks Ashe! I guess Saber made it in time!"

"Greeeeeeeyyyyyyyy..."

At the sound of Ashe's voice, Grey knew he was toast.

"U-um, Ashe...?"

The hulking figure of Model F stomped through the fire, both Knuckle Busters primed, and came to a stop in front of him. Grey suddenly felt about two feet tall as he stared up at the figure looming over him, a scary look on its face.

"Grey...."

"Uh...yes...?"

"How many times have I told you not to interfere with my fights...?"

"Um...A lot...?"

"That's right! And somehow, Saber just showed up to fight Granz and sent me back here! And guess who he said sent him?"

Grey leaned back even further.

"Ummm...I'm in trouble aren't I?" he asked nervously.

Ashe smiled sweetly and casually pulverized a whole squad of Galleons with a single shot. Grey started to sweat.

"I think that's a yes." Model A squeaked.

A few moments later...

Grey picked himself up, rubbing the sizable lump on his head.

"Owwww..."

'_Wow, she really clobbered you there._' Model A whistled. '_Even I felt that one!_'

Grey laughed. A slight smile on his face, he watched Ashe tear into the Mavericks with renewed gusto, yelling threats and taunts at the top of her lungs.

'_Don't worry about it. It's fine._' He thought back. '_She's just annoyed that I'm right, just like all the other times. She's pretty independent, so she doesn't like it when she has to rely on other people to help her out. But she's also a bit reckless, so she usually ends up biting off more than she can chew.'_

Model A sighed. '_You've got that right. Remember back when we had to fight Ouroboros?_'

'_Haha, yeah. She refused to ask the Guardians for help getting in, because she wanted to do it on her own. It took us ages before we finally convinced her.'_

'_Of course, the rain of giant Mavericks probably helped, too._'

Both of them chuckled at the thought.

"OI! GREY! QUIT STANDING AROUND AND BUST SOME MAVERICKS ALREADY, WILL YOU?!"

Grey jumped in surprise.

"Whoops, time to go!" he said. Model A sighed.

"Yeah, I guess we'd better go help her out before she gets herself hurt doing something stupid again."

"HEY, I HEARD THAT!"

* * *

Omega's blade flashed as he parried the massive jaws lunging at him. Knocking two aside, he dodged a third and put two medium powered Buster shots into the main body. Granz growled in annoyance and sent a stream of scorching flames towards his opponent.

"Come on, is that the best you've got?!" Omega laughed. "I've seen little fireflies pack more heat than that!"

A vein pulsed in Granz's forehead as he heard the Reploid's jeering laughter.

"I am going to frigging _**MURDER**_ you!"

"Yeah, that's what you said ten minutes ago! That line's getting a bit old wouldn't you agree?" Omega taunted, ducking under a spray of razor sharp icicles.

There was a wordless scream of rage as Granz redoubled his assault, the last of his patience finally deserting him.

Omega leapt between the jaws of two more heads, and hit another one with a sledgehammer right cross. It crashed into another of its comrades, but the momentum brought still another head swinging around to snap at him. Thinking quickly, he slammed his saber into its gaping maw, jamming it open. The impact tore it out of his hands.

While the head reared back, its jaws working frantically as it vainly tried to spit out the object stuck in its mouth, another one snaked around to attack the now weaponless Omega.

"All right snakebreath, you wanna play, fine by me!" Omega caught it by the mouth as it swooped in, his tremendous strength keeping its jaws from clamping shut on them. He skidded back a full ten feet with the force, his shoulder muscles straining as they continued to force the snake's jaws open.

"You fell for it!" Granz roared triumphantly.

Whipping upwards, the snake's mouth suddenly snapped open, catapulting the startled God of Destruction up into the air.

"The hell?!"

As he started to fall back down, he was rewarded by the sight of all eight of the Orotic's heads arcing up towards him.

"Well, this is going to suck..." he muttered.

The first head slammed into him with punishing force. Omega felt as though he'd been hit by a truck. The blow pitched him sideways, where another head promptly hammered into him again, without giving him any time to recover. Again and again they smashed into him, Omega gritting his teeth with each fresh impact.

"Well?! What happened to that smart-ass mouth of yours?! Why don't you try laughing now?!" Granz sneered, his Orotic pounding away furiously. In return, something flashed towards him and detonated harmlessly on the Orotic's main body.

"A Buster shot?"

Even through the blur of serpentine metal bodies crashing into the crimson Reploid, Granz caught a glimpse of a teeth bared in a savage smile. With a jolt, he realized Omega was still grinning, as if to mock him, saying "Is that all you got?"

Granz's eyes bulged with rage.

"Why you-AAAARRGH!"

Omega felt one of the heads bite down on his waist, and suddenly he was hurtling towards the ground at a breakneck speed. The head clamped onto his midsection tightened its grip, its metal teeth grating cruelly against Omega's toughened armor. A sudden glow began emanating from its mouth, and Omega winced in advance, recognizing the warning signs.

An instant later, it released a storm of raging flames at point-blank range, enveloping him completely in a red-hot blaze. Seconds later, it slammed headfirst into the ground, burying the flaming Reploid into the dirt.

Not done yet, it ripped itself free, and threw Omega back up into the air. This time an Ice-element head grabbed him. Encasing his entire body in a block of ice, the snake-like head whirled around several times before it released him.

Back in the fray, the two Chosen Ones looked up, startled by the sound of a tremendous explosion. Stunned, they watched as what looked like half a cliffside cave in and collapse with an earthshaking rumble.

"Bloody hell...!" Ashe gaped. "What the hell's going on over there?!"

She got her answer a moment later as bolts of electricity crackled within the cloud of dust, and a blurred shape shot out of it, slamming into the wall of another cliff, and completely demolishing a row of rocky bluffs. Another long, sinuous shape shot after it. Grabbing the object, it whirled again, and flung it brutally into the ground, creating a thirty-foot wide crater with the impact. The massive shape of the Orotic's main body emerged from the clouds of smoke, all eight of its heads blazing as Granz pumped round after round of energy blasts into the crater.

"Die! DIE, you damned bastard!"

"No way...Is that Saber under there?!" Grey's eyes widened in shock. "Ashe, we've gotta do something...!"

Ashe stared into the coruscating explosions, not answering, a shaken look on her face.

Grey was wrong. They didn't need to do anything at all.

Granz stared down as his berserk rage finally cooled. The dust slowly settling, he peered into the clouds of smoke, his heart racing. Despite his rational mind, something deep in his soul was telling him that this was far from over. No matter how ridiculous that sounded, somewhere inside his mind, Granz had the chilling feeling that if he let his guard down for a second, he would die. It didn't even matter that he was miles away from the actual battle, hidden safely away from the rest of the world. That was how strong this feeling of animal fear was.

The sound of rocks shifting drew his attention instantly.

Fifty meters away, Ashe staggered, and clutched her hands to her chest, an unnatural, frightening feeling creeping over her. The hairs on her neck stood on end, and she fought the urge to back away. This was the reason she hadn't been able to answer Grey earlier. The same sensation she had felt when that Reploid had faced the horde of Mavericks.

Granz breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the figure lying spread-eagled in the crater. Of course! No-one could have survived an attack like that! How silly of him to even think that this Reploid was a threat!

Then Omega's eyes snapped open, and all of Granz's happy delusions vanished instantly. The God of Destruction slowly picked himself back up, and dusted himself off. Picking his shades back up, he snapped them back into place.

"Right, I think I've got the hang of it now." He said cheerfully. Looking up at Granz, he grinned and beckoned him onward with one finger.

"Come on, you multi-headed bastard. I dare you to try that again."

Granz's grip tightened on the controls.

"What...are you...? What the hell are you?! Why won't you just DIE?!"

In a mad panic, he sent his Orotic lunging forward again. Only this time...

The first head slammed into Omega, pushing him back a full ten meters, and then stopped. Granz blinked.

"What...?" Frantically working the controls, he tried everything in his power to move the head, but it refused to respond. As the clouds of dust parted, however, the reason became all too clear. Omega stood just behind the head, his arms clamped tightly around its mechanical neck.

"Looks like I was right. I guess you can't start that combo of yours till you get me off the ground, huh?"

"Wha...how did you-?!"

"I could tell you how I figured that out, but it'd be none of your damn business anyway." Omega's grip tightened, and Granz realized that the Orotic was slowly slipping forward.

"Besides, you've made one very, very big mistake."

The head in his grip gave a screech as he brutally ripped something free of its jaws. Too late, Granz realized that the head's mouth was twisted at an odd angle, as if something had been stabbed inside of it to force it open.

Omega's grin widened as his O-Saber flared with new life in his grip.

"My turn."

* * *

The two Chosen Ones looked up in alarm as a massive shadow fell over them.

"Holy hell!" Ashe swore, and dove out of the way, Grey close behind her. Moments later, the entire Guard Orotic slammed into the ground, giving off an unearthly shrieking sound as it skidded along the rocky surface.

"How'd that...What just happened?" Grey asked in disbelief. A triumphant laugh rang out and a crimson blur shot past the two of them.

Granz lifted one of his Orotic's arms in defense, but found himself flying through the air again as another one of Omega's punches slammed into it, lifting the whole Mechaniloid off of the ground with the force. Before it had even made it back into the air, Omega was on it again, darting past the flailing snakes, and fighting up close and personal. He was well inside its reach, leaping from one neck to another, and slashing anything that came close. Flamethrowers, ice needles, thunderbolts...His saber chewed it up and spat it back out, ripping through each attack as if they were nothing. Even the Orotic's reflective armor started to weaken, as Omega's strikes slammed into the serpentine bodies again and again. Over it all, Omega's insane laughter could be heard ringing out, his sword nothing more than a violet streak of light flashing around him as he carved a path towards the giant Mechaniloid's main body.

"Unbelievable..." Grey spoke up, awe in his voice. "He's actually beating Granz!"

Ashe bashed down another enemy Maverick and turned to look back at the whirling maelstrom of steel and energy that the Guard Orotic had become. It was almost impossible to even see Omega clearly, since the Orotic's arms had closed in around him, desperately trying to stop his advance.

Again, Ashe remembered her conversation with him, and remembered the feeling that had come over her.

''What do I think?', huh...?'

Finally, Omega slammed his blade into the side of one last head, knocking it sideways, and his way was clear. He kicked off and shot towards the glowing green window that glowed at the Orotic's heart. On his screens, Granz saw him coming, and desperately lunged for the controls.

"SABER..."Energy gathered around the violet blade in Omega's grip as he raised his sword above his head.

Too late.

"**CRUSH!!**"

Omega's fully charged O-saber slashed down, and struck the Orotic dead center. The full force behind the blow smashed it straight out of the air, and into the ground with an earsplitting crash. It felt as though the entire wasteland shook with the impact as a massive shockwave rumbled outwards, throwing everyone off their feet. The Orotic's flailing arms, and its colossal body vanished behind a roiling wall of dust and debris, thrown up by its fall to earth.

Then everything was still.

Ashe shook her head slightly to clear her vision as she helped Grey back up. All around her, Raiders, Mavericks and Legion troops alike were picking themselves back up, now recovering from the mammoth impact.

She looked up, back at the center of the cloud of smoke, vainly trying to see through the dustclouds, wondering if it was finally over.

"Did he win...?" Grey whispered.

"I...I don't know..." Ashe replied, still searching for signs of life where the Reploid called Saber and his titanic foe had disappeared.

Then, the sound of boots crunching over gravel broke the stillness. The bright sunlight glinted off of a familiar pair of crimson shades, and with a devilish grin on his face, the legendary God of Destruction strode out of the wreckage, his tattered coat-tails whipping behind him.

" Damn, do I rock or what?" he grinned.

"Hmph." Ashe looked away, hiding her expression. "I could have done tha-"

Ashe was cut off as a loud metallic groan rang through the air. Looking past Omega, she caught sight of a massive black shape within the still settling clouds of dust. A glint of green light escaped, and her eyes widened.

"Saber, behind you!"

Startled, Omega whirled around, reaching for his O-saber-

And gave a yell as an Orotic head smashed brutally into him. He felt its jaws slam shut on his waist, ripping into his synthetic skin as he fought to keep it from tearing him in half.

Omega looked up, startled, as a massive shape loomed up before him, and his eyes widened

"How the hell...?!"

The shape of the Guard Orotic slowly became visible as the dust settled, and he saw the answer.

Incredibly, its entire body battered, a massive scar running diagonally across its front, the glass over its optics cracked and all eight of its heads badly damaged, the Orotic was still functional! Granz saw his amazed look and cackled.

"Surprised? I warned you, didn't I? My Orotic's reflective armor can neutralize even the most powerful energy attacks! Your prized saber is no different!"

"Doesn't look that way to me...!" Omega grinned, wincing as the Orotic bit down harder. Granz looked down at his Orotic's condition disinterestedly.

"Hmm...It seems you have a point. I must admit, I am impressed. You manage to get through most of the armored layers in a single blow. There aren't many weapons out there that are capable of something like that!" He brought the arm holding Omega up to the Orotic's main 'eye'.

"I don't suppose you'd consider working for me instead...?"

Omega laughed aloud. "Sorry, but you couldn't pay me enough to put up with an asshole like you!"

"Hmm, I rather thought you'd say that. Very well then..."

He suddenly whipped the arm forward, and flung Omega downwards.

"Then allow me to repay you for all the trouble you've caused me!"

Omega slammed into the ground as if he'd been shot from a cannon. The force of the impact was so great that his body was thrown back up into the air. He tasted blood and grimaced.

"Damn...he's hitting a lot harder than he was before...!"

Suddenly, the Orotic's baleful green eye appeared before him. Omega could see himself reflected in the cracked glass, upside down in mid-air.

"I wasn't thinking clearly before, but that last attack of yours cooled me off a bit." There was no mercy in Granz's voice.

"No more hesitation. I'll crush you with the strongest attack I have!"

As the Orotic's heads moved towards his still falling form, Omega cursed as he realized that Granz had once again gotten him into the air.

"Come on, we've gotta help him!" Grey yelled urgently.

Ashe moved to follow him, when the ground in front of them suddenly erupted with cannon fire. The two Chosen Ones pulled back, and turned to see Granz's army advancing once again, apparently re-inspired by Granz's powerful comeback.

"Damn, we'll never reach him in time!"

Omega felt himself slammed harshly into the dirt. As he got back to his feet, concealed cannons ringing the Orotic's body flashed, and a rain of meter-long metal spines descended on him.

He roared with pain as he felt the spikes rip into his body, piercing through him to stab deep into the earth below him. Gritting his teeth, he tried to rip his way free, but found himself anchored firmly to the ground by the spikes impaling him.

"Don't look so surprised." Granz laughed. "While I was down, I sent a powerful electrical current through the ground. By passing that current through the metallic compounds in the earth, I can create a powerful electromagnetic field! While the field doesn't last very long, I'm sure you can attest to its effectiveness! You'll tear your own body to shreds before those spikes come loose!"

All eight of the Orotic's arms reared up around its body. In each of their mouths, Omega could see the glow of a tremendous charge building up. The segmented armor along their necks shifted as new plates slid into place, reinforcing them. The main body seemed to expand, as the outer armor plates extended outwards, additional sections underneath it shifting to make room for new machinery.

"Shit!" He cursed, desperately struggling to free himself.

Granz sneered as the Orotic's energy levels rose to their maximum. Lightning crackled over its surface, mixed in with the stench of superheated ozone. The heads at the end of each arm vanished behind a massive orb of energy as they continued to accumulate power.

"Hurry you two!" Model A yelled frantically as Ashe and Grey fought desperately towards Omega.

In the darkness of his hideout, Granz smiled.

"Checkmate."

The two Chosen Ones were thirty meters away from Omega when the Orotic fired. Both of them were instantly thrown backwards as eight monstrous beams of energy slammed into the ground where Omega stood trapped. Everything within the blast radius was instantly consumed by a corona of destruction. The ground itself boiled away into nothingess, the raw energy annihilating everything in its path. Omega howled as he felt the metal stakes piercing his body instantly vaporize, scorching him from the inside out. He dropped down onto one knee, gritting his teeth as his synthetic skin slowly began to burn away under the onslaught. High above the roar of the Orotic's eight anti-fortress plasma cannons as they continued to pour energy down on him, he heard Granz's triumphant laughter.

"Shatter and vanish, scum! You put up a good fight, but at the end of a battle, the one left standing is always the stronger one! You, a mere nameless Reploid, could never have had what it takes to defeat me! Disappear, back into the oblivion you came from!"

Omega's eyes snapped open.

'_Defeat._..?' '_Vanish..._?' '_Nameless..._?'

Slowly, a smile crossed his face. Even here, trapped within a hellish vortex of plasma that threatened to consume every atom of his being, the irony of hearing those words did not escape him.

He had disappeared once before, hadn't he? He had vanished from the history books the moment he lost to Zero a hundred years ago, his name long since forgotten. Now, in a time where he was unknown, trapped in an unfamiliar world, finally free to walk his own path, free of Weil's control, he was to be defeated at the hands of a crazed mech pilot with delusions of grandeur? Was that really how he would end?

Omega bared his teeth in a demonic laugh. Slowly, fighting against the overwhelming force pressing down on him, he began to rise.

"NO...FUCKING...WAY..." he gritted, still grinning.

The ground beneath him, sheltered by his body, now began to crack and shatter as he straightened up to his full height, his boots slowly crushing it as the storm of plasma continued to rain down on him.

He was Omega, the legendary God of Destruction. He had terrorized this wretched planet for almost a hundred years during the Elf Wars, and he had returned to continue his reign during the so-called Golden Age of Neo Arcadia. Now, a hundred years after his fall, he had been miraculously granted a second chance at life, with the freedom he had craved for so long.

Granz's eyes widened as his sensors suddenly began to detect an anomalous reading within the plasma field.

Omega lifted his head, his red eyes burning hotter and brighter than any of the plasma surrounding him. Gradually, the brilliant orange glow of the plasma around him began to fade, slowly being consumed by a rising red aura. As if in response to the resurging flames of his soul, Omega felt his power returning. It surged up, filling every electrical nerve, steel sinew, and mechanical artifice. He no longer even felt the heat of his surroundings. Omega lifted one hand in front of his face and stared at it. Slowly, he clenched it into a fist, and grinned evilly. As he channeled power into it, he saw a familiar blue glow begin to form.

Granz's hands frantically flew over the keyboard as the anomalous reading suddenly started rising at a shocking rate.

"Wh-what the hell is going on?!"

It was as though the thing inside the maelstrom of energy was absorbing his attacks! Absorbing it, and using it to fuel its own outrageous growth!

Still retreating as Granz's firestorm continued to devour the surrounding area, Model A stared at the nimbus of destruction, a strange look on its face.

"Uh, guys? I think you need to see this..."

Both Chosen Ones turned. After a few moments, Ashe shook her head.

"Other than the fact that it's finally stopped spreading, I don't see anything different."

Then, she saw it.

Almost lost within the orange glow of the plasma cannons, there was a flicker of crimson light. It arced and danced, crackling through the superheated air like a bolt of caged lightning. As they watched, bewildered, more streamers of light began to join the first.

"What the heck is that?"

Then, they heard the sound of Granz's shocked voice.

"NO! No, this can't be...! How is this even possible?! What are you doing?!"

In that instant, all three of them, Ashe, Grey, and even Model A, knew what was the cause of the strange phenomenon.

Or rather, who was behind it.

"**Hah hah hah...haha, AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH**!"

In an instant, the entire plasma field exploded, ripped apart by a column of blazing white light that shot upwards, punching through the clouds above as a terrifying, unmistakable laugh shook the world.

If Granz's plasma barrage was the blazing core of a star, then this roaring white light was an exploding supernova.

At the center of it all, standing tall amidst the raging storm of energy, was the figure of a man. Even from this distance, Ashe could make out the jagged edges of his crimson coat, the black omega sigil standing out prominently on his red back. Scarlet gauntlets gleaming like fire on his hands, a mane of ice-white hair whipping out behind him, the man stood, ignoring the maelstrom of destruction surrounding him and laughing like the devil himself as even the earth around him shattered away.

"Hah hah hah! 'Vanish'? 'Defeat'? As if a mere half rate idiot like you could ever have the right to spout such nonsense to me! You, who claim to be the stronger one? Don't make me laugh, weakling!"

Granz's eyes widened as he saw flashes of light appear all over Omega's body. As he watched, stunned, the terrible wounds inflicted by his plasma barrage closed themselves up and disappeared.

"He's...healing?!"

"That's right!" Omega grinned. "Weak attacks like this, from a coward like you, will NEVER have what it takes to destroy me!"

"Coward?!" Granz's face paled with anger. "I, a coward?!"

"You heard me!" Omega snarled. " A coward like you, who can't even fight his own battles, a mere puppeteer, controlling these mindless machines to do your work for you! Trash like you makes me sick to even acknowledge your pathetic existence!"

Omega's eyes narrowed with disgust as he remembered Weil, who had been almost exactly the same.

"No...On second thought, you're not even trash! Scum like you aren't even worthy of the lowest pits of hell!"

"I've had just about enough of this...!" Granz growled. At his signal, the ground rumbled, and a veritable army of burrowing type Mechaniloids erupted in front of Omega.

"Wha- Where'd he pull all of those from?!" Ashe gasped.

"While you were so busy talking, I was able to move this force away from the rest of the battle!" Granz sneered, "Let's see if you can still talk big after my so-called puppets have turned you into nothing more than scrap metal!"

With a thunderous howl, the Mechaniloids leapt forward. Omega watched them come, gritting his teeth in anger.

" Pathetic mongrels...!"

Then, as the lights around him finally faded, he dropped into a crouch and drew his saber. With a snarl of rage, he threw himself forward to meet them.

O-Saber clashed against metal, and the metal lost. His sword blazing hungrily, Omega ripped apart anything that got in range. An entire sandworm split apart, rent asunder in a single blow. His O-saber slammed down point first into the skull of another, brutally staking it to the ground. As it thrashed in its death throes, Omega left his saber pinning it down, and whirled to meet the charge of another Hittide Hottide. Sidestepping its first punch, Omega seized the still extended limb in one hand, and in a single motion, tore the entire arm off. Swinging it around, he savagely smashed another opponent into the ground with it, then turned and bashed the Hittide straight across the face with it, knocking it clear off its treads, and flipping it over onto its back. Ripping his sword back out of the still-jerking sandworm, he leapt into the air and slammed it straight into the Hittide's underbelly. Dragging it along the full length of the Hittide, he all but split the Mechaniloid in half. Whirling, he caught the massive roller of a Crushpactor as it tried to plow over him. Ignoring the deadly spikes, as he was pushed back, he caught the hilt of his saber between his teeth, and brought his other hand forward to slam against the roller. Now, he dug his boots into the cracking ground and pushed back, putting his full might against the giant Mechaniloid's advance.

As the Crushpactor's roller slowly ground to halt, sparks flying from where Omega's claws were digging into it, he gave a savage snarl, and in a single movement, knocked the entire thing up. As it came back down, Omega drew back his right fist and lunged at it, his dash boosters roaring. The God of Destruction's fist smashed into the roller, and the Crushpactor's arms were torn off at the shoulder as the force blasted the entire roller into so much scrap metal.

Too late, it tried to charge the giant cannon built into its front. Omega saw the brightening glow, and bared his teeth.

"Not a chance, asshole!"

Continuing his mad rush forward, he sank his fist into the cannon's muzzle, burying it up to the elbow in the huge bulk of the Mechaniloid. With nowhere to go, the charge backfired, and in a blast of white light, consumed everything within thirty feet in a devastating explosion.

Omega leaped backwards out of it, tendrils of smoke and fire trailing from his body as he hit the ground and skidded.

A massive explosion of sand and dirt, and a huge, segmented worm-like Mechaniloid flew through the smoke, its massive jaws extended to clamp down on Omega. With a feral roar, he whirled and tore it in half straight down the center, his O-Saber blazing with energy as it ripped through the reflective armor.

The earth in front of Omega shattered and exploded upwards as a massive Hittide Hottide thundered towards him, all of its drills spinning. As it's powerful digging arms swung down towards Omega, he snarled and brought his own fists forward to meet them in a crash of crimson light.

"Good God!" Granz's voice was shocked as he watched the giant Mechaniloid stop in its tracks, its reckless charge held at bay by Omega's unthinkable strength.

"What are you doing you worthless piece of scrap metal?! Crush him!"

As if responding to Granz's panicked command, Hittide Hottide's gigantic, spiked front wheel began to spin, digging into the ground and slowly pushing it forward towards Omega as he stood.

Behind his shades, the God of Destruction's eyes widened in anger as the Mechaniloid slowly began to push him back.

"THIS is the best you can do?! Mere puppets?! You think this is all it takes to stop me?! You think a mere piece of trash like this is enough to defeat ME?!"

Snarling, he dug his feet in, pushing forward with all his might, a wordless snarl of fury escaping his jaws.

"I don't believe this...!" Ashe exclaimed in disbelief. "He's actually matching that thing head on!"

Behind Omega's eyes, a single message flashed onto his display.

**HELIX ENGINE ONLINE. REDLINE MODE ACTIVATED.**

In an instant, Omega's vision burned red. Deep within his core, the reactor that was the heart of the God of Destruction ignited, suddenly kicking into overdrive. Power, raw power such as Omega had never known suddenly blazed through his veins. Suddenly, he felt strength, greater than anything he had ever experienced, rising up. On his status screens, everything was suddenly pushed to the limit, all of his stats cranking up into the red zone.

It was incredible. Omega had always believed he was as close to being invincible as was possible, but this...This was even more than that! It was as if every limitation, every restriction, every restraint he had ever known had all been released simultaneously. As he continued to push forward against the mammoth Mechaniloid in front of him, he felt the power surge up in response.

'_So...it's responding to my will...?_' He thought, interested. Like the O-Knuckle, and the weapons data, this too seemed to be a hidden ability, left behind by whoever had sealed him away. Omega grinned, slowly feeling the Mechaniloid begin to give way. Either way, he would make just as much use of this as he had the other 'gifts'!

As he thought that, red light burst from his body. Racing outwards from his chest, crimson cracks raced up and along his arms, plumes of scarlet energy breaking out along their course. They continued along, into the Titanium Reavers, covering their surface with a spiderweb of cracks. As he continued pushing the Hittide Hottide back, the cracks covering the gauntlets began to glow, pulsing brighter and brighter as Omega put more and more power into his fists

Steam hissed from his jaws as the God of Destruction bared his teeth in a terrifying smile. He felt the gauntlets he had stolen from Leos shifting and changing on his hands, gradually molding themselves to fit his hands properly. Three white spikes burst from the knuckles of each gauntlet, a thick black band materializing under them. Green light flashed from his palms, and Omega instinctively knew that the trans-servers were no longer glowing blue.

He grinned to himself, as he recognized the new form that the gauntlets were changing into.

"All right then, if that's how it's gonna be...That works out just fine by me!"

"Hey, something's happening!" Model A yelled. "There's a massive energy reading coming from that guy!"

"What?"

Sure enough, a blazing red aura was gradually becoming visible around Omega. Crimson light flashed, spiraling wildly around his gauntlets. There was a flash of light, and suddenly the gauntlets themselves exploded in a burst of crimson.

Metal shattered away, and the light faded, to reveal brand new, shining white armor where his gauntlets had been. A thick black band of metal over the knuckles, with three spikes, razor-sharp white claws, and a gem in the palm that now glowed a radiant green, these new gauntlets were identical to those of his gigantic, white armored form from a hundred years ago, just as Omega had guessed.

His eyes now a maelstrom of scarlet fury, the legendary God of Destruction gave a wild yell, and in a single move, crushed both of the Hittide's arms. As it staggered off balance, Omega leaned back, and brought his head forward in a devastating headbutt that crushed the enemy Mechaniloid's face and completely wrecked the giant wheel.

His helm shattered. Laughing recklessly, he lunged forward and sank his new claws into the Mechaniloid's front wheel. Digging his fingers in, he pulled with all his strength, the Hittide's wheels screeching in protest as it tried to pull back.

But against the strength of the Reploid whose name was once feared the world over as the legendary God of Destruction, such feeble attempts were little more than a distraction.

Still laughing maniacally, Omega picked it up and, whirling around, flung the entire thing, end over end, towards the Guard Orotic.

As Granz frantically evaded it, Omega's laughter filled the air. Turning back towards him, Granz's breath froze in shock.

His tattered crimson coat tails whipping in the wind, Omega stood surrounded by the corpses of the Mechaniloids that had tried to attack him, his burning gaze fixed squarely on Granz.

**[Cue music: Gurren Lagann OST: Happily Ever After, by Shoko Nakagawa]**

"Understand this, you mongrel! No matter what stands in my way, be it one man, an army, or even the world itself, I will never lose! Even if all of reality was to stand against me, I won't stop fighting until I'm the last man standing! So come then, with all your Mechaniloids, your Raiders and your Mavericks! I'll crush you all, again and again, as many times as it takes, until even Death itself grows sick of the carnage!"

Omega's eyes burned with a demonic light as he roared his challenge to the skies, the earth around him erupting in a storm of crimson energy.

"_**JUST WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK I AM?!**_"

As the Legion forces stared in awe, the legendary God of Destruction stepped forward, the earth shaking with each step, and light glinting brilliantly off of his shades. He clenched his fists, slowly beginning to glow as energy gathered within them.

"I will never back down, nor will I ever surrender! I am this world's Crimson Lord of Destruction! I...**AM THE DARK MESSIAH!**"

His infamous battle cry thundering over the battlefield, Omega drew his arms back, red light gathering around his clenched fists.

"Giga Crush...!"

With a roar that seemed to shake the heavens themselves, Omega brought his fists smashing down into the ground before him.

"_**DUAL!**_"

The earth shattered as a wave of forty foot high plumes of scarlet energy erupted from it, advancing outwards from Omega at an impossible speed. Everything in their path vanished, consumed by the thundering tide of crimson destruction. The Orotic was knocked out of the air, flying back almost fifteen full meters to crash into a cliff wall.

"Grrr...! All right, if you're going to do this the hard way...!" Granz snarled.

The Mechaniloids still fighting against the Legion defenses suddenly stopped, stood stock-still for a moment, then turned as one and opened fire on Omega. Still recovering from his last attack, he had no time to dodge or defend as the wave of attacks slammed into him.

Bullets ripped into him, easily tearing off skin, wires and metal with each impact, shredding into his coat. Laser bolts ate through his armor, mangling the machinery beneath as they effortlessly burned through his body. The entire left side of his jaw was torn away by a glancing impact, leaving him with a jagged, bloody leer in place of his mouth. His body jerked spasmodically with each successive shot that struck him, and yet somehow he miraculously remained on his feet.

The ground around him slowly eroded away as wayward bullets ate into the stone, kicking up a spray of dust and gravel. A cloud of smoke gradually formed around him, distorting as still more shots blasted through it to strike Omega's now partially obscured body.

Now explosions began to erupt around him as Granz's slower, heavy-assault Mechaniloids began to add the thunder of their grenade launchers and artillery weapons to the mix.

The train and its beleaguered defenders were completely forgotten in the mayhem, all of Granz's resources now dedicated towards the sole purpose of utterly annihilating the demon before them.

A great cheer went up from the Raiders as they saw their enemy stagger backwards under the impacts of the Mavericks' heavy artillery.

"Hey, the boss was right! It's just one guy! We can take him! We're Raiders, the worst of the worst! We can't let those Mechaniloid schmucks outdo us! Come on, let's get 'im!"

A great roar rose from the ranks of the Raiders, and then they too brought their weapons to bear on the crimson demon that, up until moments before, had seemed practically invincible.

Then, a glint of crimson light shone through the clouds. Granz's eyes widened.

"It can't be...!"

The clouds of smoke were suddenly torn apart as a blazing red aura filled the air.

"I don't believe it..." Model A gaped.

Granz felt the world around him suddenly freeze with the icy chill of terror as the clouds of smoke parted to reveal a scene out of the darkest nightmare.

Even as shot after shot tore into his body, even as he received wounds that would have killed any normal being twice over, again and again, the legendary God of Destruction was still alive! His body covered in blood, his skin torn, his armor shattered, he still continued to advance, his burning gaze fixed on the enemies before him.

"How is he still alive?! That was enough firepower to annihilate an entire battalion! There shouldn't even be enough of him left to identify his body, much less for him to still be on his feet!" Ashe gasped.

Model A was silent, hardly believing the readings coming from the Reploid called Saber. There was one way to take that much damage and still continue to function, but it was a way that should not have been at all possible.

A macabre grin on his mangled features, Omega's eyes burned with the fires of hell itself as he stared at the forces arrayed in front of him.

"Hah hah hah! It'll take more than mere guns to stop me!" Red flames flickered across his face, and to everyone's complete shock, his shredded face instantaneously regenerated before their eyes.

"Natural regeneration?! But that's impossible! Even nanomachines can't repair that much damage so quickly! How are you still healing?!"

Even as Granz said it, a cannon shell blew a fist-sized chunk out of Omega's shoulder. Before his shocked eyes, red energy spiraled back into the wound, and in a flash of light, his shoulder was restored in perfect condition. Even his coat had been repaired! As Granz watched, red flashes appeared all over his body, everywhere he had been hit, instantly regenerating any damage done.

It was like shooting a ghost. The bullets struck him, and passed straight through as he continued forward, whatever damage they had caused being repaired as if they were nothing more than flesh wounds. And still, the red flames burning around him continued to grow stronger and brighter, as if he was a living blaze of energy.

"WEAK! You're all too goddamn WEAK!" He roared angrily, all traces of humor gone from his voice.

Granz snarled with outrage.

"Weak, am I?! I'll show you weak, you monster!" With a wave, he sent the full force of his remaining Mechaniloids hurtling towards the crimson mirage before him.

"ATTACK! Destroy him, once and for all!"

As the Mechaniloids charged towards him, Omega's hands clenched into fists.

"Alright, come on you miserable puppets! **I'LL TAKE DOWN EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU!**"

Lost in his battle-fury, Omega felt power suddenly surge into his gauntlets. The green gems built into the palms suddenly blazed with life.

At that instant, the world behind him suddenly pulsed and distorted, an invisible wall of translucent crimson energy appearing behind him. One by one, flashes of red light began to appear on its surface, ripples spreading out from each one.

"What the hell...?" Granz stared at it in disbelief. "What the hell is that?"

Then as objects began to slowly emerge from the center of each glimmer of light, all of the blood drained from his features.

Ashe and Grey stared up at the towering wall of scarlet light in shock.

"No way...That's...!"

* * *

Hundreds of miles away, back behind the walls of Legion City, Vix looked up as the main computer on her desk started beeping.

"What's that?" Kitara poked her head out of the storage room.

"I...I don't know." Vix frowned. "I've never seen something like this come up before..."

"Huh?" Kitara looked around the edge of the screen.

Moments later, Vix found herself shoved out of the way as Kitara practically dove over the counter to get a better look.

"Hey, what are you-"

The vulpine weapons-dealer stopped at the look on her friend's face.

Kitara was reading the message on the screen, a look of absolute shock on her face.

"No way..." she muttered, her tone filled with disbelief. "This can't be what I think it is...!"

On the computer screen, a single message was flashing, in bright, glowing red letters.

* * *

**SABER TRANSFER SIGNAL RECEIVED.**

**GILGAMESH FACTOR CONFIRMED.**

**INITIALISING TRANSFER SEQUENCE 'GATE OF BABYLON'**

**GATE..........................OPEN.

* * *

**

"What is it?"

Vix's voice snapped Kitara out of her shocked state. She started and whirled on her friend.

"That Reploid guy who was with Celtis...Saber! Right, Saber! Where's his account? Open it up, quickly!"

"What? U-um, sure, okay."

When Saber's account opened up moments later, both of them stared at the screen, unable to believe their eyes.

"What in...What the hell is going on?! All of his weapons, they're all..."

"Gone." Kitara whispered.

* * *

Out on the battlefield, combatants from both sides stopped, staring up in awe at the sight before them.

Floating weightlessly in the air behind Omega, an entire arsenal of weapons was appearing. They filled an area almost thirty metres high and forty across, and still more were appearing, slowly materializing from the void he had created.

"What the hell is this?! A mass transfer like that shouldn't even be possible without an entire dedicated server network!"

Too late, Granz realized that his Mechaniloids were still charging towards Omega.

"Wait! Stop, you idiots!"

As Granz's forces leapt into the air before him, Omega gave an angry yell and reared up.

"You punks get lost!"

In an instant, the entire mass of weaponry surged forward in a fearsome wave. A storm of lethal metal slammed into the front ranks of the attackers and continued forward, wreaking havoc on anything in their way. In a matter of seconds, everything in front of Omega was annihilated, impaled by a hurricane of cold steel. Not just blades, but even the guns in the God of Destruction's arsenal had been hurled forward, firing non-stop as they sank into their targets.

The Mechaniloids hung limply in mid-air for a moment, the hilts of dozens of weapons protruding from their bodies, before their wrecked cores finally overloaded, ripping them apart in a fierce detonation. A wall of fire erupted as explosions tore apart the air around Omega, transforming almost three-dozen giant Mechaniloids into nothing more than a rain of heated gas and molten shrapnel.

As the curtain of flames parted, Granz could see Omega still standing, his murderous gaze still fixed on the Guard Orotic, heedless of the destruction around him. The Mechaniloid commander gritted his teeth and snapped his machine into attack mode.

"Fine then, if killing you normally won't work, then I'll just have to smash that body of yours until there's nothing left to regenerate!"

Light gathered at the end of each of the Orotic's arms, as Granz charged his anti-fortress cannons again. With an angry snarl, he cut off the warning messages that came up and bypassed all of the built in safeguards, increasing the energy that was being pumped in to almost three times the safety margin. Parts of the Orotic's jaws began to disintegrate under the incredible amount of power, tremors shaking its entire body.

"Then let's see how well you can handle this! MEDUSA ANNIHILATOR!"

All eight heads fired at once, the beams spiraling around one another and merging together to form a single titanic column of energy that dwarfed even the massive Guard Orotic as it hurtled towards Omega, destroying everything in its path.

Omega stared up at the wall of destruction racing towards him, a savage smile on his face. As it drew ever nearer, filling his vision, he bared his teeth in a fierce yell and drew his O-saber, its blade burning eagerly. As he raised it over his head, he fixed his gaze squarely on the approaching storm and grinned.

"You'll never break this sword!"

His roar audible even over the sound of Granz's cannons, Omega stepped forward, and without even hesitating, brought his sword down. Gripping its hilt tightly in both arms, he slashed through the blast with a single massive strike, putting his full power behind it.

The blast stopped dead in mid-air, the energy deforming and crackling as it tried vainly to force its way through the blade's path, before the legendary destroyer's impossible power finally won.

The mammoth beam split in two straight down its center, giving way before the God of Destruction's unstoppable might. The Orotic staggered backwards under the impact of the invisible shockwave. Its firing sequence interrupted, the plasma cannons shut down, warning signals flooding in from countless sectors.

"I-Impossible...!" Granz gaped, shocked beyond belief.

The split halves of the beam shot past Omega, detonating far behind him in a titanic explosion. Ashe and Grey stared in awed amazement as an entire row of cliffs vanished, annihilated by the dome-shaped explosion of unleashed plasma.

"Bloody hell...!" Ashe breathed. "He cut that?! That thing had the power of a goddamn nuke in it!"

Grey stared at the mysterious Reploid called Saber, wondering just who in the world this man could be.

No...not a man, he realized. No mere man was capable of such feats.

He was more like a personification of Destruction itself than an ordinary man.

The raging flames of devastation whirling around him, Omega lifted his head to stare back at the Guard Orotic, as it struggled to recover from Granz's reckless attack.

"I warned you, didn't I?" Omega smirked, his burning gaze fixed squarely on the green optic that was the Orotic's main eye.

"Wha...What the hell are you talking about?!" Granz growled, recovering his composure. In response, Omega snapped his saber out to the side, the coruscating violet blade blazing with energy.

"Whether it's a god or the devil himself that stands in my way, there's nothing in existence that this blade won't tear apart!"

"What?!"

"If you still don't believe me, then I'll just have to show you the proof myself!" Omega grinned, his right hand tightening around the grip of his O-Saber. A burst of violet energy and a second blade erupted from its reverse end, transforming it back into the double bladed saber that preceded the Red Ripper. Omega drew his arm back, a fierce smile on his face.

"CERTAIN DEATH...**FINISHER!**"

Whipping his arm forward with all the strength he could muster, Omega hurled the Ripper straight towards Granz, its whirling blades keening as they sliced through the air at close to supersonic speeds.

Granz gritted his teeth. "Is that all? You think that little toy of yours is going to finish me off? I may be damaged, but I'm far from finished, moron!"

One of its heads shooting forward, the Orotic's jaws opened wide to crush the disc of violet energy. Red light flashed, and suddenly the disc split apart, the Orotic's fangs slamming shut on empty air between them. For an instant, the two discs resolved into the form of two separate dual sabers, before they spun back to life and shot back towards Omega. He caught one in each hand and whirled around, still grinning.

"HaaaaaAAAAAAH!"

With a wild yell, he completed his turn and flung both of them overhand towards Granz again.

"This again?!" Granz snapped angrily, two more heads lunging forward . "I've told you, it's not going to-"

Red light flashed again.

"-work...?"

There was a loud clang as both of the heads bit down on nothing for a second time. Now four double-bladed sabers appeared, and this time they didn't retreat. Off balance from his three consecutive attacks, Granz could do nothing to recover as they shot towards him.

"Damn, it was a trick...!"

The four buzzsaws rocketed in, their whirling blades slicing along the length of the Orotic's necks, ricocheting off of one another and the Orotic's main body, scoring countless dents in the armor. Granz felt the entire Orotic lifted up and backwards, the world spinning crazily around him as the Rippers' impacts spun it in every direction. As the blades finally came to a stop, their points buried deep into the Orotic's neck armor, red light flashed again, and the violet blades on each end of the four Rippers suddenly fired off, extending into their Chain Saber mode. At such close range, the serrated energy chains punched through the reflective armor easily, spearing through the Mechaniloid's multiple necks. With each fresh pierce, the chains changed direction, rebounding towards different targets on the Orotic. Suddenly, Granz's world righted itself with a savage jerk, the feedback almost throwing him out of his chair. Frantically, he tried to move the Orotic, only to discover that the controls had completely seized up!

"Dammit, why don't you move?! What's going on?!"

As he saw the feeds coming in from the Orotic's cameras, however, he realized the terrible truth.

The reason his Orotic wasn't responding was simply that it couldn't respond.

All eight of its serpentine necks stretched outward to their limits, the Orotic had been trapped in a gigantic spiderweb of rigid violet chains, locking down its movements completely. No matter how much Granz tried, the chains locking his Orotic in place wouldn't break. And what was worse, the chains were giving off an energy that was interfering with his flight controls, meaning that he couldn't even move the Orotic itself!

His entire Mechaniloid had been rendered completely immobile and helpless in a matter of seconds. Too late, Granz realized what was coming next.

A blue glow appeared in the air. Omega drew his left arm back and slammed it forward, his hand glowing green this time. There was a sound like glass breaking, and the glow shattered, leaving behind a jagged-edged hole, the insides glowing a dark luminous green. Without even hesitating, Omega plunged his arm into it, sinking it up to the elbow. Tendrils of multicolored light floated out past it, escaping from the green abyss Omega had opened.

"He punched a hole in the air...?! What is that, another transfer?!" Ashe demanded, hardly able to believe her eyes.

"No...that's not a transfer..." Grey said slowly, his Reploid senses showing him more than what Ashe was seeing.

Brilliant, violet light erupted from the torn space, and a gigantic beam of energy burst forth.

"What...is that?" Grey asked.

"I don't know." Model A replied grimly, but whatever it is, the power readings are off the scale!"

Deep within the depths of the alternate plane of existence that was known as Cyberspace, something received Omega's signal.

Concealed in the darkness of the virtual world's furthest depths, hidden away from the eyes of both worlds, existed a weapon. A weapon that had vanished, believed to have been destroyed, and one that had vanished along with the one who wielded it. It had been lying in the shadows for almost a hundred years, awaiting the day it would be called forth once more.

Now, that day had come. It heard its master's summons, and eagerly rose to meet it.

Omega reached out one hand, and clamped it down on the column of light. It bent around his hand, energy continuing to shine through his clenched fingers, as if trying to escape his grip. He smiled evilly. Behind him, his long white hair crackled for a moment before a wave of violet color flooded outwards from their roots, staining his hair a deep violet color. All over his body, his crimson clothes were suddenly swallowed by a tide of brilliant white, the red color retreating back to the flame pattern that ran along the edges of his coat.

"Come here!"

In a single, savage motion, he tore the full length of it free of Cyberspace, carving a fifty-foot long streak of devastation across the desert floor as the beam lashed out. As he finished the arc, the energy blazing in his grip suddenly flashed even brighter, and then in an instant, resolved itself into a massive metal sword hilt. It was almost as big as he was, the white crosspiece ending in two long spikes that pointed along the length of the crackling energy that continued to surge forth from it.

"Take this!"

A demonic laugh ripping from his throat, Omega swung the massive, formless blade up.

"FINAL..."

Red energy flashed along the column of purple light, moving upwards from the cold gray hilt. As the crimson sparks continued upwards, in their wake, the violet energy solidified, coalescing into the form of a titanic, double-edged broadsword, its surface rippling with waves of violet light.

"**ZWEIHANDER...**"

As Omega slammed the giant sword downwards, leveling it directly at the trapped Guard Orotic, violet light flashed near the tip. Just below the point of the sword, purple energy burst outwards, before resolving into the shape of two deadly triangular points, both pointing out at right angles to the blade. As he drew it back, gripping its hilt in both hands to support the tremendous weight, the entire thing flashed, doubling, no, tripling in size, until it towered over the battlefield, dwarfing even the nearby train.

"_**BRRREEEEEAAAAAAKKKKKEEEEEERRR!**_"

The earth behind him shattered as Omega launched himself at Granz, slamming the titanic Zweihander forward in a devastating thrust. Everything was destroyed in his wake, annihilated by a power that far overshadowed anything the assembled watchers had ever seen before. The fabled Zweihander, the massive sword used by the legendary white-armored God of Destruction a full century ago, devoured everything before it, propelled by a tremendous crimson flame. A violet blade the size of a train slammed straight into the Orotic's main body and tore straight through, the giant blade punching through it with almost no resistance.

In his hideout, Granz tore his helmet off and threw himself backwards, his consoles exploding as the Zweihander's chaotic energy overloaded them.

Carving a gigantic trench through the desert, Omega landed on his feet and skidded to halt. Sweeping the massive blade out to the side, red light flashed, and it shrunk, returning to a more human size. Behind him, the Orotic still hung suspended in mid-air, a gigantic crater blown straight through its body by the Zweihander's explosive force. Sparks danced over it for a second, before it erupted in a titanic blast that lit up the sky like a second sun, tearing apart the air with an earth-shaking detonation, and completely destroying even the ground underneath it, exploding as the blastwave slammed into it.

As the shockwave tore past him, ripping boulder-sized chunks of rock and dirt out of the ground, the familiar shape of four Red Rippers shot towards Omega. With a flash of light, they combined back into one, and Omega's normal O-Saber slammed point first into the ground. He felt his shades shatter, finally surrendering to the tremendous stress the Zweihander's raw energy had put on them.

"Show's over, puppeteer."

* * *

On the train, a familiar green haired figure looked up as the shockwave from Granz's exploding Orotic shook the ground. It turned and looked in the direction of the blast, a gigantic column of smoke and flames reaching towards the heavens. It cocked its head for a moment, then started moving towards it at frightening speed.

As the dust settled, a bloodied hand reached up and grabbed onto a bent support beam. Getting a grip on it, a lone, battered figure staggered upright, covered in injuries. The figure doubled over, gagging as it coughed up blood. Moments later, the shattered remains of a crimson helmet, its black faceplate smashed, clattered to the floor, and the scarlet clad shape of Legion Commander Ace Phoenix slowly straightened back up, his left arm bent at a horrible angle.

He spat out something that looked suspiciously important to the workings of a healthy, functional body, and painfully flipped open his comm. Ignoring the cracked screen, he waited as it dialed, hoping that it still worked.

"Sir, are you all right?!"

Ace managed a weak grin. Picked up on the first ring...

"Hell fucking no I'm not. I feel like I got hit by a goddamned aircraft carrier."

"I'll notify the command center immediately-"

"NO!" Ace snapped, and then instantly winced, dropping down onto one knee.

'_Jesus fecking Christ, I think she broke all of my god-damned ribs!_'

"No, we...we don't have time for that..." he gasped. "You're not...not even supposed to be here, re...member?"

Sucking in as deep a breath he could manage, Ace continued.

"I'll take care of myself. Right now, I need you to take care of Celtis. It seems..."he paused for breath. "It seems like my theory...was right, and it's much...much worse than I thought. You need to stop that thing now, before it finishes merging...!"

The voice on the other end of the line hesitated for a split second before replying.

"...Very well, sir."

"Good..."Ace cracked a grin. "In the meantime, I'm going to try to not die until the medics get here. Good luck."

"You too, sir."

"Oh, and Hadrian?"

"Yes?"

"Don't miss."

As the line clicked off, Agent C stared grimly down at the communicator in his hand, and walked off, heading for his position.

* * *

Ashe stared open-mouthed in disbelief at the sight before her, her expression mirroring the one on the faces of all the other Legion forces on the battlefield. The entire area was littered with the destruction left over from Omega's devastating attacks. Of Granz's prized Guard Orotic, little remained, save for one or two unrecognizable pieces of molten debris strewn around a gigantic blackened crater. A single massive trench scarred the desert surface, marking an almost straight line directly across the blast crater, marking the Zweihander's path.

The man responsible for all of this destruction now stood at the end of that trench, his features hidden by the long hair blowing over his face. The purple color had disappeared, and it had returned to its normal ice-white tinge. His tattered coat tails, now their normal crimson color once more, billowed gently in the wind behind him. In one hand, he held a massive broadsword, a scaled down version of the weapon he had just used to annihilate the enemy commander. Stuck firmly in the ground next to him was the triangular shape of his trusty O-Saber, its violet blade glowing faintly in the evening sun.

"Quite a sight, isn't he?"

A calm voice startled Ashe out of her reverie. She jerked and glanced sideways to see the owner. Standing next to her, one hand resting comfortably on his hip, was an unfamiliar purple armored Reploid, his features completely hidden behind a helmet with a T-shaped visor.

"Wha...Who're you?"

In response, the stranger merely tapped the front of his helmet. An emblem in the shape of a crimson V was marked there. Ashe and Grey's eyes widened.

"You're from Unit V?!"

Vile sighed. "Why is it that people always act so surprised when I tell them that?"

"Ah, er, sorry...It's just that you're a bit of a myth around Hunter's Camp. I heard you were coming on this mission, but this is the first time I've seen you in person."

"Yes, well, I like my privacy." So saying, Vile glanced back across at the crimson figure standing in the distance.

"I take it it's your first time seeing something like this?"

"You can say that again." Grey murmured.

"Yeah." Ashe agreed. "Just what is he? I mean, I've seen some crazy things as a Chosen One, but never anything like this! It's like he's in a class by himself! If I didn't know better, I'd swear he was a Maverick!"

Vile chuckled.

"Well, he's certainly in a class by himself! As for being a Maverick..."

The infamous ex-Enforcer tilted his head to look at her.

"...Would it particularly matter if he was?"

With that last enigmatic question, he turned and started walking towards Omega.

"Wha-hey, wait!" Ashe yelled after him, but to no avail.

"Man, that guy's weird..."

There was the sound of running footsteps, and a person skidded to a halt next to the two Chosen Ones.

Rika stopped for a minute to catch her breath. Realizing she was standing next to someone, she looked up.

The Reploid girl and the two Biometal users looked blankly at each other for a few moments. Then she flushed slightly, gave a little bow, and hastily turned to run after the armor-clad Reploid.

Both of them stared after her.

"...Well, that was weird."

* * *

Omega picked up the O-saber next to him and held the two swords out in front of him, examining them. Suddenly, the Zweihander pulsed. In his left, his O-Saber jerked. Before Omega could react, the entire thing disintegrated into a mass of crimson energy and was sucked in by the Zweihander's pulsing blade.

"...The hell was that?" he asked, bewildered. As if responding to his question, the Zweihander shimmered in his grip, and suddenly he was holding his normal O-saber. He tested out the chain, shield, recoil and spear forms, and then concentrated again. The O-saber shimmered, and the Zweihander appeared again.

"Ooooookay...That's...convenient, I guess...?" He shook his head slightly. "Weird as all hell, but convenient."

Omega didn't bother to turn around as he heard someone approaching. He'd already recognized the gait.

"Yo, Faceless One."

Vile came to a stop and looked around speculatively.

"Love what you've done with the place. Guess you haven't lost your touch after all."

Omega finally moved. He stuck the Zweihander point first into the ground and reared back, stretching.

"Ahhhh, damn! That was one craaaaazy fight. It's been a while since I had an honest to God boss-fight, insofar as that could be called a boss, so I might've gone a bit overboard."

Vile looked around. The battlefield was covered with blackened, scorched craters, enemy bodies strewn everywhere and all over the entire area, a veritable graveyard of weapons protruded from the ground, a field of ownerless, scarred metal.

He raised an eyebrow. "Since when has that ever bothered you?"

"Since..." Omega paused.

"...Okay, you've got a point."

"Nice moves, by the way. Where'd you come up with them?"

"I have no fucking idea." Omega shrugged. "I just thought, 'hey, I need to get all of these idiots out of my way! Why don't I just throw the whole arsenal at them?' and the rest just sort of happened."

"And that?" Vile pointed to the still pulsing Zweihander. Omega grinned.

"I needed something big and badass, and this was the first thing that came to mind. Everything ends up in cyberspace sooner or later, so I figured I'd put my ability to open up portals to Cyberspace to good use." He paused for a moment.

"Didn't think it'd actually work though."

Vile merely sighed. "I thought as much."

Omega glanced back at Vile.

"So what about the other cannon fodder?"

Vile waved dismissively over his shoulder. "After what you did to their boss, the rest of the Raiders are pulling back."

"Running like scared little girls, you mean."

"That too. Depends on-" Vile's eyes widened. In the smoke rising from the battlefield, he caught a flash of blue light. In an instant, Omega felt himself shoved roughly sideways.

"Hey, what the-?!"

Moments later, an immensely powerful blast tore through the air where he had been standing. There was the sound of metal shattering, and something heavy landed a few meters away.

Ashe and Grey looked up, startled.

"What was that?"

"I don't know! Come on!"

Omega was on his feet instantly. Glancing across at Vile, he gritted his teeth.

The True Maverick's entire left arm had been blown off, the torn metal of his shoulder still glowing red as it cooled. The arm itself lay on the ground where it had landed.

Well, now Omega knew what the source of the heavy-sounding noise.

"Tch. That's twice today I've let somebody get behind me..." he muttered. "Don't expect any thanks for that, pal. I'll fight my own battles, if it's all the same to you!"

Vile grinned. "I've had worse. After all..."

He lifted his right arm. The end of it transformed and withdrew. In its place, a long cylindrical barrel slid out, to a length of two feet.

"I've still got my right, don't I?"

"Hahaha! Well said!" Laughing, Omega drew his sword from the ground and transformed it back into the O-Saber. He glared into the clouds of smoke.

"Now come on, let's take this bastard!"

Before either of them could move, however, there was a wordless shriek, and a black blur shot past them. Rika transformed both of her swords and lunged forward, rage and anger burning in her eyes.

"How dare you hurt nii-san...!"

Too late, Vile remembered that she had been following him. As she disappeared into the smoke, he yelled after her, a terrible suspicion dawning on him.

"_**NO!**_ Rika, don't! Come back!"

At that moment, the two Chosen Ones arrived, already transformed. Grey's eyes widened at the sight of Vile's injury.

"What the heck happened?"

"He took a bullet meant for me." Omega said flatly, still staring into the darkness Rika had disappeared into, vainly trying to pierce through the smoke. Light flashed inside the cloud of smoke, followed by the sounds of clashing metal.

" All of the Raiders are either dead or retreating! Who's she fighting?"

Before anyone could reply, there was a loud crash and Rika's battered and broken body was hurled back out. She hit the ground with a cry of pain, her armor cracked and damaged. Both of her gauntlets had been smashed into ruin, slivers of metal digging into her flesh. She struggled to rise as Vile raced over to her.

"Rika, you damn fool! I told you not to be so reckless!"

He knelt down next to her, keeping one eye on the cloud of smoke as he checked her. After a few moments, he breathed a sigh of relief. She was unconscious, but she would live.

"Oi, Vile."

Vile didn't need Omega's warning. Scooping Rika up in his remaining arm, he leapt back as a series of Buster shots tore up the dirt.

"Che! Enough skulking around, you wimp! Get out here and fight me, instead of hiding in the shadows like a coward!"

There was a moment's silence, before the sound of footsteps could be heard. Slowly, a figure appeared, a blue glow coming from its forehead. As it stepped into the light however, Vile's jaw tightened.

Omega's eyes widened in shock. "What the hell...?!"

The person standing before him...

...was the crimson-armored Omega Zero.

Himself.

But no, that wasn't true. Parts of the armor were missing, and still others glowed, faintly translucent as bits of data spiraled around them. The blue glow was coming from an unmistakable triangular blue gem set into the forehead of the half-finished helmet. Even as Omega watched, the black metal of the helmet slowly continued spreading, gradually covering the head. Beneath the crimson fins, a pair of brilliant red eyes stared blankly out at him, no sign of recognition or acknowledgement in them. Dark green hair, as long as his own, swayed as the person continued walking forward.

Wait...Green hair?

"Is that...Celtis?" Ashe said

"I was right..." Vile growled. "It looks like those Legion idiots dug up something that should have stayed buried..."

"Wha..." Omega's eyes widened as he realized what Vile was saying. His head snapped back to stare at Celtis' motionless form.

"You're saying...the eighth Biometal..."

Vile nodded grimly.

"Model O. The Biometal created using the data of the legendary God of Destruction."

Omega stared at the figure before him. A Biometal, created to wield his power...? Another God of Destruction?

"You mean, she's the Chosen One for the Biometal we were transporting?!" Ashe demanded.

"I don't think so." Grey said, staring at Celtis with a dark expression.

Ashe blinked. "What do you mean?"

"What he means is, that's no megamerge." Model A spoke up grimly. " All of the synchronization readings are completely messed up. It's like its forcing Celtis' body to change to fit it, rather than the other way around. It's interfering with her body's nervous system too...Heck, I don't think she's even conscious of what's going on right now!"

"What?!"

"From what I can make out, I think she was a close enough Biomatch to begin with, but something's wrong with all of the data..." Model A shook its head. "I don't know, all right?! That thing gives me the creeps just by looking at it!"

Ashe bit her lip. "Either way, we can't attack without risking hurting her!"

"And since when does that matter?!"

They looked around, startled. Omega was facing Celtis head on, a fierce grin on his face.

"I don't give a damn about any of that! This Biometal thinks it can replace me?! ME?!"

Omega started to shake, his red eyes burning. His claws tightened around the grips of his sword, baring his teeth into a demonic smile. The air around him started to whip into a frenzy as he went into full-out combat mode.

"There's only room for one God of Destruction on this planet, and I'm not handing that title over to a god-damned paperweight!"

"What? What are you talking about?"

Model O drew its O-Saber, anticipating Omega's imminent attack. Ashe's eyes widened at the sight.

"That sword...!" She whirled, her eyes coming to rest on the exact same blade, now clenched in Saber's hand.

'_They're the same...?!_'

Omega took a step forward, fully intent on crushing the opponent before him. He didn't care even if Celtis was conscious or not. Right now, she was an enemy, and there was only one way he dealt with those! For the arrogance of daring to imitate the God of Destruction, the only sentence that could be carried out was complete and total destruction!

At least, that was the plan before everything went straight to hell.

Omega staggered and crashed down on one knee, his entire body jerking.

"A...agh! Wha...what the-?!"

Error messages flashed up on his screen, blocking parts of his vision.

* * *

**WARNING! WARNING! SYSTEMS AT CRITICAL LEVEL! FORCED COOLDOWN INITIATED! THIRTY SECONDS UNTIL REDLINE COOLDOWN CYCLE IS COMPLETE!

* * *

**

Cooldown?! What the hell?! That Redline Mode had a god-damned _cooldown_?! Here he was, about to face off with something that possessed almost the same power level as he did, and his body had been locked down?!

"Couldn't you have mentioned this bit a little earlier, you idiot?!" Omega demanded, cursing whoever it was that had built this damn Redline Mode into him in the first place. Gritting his teeth, he forced himself back to his feet, his entire body shaking with the effort as he fought against his protesting system.

Model O paused, as if realizing its opponent could no longer move. An O-Buster materialized, appearing in Celtis' hand as if by magic. As she raised it to aim at him, Omega's eyes narrowed. Things were not looking good. In his condition right now, his combat capability was maybe ten percent. Against something that was supposed to be a copy of him, that was like trying to go up against a tank with a flimsy paper fan. He sighed in irritation. He wouldn't die, but this was going to hurt like a bitch!

Plasma bullets dinged uselessly off of Model O as Vile tried vainly to distract it, his shoulder cannon blazing. It ignored him completely, its gaze never wavering from the struggling God of Destruction, who was slowly bringing his own Buster up, his arm shaking with the effort.

"All right then, if that won't work..." Vile growled and brought his right arm up.

"Let's see if a full-power plasma shot to the head gets your attention...!"

He lined up the sights on the half materialized blue gem set into the center of the crimson fins that were the signature of Model O. As he was about to fire, a red glint from deep within it caught his eye.

"...Red...? What is..." Vile's eyes widened as a wisp of smoke drifted over the red dot, and revealed a faint, ghostly red line. It was only there for the briefest second, but Vile instantly recognized it.

"All of you, get back! NOW!"

"Wha-" Ashe started to protest before Omega crashed clumsily into her, still trying to force his body to move.

"Dammit, get out of my way, woman!"

"You get out of MY way, jerk-!"

Both of them were cut off by a tremendous flash of blue-white light, a flash that tore apart the murky smog and cast stark black shadows behind the five of them. A brilliant, incandescent beam of energy, crackling with power screamed over their heads, eagerly following the crimson red dot of its guiding laser sight towards its target.

The impossibly powerful beam struck home with awesome force, lasting only for a few seconds. Suddenly, there was the sound of something shattering, as if a delicate crystal sculpture had been smashed into a million irreparable pieces.

A terrible shriek ripped through the air. Celtis arched backwards, her blank red eyes wide in an agonized expression. A horrible, high-pitched scream tearing from her throat as she reeled, the horrific screech chilling the blood of everyone present. Even the battle-hardened God of Destruction felt his hackles rise at the otherworldly wail. The sound was like nothing he had ever heard, modulating between the high-pitched, inhuman sounds of an electronic howl, and the horrific sounds of a human voice, pushed far beyond its normal capability.

The blue gem shattered, its half-created facets scattering to the four winds, the entire thing smashed into ruin by the powerful blast. As its fragments broke apart, they continued to disintegrate into an invisible dust, glittering as each shard vanished, returning to the oblivion it had been summoned from.

Red light flashed around Celtis as all hell broke loose. A crimson corona erupted around her, her body convulsing. The incomplete armor of Model O went completely insane, fragments of it randomly materializing and disappearing all over her.

"The Megamerge protocol's gone out of control! The Biometal's gone ballistic!" Model A yelled, almost drowned out by the raging winds.

"What?! Is that even possible?!" Ashe screamed back.

Then the entire aura exploded outwards in a shockwave that knocked them all off their feet. For the barest instant, Model A saw the unmistakable silhouette of Model O appear in the flames, its blue eyes burning as it struggled to maintain its shape. The shape distorted, breaking up as if it was a poor quality hologram, and then with an unearthly screech, vanished completely.

Silence fell over the battlefield, the last sparks of crimson light dying as they drifted down around the motionless figure on the ground. Celtis lay unconscious, now back in her Hunter clothes, and without a trace of the eerie Biometal, or its effects, to be seen.

All five of them stared at her for a moment, unable to believe what they had just been front-row witnesses to. Omega was the first one to recover, and the first one to realize what had happened. Feeling the effects of the cooldown finally wearing off, he whirled around, searching for the source of the laser that had smashed Model O's crystal.

For a moment, nothing presented itself. Then, as the telltale glint of sunlight on metal caught his attention, he found it. But something was wrong...Then, as his optics finally finished calibrating, he realized what was off.

The distance. As he zoomed in on the target, his eyes widened in disbelief as the numbers on the side of his HUD continued to increase. They finally came to a stop when he reached the limits of his magnification, and even then, he could just barely make out the shape of the shooter.

"How in the hell...?!" He demanded incredulously. His range of vision was good for at least four kilometers in a straight line, and he still couldn't make him out! From that distance, and with that degree of accuracy?! Just who the hell was this guy?!

He stared at the blurry image on his screen in amazement.

The shooter stood atop a rocky peak that rose out of the canyons, a teal-green cloak billowing behind him. The object in his hands was too blurred to see details, but from the slowly fading heat signature at the end pointing towards him, Omega guessed that it was quite possibly the biggest damn laser cannon he'd ever seen, at least for a handheld model. Hell, the damn thing was nearly as big as he was, and that was only a rough estimate!

Then the wind picked up again, and Omega lost him behind a wall of sand and smoke.

"Just who the hell was that guy...?" he wondered.

* * *

As the sands blocked his vision of the scene in the distance, Agent C lowered his cannon and let out a long breath. It seemed as though Ace's suspicions had been right on the mark. With that gem destroyed, Model O had been forced back into dormancy. However, he hadn't seen the Biometal anywhere when the Hunter girl had reverted...

Agent C shook his head. That was something for Ace and his tacticians to worry about. He was just a soldier, and his role in this mission was now complete. All that was left was to get out of the area and back to Legion before his presence was noticed.

He recalled the look on the God of Destruction's face as he had stared straight back at the Agent, and grimaced. Well, perhaps the part about not being noticed had already been scrapped. He supposed it was to be expected, really, since there was very little chance that a fighter as experienced as Omega wouldn't have been able to follow the shot back to the source. He shrugged. Well, he didn't think it would matter very much.

Sunlight glinted off of his weapon as he prepared to sling it back under his cloak. He paused, staring at the object that had caught the light. The edges of it dulled by the wear of time, a single word was carved roughly into the side of the stock. It was nothing fancy; rather, it looked as though it had been scraped into the metallic surface with a sharpened object, like a knifepoint. Agent C smiled as he recalled the moment when he had carved it into his trusted weapon, the name of a woman who even now, centuries after she was gone, continued to serve as a reminder to him. A reminder to never stray again from the path of what was right, and a reminder to never stop fighting against those who would see their own dark dreams realized at the cost of others.

"...Would you be proud of me now, I wonder...?" he murmured. He stayed there for a moment longer, then sighed. In a single motion, he flipped the cannon around with one hand, and slung it back under his cloak. It flapped one last time, revealing the name, before the green folds settled back over it.

_Neige._

Hadrian Craft looked once more at the wrecked train in the distance, and gave a rueful smile.

"I guess only time will tell, huh?" he said quietly.

With those words, the combat Reploid who had once been the leader of Weil's Einherjar turned and walked towards the large bike parked in the sand nearby, preparing for the long journey back to Legion City.

* * *

Omega stared down at Celtis' motionless body. Behind him, he could hear Ashe arguing with one of the field officers, demanding that they search for the sniper. He ignored them, knowing it was already too late for that. Whoever he was, whatever he was, that man was long gone.

Vile walked up next to him.

"How's your partner?" Omega asked.

"In better shape than yours, I suspect." Vile replied dryly. After making sure she was fine, he had loaded Rika into the Crucio to rest, leaving it up to her natural healing abilities to take care of the rest.

"Well, she's still alive." Omega shrugged, poking her in the ribs with the toe of one boot. Staring down at her, an angry look passed over his face.

"And she had better be in one piece when she wakes up! I can still smell that disgusting imposter inside her! I don't know much about Biometals, but that was _never_ me! That thing-" Omega stopped abruptly, not trusting himself to finish.

That thing was not Omega. That thing was the God of Destruction, the mindless, chained existence he had become under Weil's control. Just remembering it drove him almost insane with rage. _That_ was what they believed Omega had really been? That mindless monstrosity? The monstrosity part he could deal with, but he was different.

He destroyed because he wanted to. He killed because he could. And he annihilated everything his way because he damn well felt like it! The God of Destruction that had been Weil's plaything did all those things, but only because that was all it knew, all Weil allowed it to think! He, Omega, was his own person, with his own goals, and his own soul! That blank-faced, twisted mirror-image could _NEVER_ be him!

His hands clenched into fists, the razor tipped claws throwing off sparks as they grated against his palms. When Celtis woke up again, she had better hope she was the one in control, and not that Biometal, because he wanted answers!

As he watched a thoroughly battered Ace approach, his body swathed in bandages, and supported by two medics, he swore silently, that if that thing was in control of her, he would tear her to bloody fragments until he could crush that abomination in his bare hands!

Vile looked at Omega, easily reading the various emotions crossing his face. When he judged that the God of Destruction wasn't likely to tear his other arm off if he got his attention now, he tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey."

Omega heaved a sigh and looked up. "What do you want?"

Vile jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "Ace says he wants his medics to take a look at her, and also that he wants to run some tests when they get back to Legion. Apparently he has a bit of a theory about the Biometal."

Omega turned to look back down at Celtis, again noting the lack of a Biometal anywhere around her.

"Yeah, he's not the only one." He muttered darkly.

* * *

In a darkened room, there was a wordless roar of rage, and an entire computer monitor was flung the length of the room, smashing into pieces as it struck the far wall.

"You...INCOMPETENT..._**MORONS**_!!" A man roared. "I sent **THREE** god-damned armies to attack that train! I infected that girl with the virus serum! I sent the information about the shipment's path! And **STILL** they failed! **STILL**, Ace managed to stop the Biometal!!"

The man's massive fist crashed down on the desk, shattering the wooden tabletop.

"_**Damn **_you, Ace! Damn you straight back to the pits of _**HELL**_!"

Snarling, he brought his fist down again, this time breaking the table in half. He stared at the images from the battle, of the specialists tearing apart the enemy advance, Vile's Siege Tank blasting apart Aerios' forces, ending with Vile himself taking down the Lightning Eagle, Celtis miraculously defeating the Firestorm Tiger, and finally, the unstoppable Reploid known as Saber single-handedly ripping apart Granz's armies, before destroying Granz's commanding machine himself.

"Just what the hell are they?!" he gritted, staring at Vile and Omega. "These two bastards...With them alone, he was able to change the course of this entire battle!"

The man gritted his teeth.

"It seems as though I'll have to reconsider my plan of attack. I WILL have that Biometal!"

At that instant, the one remaining screen in his room lit up, indicating an incoming transmission.

"Well now, you certainly seem to be in quite the situation there."

The man looked up as a voice floated through the speakers.

"Who the hell...?! Who's there?! How did you get through my communications network?!"

An eerie cackle echoed through the room.

"My name is not important right now, but rest assured, I shall give you it in the near future. As for your communications, well...Let us just say I have some experience with technology and leave it at that, hmm?"

The man stared up at the screen suspiciously. "What do you want, then?"

On the screen, a blurry image crackled to life. Very little could be seen of the person on the other side. All that could be seen was the silhouette of a man's face, his hair floating up above him, and surrounded on all sides by a strange, luminous orange fluid.

"Me? I do not desire anything. I simply wish to offer my assistance to a worthy cause...One such as yours..."

"And how would you offer that assistance?"

"For a start, I believe I can provide you with information on one of the so-called 'Hunters' who has been irritating you so. I believe the name he is using is, ah...Saber?"

The man was suddenly interested. "I'm listening..."

The figure on the screen laughed again.

In the darkness, it sounded like an old man's evil, twisted laugh.

* * *

As the dying rays of the sun cast their blood-red light over the now-empty battlefield, a pair of figures moved through the abandoned wasteland. One was a tall, well-built man, a tattered brown cloak wrapped around his body to shield him from the sand. His eyes were hidden behind a pair of thick, rectangular-lensed goggles. His messy, light-green hair blowing in the wind, he looked down at his companion.

"Find anything yet?"

His companion, crouched down on all fours, looked distinctly animal-like as she prowled across the sand, her lion-like muzzle pressed firmly to the ground. A pair of feathered wings lay folded across her back, and a long reptilian tail waved behind her.

"Hey, the boss is doing the best she can, alright? This stuff takes time, you know!" Oddly, this response did not come from the figure's mouth, but instead it seemed to come from its tail. As the tail curled around to face the man indignantly, it revealed a serpentine head at the end of it, its tongue hissing out as it indignantly replied to the man's question.

"Yeah, fine, but you can't blame me for asking." The man hiked up the collar of his cloak, wincing. "I hate getting stuck in sandstorms. It takes forever to get all of the sand off afterwards!"

"If you think that's bad, you should try having fur on the next time you go through one." This time, it was his companion who spoke. She lifted herself up, shaking her mane out in an attempt to get rid of all of the sand that had been trapped in it.

"Hey, hey! Watch it!" Her companion spluttered, lifting his hands to shield himself as sand flew in every direction. When she'd finished, his face turned serious again.

"So, what'd you find?"

She nodded. "We were right."

The man whistled. "So it was that we felt."

"Yeah, that was definitely my Evolution Drive, or some variant of it. It's too close to be mistaken."

The man looked out at the massive scar left by Omega's Zweihander.

"And I'd know the signature of a Zweihander's energy anywhere." His expression darkened. "So the rumors of another one existing were true..."

"There's more." Something in her tone made him stop and look at her. Her face was grim.

"There were traces...of a Final Bolt." She said hesitatingly.

The man stared at her for a moment, stunned. "Are you sure?"

She merely nodded. He stared at her for a moment longer.

"Shit!" He swore. "That's a Hades Artifact!"

The man turned to stare grimly out over the battlefield.

"Your Evolution Drive, a Zweihander, and then a Hades...? It's too much of a coincidence. He disappears for years, and then the first sign we get is all three of them in one world? I don't think so."

His companion nodded. "He's here, there's no question about it."

"But...damn! The Hades?! Just what the hell is he planning...?"

"I don't know...but whatever it is, we need to find him, and soon. For him to bring all three of those abilities together in one reality..." She shivered.

The man stared out at the destruction around them one last time before he turned and started walking.

"Let's go, S.Z. This whole mess just got a lot more serious."

A worried expression crossed the man's face as he remembered his friend's black-clad back, the last thing he had seen before his friend had walked off, disappearing into eternity.

'_What are you up to, Darkbreaker...?_'

* * *

A/N: WOO! Oh yeah, who da man! NEW RECORD FOR UPDATING! WOOT!

*Ahem* Anyway, now that the obligatory celebration is over, onto other things!

First off, I can bet twenty bucks that half of you had figured out who Agent C was by this point. Looking back, I think I may have screwed that whole mystery thing up a bit. And yes, I did make up the name Hadrian. I didn't like calling him just Craft, and hell, the name seemed to fit, so I figured why not.

Second, the two mystery characters on the battlefield at the end, no, you're not supposed to recognize them, they're OC's.

Third, I made up the name Zweihander, but other than that, it's the giant-ass sword Omega has strapped to his back when you first meet him, and also the one he uses on you in his gold-armor form. Yes, this one will be much more useful, since I plan to do all kinds of crazy shit with it later on, some examples of which you've seen already.

As for the Shield Boomerang and all of the other weapons, just go with it. You saw the kind of madness I put together with the trans-server arsenals already, so you should have some idea of what I can do with all of the weapons built into that. Anyone who complains about me having the O-Saber transform into the weapons instead of having them separate, tough. Go read the official MMZ manga and then come back and talk to me. It's on Rockman Tanjou. A lot of the Buster and Saber designs came from there.

No comment on Model O. Yeah, I know a lot of you wanted to see Celtis grab it and do the whole "Megamerge!" thing, and then PWN everything in sight (Yes, Model O kicks ass in ZX), but no. By now, you've probably figured out that I'm not someone who does things the normal way. Next chapter, you'll hear some of what the truth about it is, and how it ended up back underground, despite Vent and Aile using it in ZX. (Hah, thought I just left them out, did you?)

Omega's crazy powerups,again, no comment. A lot of that will hopefully be explained within the next couple of chapters (I'm not sure, since I'm pretty much just making things up as I go along) Although by now you should have figured out where I'm going with his constant upgrades. Oh yeah, and his Saber Crush is basically a fully charged Saber strike. Hey, if that crap can shake up the whole screen and bring rocks down on you, I figure it deserves a name.

Mechaniloid-wise, I couldn't remember the name of the weird, sandworm thingy that was the mini-boss for Necromancess' level, but that's what it is. Bite me. Grr. And the Hittide Hottide is the big ugly one with all the drills that Neo Arcadia sent to attack the Resistance Base in MMZ 1. The one that was boring through all the buildings? Yeah, that's it. Again, I think there's a picture of that one online too. And no, the Orotic doesn't actually have an attack like the Medusa Annihilator, I made that up too. Same with the whole EM field in the ground. Hell, come to think of it, I'm not even sure that could work in the first place! Well, screw it, I'm the author, laws of physics mean nothing to me!

Finally, to any of you who got all of the anime references in this chapter, you guys are completely freaking awesome! Yeah, I may have gone a bit overboard with it, but it was damned fun to write it anyway, so I don't care!

...Again, WOO! NEW CHAPTER! RECORD TIME! YEAAAAAH!

*cough* And lastly, Merry Christmas! See you guys next year!


	10. Chapter 9:Mysteries of the Past

**Chapter 9: Mysteries of the past**

Disclaimer: Been there, nuked that.

* * *

Ashe stared at the sleeping red Reploid, a suspicious look on her face. Following the aftermath of the battle, they'd all been brought to Legion's best medical facility to get their wounds treated, and to rest. Such luxuries were not a standard procedure following missions, but then again, there had been _nothing_ standard about this particular mission. It had been Ace who had ordered it, as a method of compensation for the hellish experience they'd been put through. Ace himself was currently undergoing several simultaneous surgical operations in the hospital's best medical unit.

Ordinarily, something like this would have had people running around in a panic, saying things like, "Oh my god oh my god oh my god, is he going to be alright?! What if he doesn't make it?" etc. etc.

However, for a man who spent practically every other week in reconstructive surgery, this was nothing new. Usually this was the direct result of one of two things: a) A new, high-level mission that concerned Legion security, much like this latest one had been, since Ace always insisted on personally fighting in the frontlines, and/or b), which happened more often, was that he'd gotten himself wrecked through some new crazy-assed technological idea he'd come up with.

Either way, Ace was a regular at this particular facility, since this was where he inevitably ended up after his latest insane stunt. By now, they were pretty much used to him, so it was basically something more along the lines of, "Back again so soon are we, Mr. Phoenix? Not to worry, sir, we've kept your room just as you left it." And it was off to the operating room again.

Hell, Ashe wasn't even sure if he was a human or a Reploid any more. Not that she'd known in the first place, though…

Then there was the other mystery. She sighed, and looked back down at the slumbering Reploid. Only known by the name of Saber, this one man had managed to almost single-handedly wipe out the entire Granz Army, unleashing powers that far outclassed anything Ashe had ever come across. Even when she closed her eyes, she could still see the burning light of the titanic Zweihander ripping apart the air and the earth as it raced towards the captive Guard Orotic. And not just that, but…

Her mind drifted further back, remembering the other inhuman feats he had carried out. Walking through a hail of bullets without even bothering to block…surviving a hellish plasma storm…annihilating Granz's entire Doru Ghora legion…and last but not least, Ashe felt a chill run down her spine as she remembered the terrifying sight of the red sky that had appeared behind him, summoning a vast array of weapons to rain down death at his command.

She shivered again, looking at the sleeping figure. Who was this man, that commanded such frightening power, and why did his sword resemble that of the one manifested by the strange Biometal?

Ashe wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer…

* * *

_Somewhere else…_

A gigantic cavern, its walls lost in the distant shadows.

A wide flat plain, covered by a thin layer of brackish, mossy water, huge chunks of debris littering its surface.

In the distance, towering flames rage, surrounding the field in an impenetrable wall.

At the center of this battlefield stands a tall metallic structure. Its surface is cracked and dented, and in many places, has simply fallen apart, revealing the ancient circuitry inside. Despite its ruined appearance, it still remained standing tall. All around it, huge metallic chunks of debris lay scattered, broken and destroyed. At a closer look, two of the pieces resemble massive shoulder guards, designed to look like heads, one blue and one red.

At the foot of the monument, finally, there is a trace of movement, the first that can be seen in this desolate space. On one side, there are five figures. Hovering in the air, the jade-green form of Neo Arcadia's General of the Air, Sage Harpuia, is easily recognizable. On the ground below him, the ice-blue, glittering figure of the beautiful Fairy Leviathan, General of the Seas, is easily identified by her graceful poise, her fearsome spear leveled at the target before her. Next to her looms the massive, brawny figure, covered in heavy, flame colored armor, that could only be the General of Flame, Fighting Fefnir.

However, it is the two figures standing at their head that radiate the most power. Floating above the ground, one of them is a transparent, glowing blue form, as if it were light in human form. Simple blue robes float around it, and a multi-colored gem glows with a warm light on the figure's forehead. This is all that remains of the legendary Megaman X. His body destroyed, he now exists as little more than a ghost.

And there, standing on the ground next to him, is a scarlet armored form that cannot be mistaken. The unstoppable red demon, said to have once been the original Maverick…

Zero.

And so these five heroes stand, arrayed against what may have possibly been thee single greatest opponent any of them had ever fought, but who now stands before them weakened and wounded.

Dark crimson armor, matching Zero's in all but color, a mane of ice-white hair and a pair of burning red eyes, the God of Destruction, Omega, stared back at them, down on one knee as he struggled with the terrible wounds inflicted on him. Hovering above him is the large, dark-colored orb of energy that is the being known as the Dark Elf.

At the moment, however, something was wrong. The Dark Elf flickered, its color changing from darkness to light, and then back again.

"Dammit, what's happening?!" An old man's angry voice rang out.

"The Dark Elf's curse is finally fading." X spoke up.

"Who the…?! X?! It can't be!"

"That's right, Weil. Just like a century ago…I worked with Zero to stop Omega then, and we saved the world from your greedy clutches."

Zero glanced uncertainly up at X.

"Just like…a century ago…?"

"That's right." All five of them looked around, startled as a new voice spoke. Omega grinned up at them, one hand pressed to his wounded shoulder.

"After you beat me there, Weil put me in your original body, thinking it'd be the edge I needed to win. To tell you the truth, for a while there I thought so too. But in the end…" He winced, and glanced down at his damaged body.

"Well, you can see how that turned out." He closed his eyes and grinned.

"In the end, it looks like the body doesn't really matter all that much."

X nodded, regarding Omega with a mildly surprised look.

"That's right. It's a person's heart that really makes the difference. But to be honest, I never expected you to say something like that."

"Well, you can keep right on waiting." Omega chuckled. "Heart or not, I don't give a damn, so long as I can keep fighting, it doesn't matter to me!"

"What are you _doing_ Omega?! Stop wasting time and get back on your feet! I _command_ you!"

Omega laughed.

"No, you don't."

His calm response took everyone by surprise, Weil included.

"What?!"

"One hundred years, you've kept me enslaved, bound to your will. Now, I'm here, finally at the end of it all, and you're still trying to control me…" He chuckled again.

"Think again, you old bastard. I'm through taking orders from you." Omega said, wincing as he started to rise.

The Guardians exchanged confused looks. This was not at all what they had expected to happen once they had cornered Omega.

"What?! How dare you speak to me that way? I am your master, I created you! You serve me, and no-one else!" Weil's fury was easily apparent, even through the communications network that still functioned in the area. With a single gesture, he activated all of his restraint programs, punishing his now rebelling servant.

Omega jerked and stumbled, almost collapsing back to the ground. Catching himself at the last moment, he gritted his teeth. Clenching his hands into fists, Omega gave a low, guttural snarl. Ignoring the screaming pain racing through his body, as Weil's restraints burned through his cybernetic nerves, he forced himself to move. Slowly, and against all reason, the God of Destruction began to rise.

"Th-this is impossible…!" Weil gasped, shocked. His programs should have completely locked down Omega's body, bombarding him with enough pain signals to send even the most hardened Reploids into shutdown. Even moving a single finger should have been light years beyond him…!

**[Cue Music: Gurren Lagann OST: Pierce the Heavens!]**

And yet the evidence was right there on the screens before him. Ignoring everything Weil's programs could throw at him, defying all logic and reason, Omega still continued to rise, his body jerking in agony even as he did so.

Until finally, he stood tall, before the one opponent he would never admit defeat to, his breathing ragged and harsh but still with a savage smile on his features.

"Why…why isn't it working?!"

One eye half closed by the blood leaking over it, Omega grinned. Lifting one hand, he raised his middle finger and flipped Weil the bird.

"I told you didn't I? You don't control me any more, so it's time for unnecessary idiots like you to get lost!"

As the mad scientist raged, Omega drew his Buster and fired a single blast. Weil's screen jerked as his remote communication bug was smashed backwards. His ability to communicate now completely wrecked, Weil could only rage impotently as he stared at the scene that continued to unfold.

Omega gritted his teeth, biting back a snarl of pain as he felt parts of his body beginning to shut down.

"You may have controlled my life, you old bastard…but…" He gritted his teeth, and forced himself to stand. Ignoring the screams of protest coming from his ruined body, he continued.

"The…only one…who can decide the way I die…is ME!"

"How can he still stand…?!" Harpuia gasped, amazed.

Zero's eyes narrowed as he stared at the crimson copy of himself. Suddenly, the aura coming off of Omega felt different…

Omega smirked as he stared up at the darkness above him, tinged red from the flames that continued to burn in the distance. Reaching up, he grabbed his cracked and battered helmet in one hand and pulled it off, his white hair cascading freely over his shoulders as he tossed it aside.

"Looks like the old bastard's curse really is fading…" Omega could feel it, as his systems approached closer to complete shutdown. With each successive crash, the restriction programs that kept him slaved to Weil grew weaker and weaker.

"Ironic, isn't it, that this is only way I'll ever be free…" He laughed quietly. Then as a flicker of movement caught his eye, he looked across and saw the Dark Elf still floating next to him, now considerably more light than dark. He knew it was more than just Weil's programming keeping her there. Surprisingly, he'd developed quite an attachment to the genocide-causing elf.

"Yeah, go on, get outta here." He smirked, waving her away. As the Dark Elf, no…the Mother Elf now, he realized, hesitantly drifted away, he smiled to himself.

"Yeah, you're not beyond saving just yet. You've still got a shot at redemption. Me, on the other hand…"

Omega turned to face Zero, his old grin reappearing on his features.

"Well, I'm a devil to the end!"

X hesitated for a moment. If Weil had been controlling Omega all this time, then maybe…

Zero met his old partner's gaze, and slowly shook his head. Omega caught the gesture, and laughed.

"Don't confuse me with one of those brainwashed fools that you used to call Mavericks, X. Even with Weil giving the orders, I was the one who carried them out, and I had no problem with that. The only thing that I hated was being forced to serve him in the first place. Death and destruction don't mean anything to me, but being forced to take orders and to be absolutely obedient to that trash is another matter altogether. Who knows?" He shrugged. "On my own I might have done worse things."

He smirked as he saw X's expression darken. Turning, he moved his gaze back to Zero.

"And Zero knows as well as I do, that this world isn't big enough for two Gods of Destruction. The only way either of us will really be free, is when only one of us is left standing at the end…"

Omega drew his saber, the blade flaring into life. His Buster now damaged into uselessness, he tossed it aside carelessly. Win or lose, after this, it wouldn't matter.

"Sitting around waiting for the final blow to be delivered was never my style." Ignoring his wounds, he hefted his O-saber, wincing at the effort.

"If I'm going to die here, then I'll die the way I decide for myself!" Even though he could feel death advancing through his systems, there was no fear in Omega's eyes. For him, all he knew was fighting. Merely standing around waiting for Zero's blade to finally destroy him was far too weak an end for him! He was Omega, the God of Destruction, and he would face his death the only way he knew how…

Head-on, and with the sword that had served him all his life clenched tightly in his grip!

The others didn't understand, but he could see in Zero's face that he understood it all too well. For a moment, the ghost of a smile crossed the scarlet Reploid's features, and he lifted his own saber.

"A warrior's death, is it…?" he murmured.

Omega bared his teeth in a demonic smile.

"So how about it, Zero? One last run, the Crimson God against the Red Demon?"

Zero nodded. Despite all of the crimes Omega had committed, despite his violent, destructive nature, in his own way, the God of Destruction had his own code to live by. After a lifetime enslaved by Weil, and with death coming for him, he wanted to die the way he had lived: fighting. To go down in one final blaze of glory, his destiny held firmly in his own hands, and with no regrets left to him.

"So be it…" Zero replied quietly. Then, he started moving forward.

Omega saw him start to move, and with a smile of his own, started forward to meet him.

"Then let's go! Even if I die, so long as you're my opponent, I'll never back down!"

Bit by bit, they began to accelerate. Faster and faster, until it was an all-out mad rush towards each other. A savage roar tore from Omega's throat as his saber arched up and over, screaming down towards his opponent.

"Let's end this, Zeroooo!"

Zero gave an answering yell, his own saber carving a furrow in the ground as he brought it swinging upwards towards Omega. Both fighters put everything they had, every ounce of power that still remained in them, into their swords, knowing that no matter what happened, this would be the attack that would finally bring their century long battle to an end. This would be the last time these two eternal rivals would ever meet.

As the two swords met for what would be their final clash, a tremendous shockwave burst forth from the point of contact, pushing the startled observers back and blasting all of the water for twenty feet around into the air as a storm of crimson and green energy erupted, two unstoppable forces smashing into each other, the wrath of a God and the strength of a Demon striving for dominance in this last epic battle.

And the world exploded.

* * *

Ashe jerked backwards, startled as Omega's eyes snapped open. She crashed down on her rear with a yelp, but Omega took no notice. Breathing hard, he pressed a hand to his chest, where the scar left by the Z-saber all those years ago still burned.

…_A dream…?_ He wondered, still shaken.

_No…_ he thought, his eyes narrowing._ More like…a memory…_

A hundred years ago, he had fought Zero for the last time, being defeated and ultimately destroyed in the end. At the end, though, with Weil's power fading, he had managed to break free of his control. His body already damaged beyond repair by the Guardians' attacks, he had chosen to continue fighting, seeking even to the end, to surpass Zero, even though he knew he was about to die. He had failed, and death finally claimed him. He had accepted it without any regrets, and had honestly believed that he had finally reached his journey's end.

Only now, it seemed as though somebody had decided otherwise. Since his reactivation by Celtis, Omega hadn't thought much about what he had believed to be the last moments of his life. Not for the first time, he wondered why someone had wanted to bring him back. Then, he wondered who could have brought him back, since the last time he'd checked, he wasn't exactly winning 'Reploid of the Month' awards by anyone's standards, so they'd have to be a few chips short of a circuit board if they had thought bringing back a legendary God of Destruction was a good idea.

Questions, so many damn questions, and not nearly enough answers! Omega groaned and covered his eyes with one hand.

"God, now I remember why I hate sleeping…" he muttered.

There was a brief pause as he eyed Ashe, who was still on the floor where she'd landed. Or more accurately, since she'd taken off her jacket earlier, he eyed something else altogether. Particularly since all she was now wearing was the skintight black bodysuit that seemed to be the fashion of the day.

"Daaaaamn…" He grinned. "You should take that top off more often."

Ashe drew her arms in to cover her chest, her face turning bright red.

"Wh-why you…!"

**CRASH!**

Grey and Model A both winced. Ashe glowered down at Omega, who was now flat on the cracked floor.

"Hmph, even though you fought like that back there, don't expect me to put up with that kind of attitude now, you perv!"

Looking away in embarrassment, Ashe pulled her jacket back on and started to button it up as tight as possible. She'd never considered it before, but now, after this white-haired jerk had opened his mouth, that she was starting to feel self-conscious about her rather curve-hugging outfit.

"Maybe I shouldn't have got one quite this tight…" she muttered, glancing down at her jumpsuit.

"Oh, I dunno." Omega's cheerful voice floated up from the floor. "I mean, that jacket covers your top pretty well, but I'm still getting quite an eyeful from down here! Maybe you should think about getting some pants to match!"

Ashe's already red cheeks darkened even further as she realized what he was getting at.

* * *

The doctor jumped, startled as the whole floor suddenly shook. Ace closed his eyes for a moment, groaning inwardly.

"Aaaand that would be the sound of the rest of my Hunters trying to kill each other…" he muttered.

Heaving a sigh, he glanced back at the doctor.

"Ignore it. You were saying?"

The second doctor in the room cut in, speaking to the first.

"Never mind. I'm sure you have other duties to attend to."

As the younger doctor beat a hasty retreat, the remaining one sighed and turned back to Ace.

"I swear, they're letting anybody graduate from med. school these days…"

Shaking his head, he stared down at the reckless Commander.

"Well, let's put it this way. The average human adult has 206 bones in its skeleton. You've managed to break a hundred and sixty-four of them."

Ace whistled.

"Hey, that beats my old score by a whole eight!" He grinned. "Cool!"

"Indeed." The doctor replied dryly. "Oh, and by the way, you'll be pleased to know we managed to break your old turnaround record by twenty minutes. The whole operation took a little over three hours."

Ace winced and rotated his right shoulder.

"Huh, I guess I must not have gotten as banged up as I thought."

"Oh no, you were in much, much worse condition." the doctor assured him cheerfully.

"Eh?"

The doctor looked up at the ceiling, an amused smile on his face.

"Ironically, that made it far easier than it usually would have been. Most of the damage was too severe to even bother repairing at all, so we just decided to replace them altogether. Since you're a regular here, we had more than enough material on hand to flash clone any organs you needed."

"Organ_s_? As in, plural?"

"Oh yes, several of them in fact. By the way, do try to refrain from breathing too hard. Your left lung may still be a little loose."

Ace raised an eyebrow. "Oookaayy… But if replacing them was so easy, you mind explaining this?" He gestured to his cast-encased left arm.

The doctor gave an approving nod. "That was actually rather impressive. It actually managed to stump us quite well at first. Whoever worked you over certainly knew what they were doing. It's been quite a while since I saw a bone broken so efficiently. Whoever it was managed to thoroughly fracture the shoulder socket, snap the ligaments in your elbow, and then break several of the bones in your wrist. Because of the nature of these injuries, replacing them is impossible, since the replacements would need a stable base to be attached to. Thus, all we could hope to do was patch everything together and wait for your body to heal it naturally."

"Great." Ace muttered. "They're gonna love this at the office…"

The doctor stared at him cryptically for a moment. Finally, he spoke up.

"You are aware, sir, that this is all entirely unnecessary."

Ace looked away, suddenly silent.

"Your body was never meant to be this way. Taking on this inferior form defeats the entire purpose of why you were born! All it serves to do is to reduce your power! If only you'd give up this foolish notion of yours and let us return you to what you once were, then-"

"Enough." Ace said quietly.

"I don't need that body, or the power it was created with. I won't have you people telling me what purpose I am here to serve. My destiny is my own to decide. And I will reach that destiny on my own, with an ordinary human body, and with my _own_ power. No-one else's. Am I clear?"

A resigned expression came over the doctor's features.

"I see. Very well then, sir. You may leave whenever you wish."

With that last statement, the doctor turned and swept out of the room, leaving Ace alone with his thoughts. After a few moments, the gold-haired Commander got to his feet. Staring down at the brilliant red coat that was his trademark, he regarded it silently for a moment. Finally, he smiled, his bangs falling forward to hide his eyes.

"After all, even a fake like me is entitled to choose his own path in life, just like every other living being…wouldn't you say, Darkbreaker…?"

Ace brought his right hand up and swept his hair back, the brief sadness in his eyes replaced by the old, reckless fire. Reaching out, he grabbed his coat, swinging it over his shoulder in a single sweeping motion. As it flared up in his wake, he strode out the door, his face once again a determined mask.

"Now…time for some answers…"

* * *

Celtis' eyes blinked open.

'_Where…am I…?_'

Slowly, she became aware that she was lying on a hard, smooth surface. Picking herself up, she looked around, puzzled as she tried to make sense of her surroundings. Not that there was much to make sense of in that regard, anyway.

Everything around her was just a vast, blank void of whiteness. If it hadn't been for the gray band where the white sky dipped down to meet the horizon, darkening to black as it descended, she wouldn't have been able to tell that this strange place even had a floor, or a ceiling. As it was, she couldn't even begin to guess at its size.

She brought one hand up to her face, groaning as she tried to remember what had happened. The last thing she remembered was facing down Siger's Ultimate Firestorm, and feeling an incredible wave of power overwhelming her senses. Then…nothing.

"Great." She grumbled. "For the first time in my life, I'm about to do something epic, and I can't remember any of it. Oh yeah, this'll go down reeeeeal well in the history books."

She sighed. "I guess I must have passed out and this must be some kind of weird dream I'm having."

She looked around for a moment.

"…Pity it's such a dump, though."

Suddenly, a prickling sensation on the back of her neck brought her to the abrupt realization that she was not alone in this place. A low rumbling growl a few moments later only served to further confirm that suspicion. Throwing herself sideways, she narrowly avoided being torn in half as a savage set of claws streaked through the air her midsection had occupied a few moments ago. She hit the ground and rolled, righting herself as the owner of the claws continued forward, skidding as it bled off its momentum. Upon seeing her attacker however, Celtis stopped, her eyes widening in startled surprise.

"O-Omega…?!"

Sure enough, standing in front of her in a feral crouch was the familiar shape of the God of Destruction, looking almost exactly as he had when Celtis had first awakened him far below the ground. But something was wrong here. Gone was the constant look of amused arrogance that always graced his handsome features. Now, his eyes were jet-black, the irises burning red with a frightening intensity, his lips drawn back, baring his razor-edged fangs in a savage snarl of fury. His fingers were curled into claws, as if eager to rip into the body of the woman before him. The only sounds that escaped him were a series of bloodthirsty growls and snarls. It was as if he had lost all consciousness of himself, and had been replaced by a demonic monster in the same skin.

What was truly eerie however, was the strange, spectral aura that surrounded him. Parts of his body seemed to disintegrate and reform, breaking down into glowing fragments of data that left a luminous trail behind him whenever he moved. His entire body seemed…well, 'unfinished' or 'incomplete' seemed to be the best description Celtis could come up with.

As the thing in front of her gave another roar and lunged at her, Celtis somehow knew that whatever this thing was, it wasn't the Omega she knew. This time, however, she wasn't quick enough, and the fake's razor sharp claws slashed four parallel grooves across her stomach.

She cried out, and staggered backwards, clutching at the injury. Her mind reeled, shocked by the pain. It felt almost real! She stared down at the blood on her hands, stunned.

"Wha…What the hell is this?!"

…_destroy…_

Celtis looked up. The fake Omega was standing there, his body glitching in and out of focus, his murderous gaze fixed squarely on her.

_…Consume…Devour…Destroy…Assimilate…!_

She realized that the words she was hearing were coming from the fake. They were filled with static, and gravelly-sounding, but she could still make them out. It was as if someone had taken a poor-quality recording of Omega's voice and tried to use that to synthesize speech. The figure jerked erratically for an instant, staggering as electricity arced over it.

"It's…injured…?"

As if it had heard her, the fake God of Destruction's head snapped back towards her. It was then that Celtis noticed the gem on the front of the helmet had been almost completely shattered.

Any further speculation on her part was cut off as the fake gave another roar and lunged desperately towards her.

_…Assimilate…host…!_

Celtis tried to move out of the way, but her wounds cut her off with a fresh burst of pain. Her legs gave way and she looked frantically back towards the oncoming demon. As its hand reached out savagely towards her face, she realized with a sinking feeling that it was too late.

The fake gave a triumphant howl and then…

Time seemed to slow down. A calm voice spoke up.

**"Chains of Binding Eternity."**

Celtis saw the fake's eyes suddenly shift, widening as they looked past her. The rasping of metal on metal suddenly echoed through the silence. Before either of them could react, a metallic black streak shot past her, inches away from the side of her face.

It slammed straight into the fake's chest, launching it backwards. There was a sound like glass breaking, and the streak punched straight through the figure. It vanished into a strange ripple in the air behind it, leaving a single long black line stretching back to a source behind Celtis. At the exact moment it pierced the figure, similar ripples appeared in the air around it. Milliseconds later, identical black streaks shot forth, wrapping themselves securely around the fake's thrashing limbs and body. Finally, its struggles ceased as all of the glowing lines suddenly pulled tight, yanking the fake into a spread-eagled shape in mid-air. It roared helplessly, its terrible strength held at bay by the dark restraints. With each angry tug, the rigid lines gave a faint rasping sound. It was then that Celtis realized that what she thought were lines were something else entirely.

Chains. Ebony chains composed of hundreds of finely-crafted links, all forged from the same jet-black metal substance, a black so dark that they seemed to absorb light itself. The unyielding chains glowed with a faint red outline, projecting a strange ominous aura.

Staring at those chains, Celtis couldn't help but think that these chains were made of something far stronger than mere metal. Whatever they were made of, it was something that exceeded the bounds of any human knowledge. Looking back at the struggling demon, she had the feeling that it would be a long, long time before they relinquished their unyielding hold on their prisoner.

"**I wouldn't be so sure of that.**"

Celtis gasped and whirled around as the voice spoke again. Or rather, she tried to turn around. To her horror, she realized that she couldn't move, her entire body held frozen in the grip of some immovable force.

Straining her peripheral vision, Celtis could just make out the dark shape of the speaker, standing a few feet away.

"Wh-what's going on?"

The figure bowed its head slightly in apology.

"**I'm sorry, but I cannot allow you to see me just yet, little one.**" Now that she had time to listen to the speaker, she could notice what the voice sounded like. It was definitely male, an easy, level sounding baritone that radiated confidence and calmness. There was a strange resonance with every word, as if there was an echo behind each one.

"Who are you…?"

There was a quiet laugh.

"**All in good time, miss Celtis Gisborne-Wingates Arcana, all in good time.**" His voice suddenly turned serious.

"**The being before you is but a shadow of the real thing. In its current state, it is only a mindless beast, still following its damaged programming. As you are now, you cannot defeat that, even in such a reduced form. As such, I have bound it, sealing it here in the depths of your consciousness.**"

He chuckled. "**After all, I cannot have you dying here. Not when so much is relying on both you and that partner of yours**."

"What are you talking about? How do you know about Omega?"

"**I know everything.**" The man replied, but Celtis caught the barest flicker of bitterness in his voice as he said it. Then it was gone, his voice returning to normal as he continued.

"**But understand this. The beast before you is as much a part of you, as much as you are a part of it. When you wake up, you will begin to notice strange new abilities in your possession, gifts from the fake's existence. These gifts will not all awaken at the same time. Some will appear sooner than others. Because of this connection, you will find that in times of danger, you will be able to call on its power to protect both yourself and those around you.**"

His voice darkened for a moment. "**But remember this. These chains are only a temporary measure. As you continue to grow, so will the demon. There will be a day when those chains will no longer suffice. On that day, it will be up to you to face it down, and defeat it on your own.**"

Celtis heard all this, her mind racing. What on earth was this man talking about? Frantically, she tried to come up with some kind of explanation, but to no avail. She looked back up at the struggling fake. Did he mean she'd have to fight that insane thing someday?

There was a pause as the man regarded her, sensing her confusion. He sighed.

"**I know this doesn't make any sense right now, but once you wake up, everything will become clear.**"

Then there was movement, a single black-gloved hand reaching around her to lightly press against her forehead. She caught a glimpse of a strange design, in the shape of a spiked, winged letter A on the back of the glove.

"**I'll return the memories it stole. Perhaps that will aid you in your understanding as you return to your friends. Until we meet again, little one…**"

"Wait, what memories, what are you planning to-"Celtis spoke up frantically.

"Farewell."

Light exploded inside her mind, and Celtis collapsed, a stream of images flowing into her brain. As she struggled against the encroaching darkness, she managed to finally catch a glimpse of the black-clad man. The air behind him rippled as he turned to walk away, his ebony jacket flaring up behind him. For an instant, as he glanced back at her, she saw his eyes, one a burning red, the other a brilliant golden, both half hidden behind a narrow pair of shades. As he vanished into the rippling wall behind him, Celtis' head dropped, and she knew no more.

* * *

Ace stared at the scene before him for a few minutes. He turned to Grey, who was determinedly staring at the ceiling and trying to ignore the same scene.

"Since you seem to be the only person here still possessing any vestige of sanity, I'm probably going to regret asking this, but would you mind explaining to me exactly why Ashe is stomping Saber's face into the floor?""

Grey gave him a look. It said plainly: Please don't make me answer that.

The Commander raised an eyebrow.

"Oooookay then…Moving on. The tests I had done on Celtis should be coming up with results soon, so I'll be heading off to check that out now. With any luck, it should be able to give me some idea of just what the hell happened with her and that Biometal."

"Good luck there." Model A muttered darkly. "_I'm_ a Biometal, and even I don't know what that thing's deal was."

Ace groaned. " Thank you for that optimism, A!" Shaking his head, he continued.

"Anyway, the doctors say that Celtis herself is showing signs of waking up as well, so I guess it should be fine to go see her now. Either way, I'm off. Try not to break everything while I'm gone."

"Who, me? Perish the thought!" Omega said, smirking. "Although you might want to tell her to keep her jacket on, or she'll cause some dangerous distractio-"

**WHOP!**

Model A floated dizzily back up into the air.

"…Pain…Ow…Ashe, how many times do I have to tell you I'm not some kind of baseball?"

Ace groaned.

"Like I said, try not to break everything."

* * *

For the second time, Celtis opened her eyes to stare at a white ceiling. Only this time, there was no sign of any scary fake Omega trying to kill her. No, this was the clean white of a hospital room, and-

"Hey, she's awake!"

Two seconds later, a cat-eared bullet slammed into her as a wailing Kitara hugged her tightly.

"You're all riiiiiight! I was so scared when I heard you were in the hospital!"

Vix stifled a smile at the sight of her overly enthusiastic friend.

"Yes, yes Kitara, but I think you might want to lay off for a bit."

"Huh?" She looked up at Celtis, who was now suffering from the twin agonies of having no air, and also having her ribs crushed.

"Need…to breathe…! Rule 24!"

Kitara let her go almost immediately, panicking again. "Sorry! Sorry! I overdid it again!"

Celtis coughed a few times and grinned. "No, it's fine." Feeling something weird on her head, she reached up to find that her whole forehead was wrapped in bandages.

"Hey, what's all this for?"

Vix blinked. "You don't remember? The doctors said you had a bad head wound there, some kind of laser burn or something. They still don't know whether it's bad enough to leave a scar or not, but for the most part, you're fine."

She paused.

"Although, there is the fact that you've been asleep since they brought you in yesterday afternoon."

"Yesterday? What time is it now?"

"About eleven in the morning."

Celtis did some counting and whistled in surprise. "That's a lot."

She looked down at her hands, then examined the rest of her body for any other injuries. Aside from a few sore spots, she seemed otherwise okay.

"So what happened?" she asked. "On the mission, I mean. Was it a success?"

Vix raised an eyebrow. "If even you don't know, then I can't really help you there. Ace hasn't said a thing about it."

"Not that you haven't tried getting him to talk about it, right?" Celtis said dryly.

Vix pouted. "He's no fun."

"…I'll take that as a yes."

Before their conversation could continue any further, the door slid open with a bang. All three of them looked up to see the menacing figure of Omega looming in the doorway, a grim look on his face. Staring directly at Celtis, he spoke.

"Sorry, ladies, but you'll have to excuse Celtis for a moment. She and I need to…talk."

Ten seconds later, Vix and Kitara stared blankly at the closed door of Celtis' room, Omega having promptly thrown them head over heels out the door.

"What the heck was that about?"

* * *

No sooner had the door closed behind the two of them, and the lock clicked home, than Omega whirled around, a dangerous look in his eyes. Before Celtis could react, he lunged forward, his claws tearing off the bandages around her forehead.

"Wh-what are you doing?!"

Omega ignored her, staring in anger at the object that had been hidden beneath the bandages. It seemed that while the medics had indeed been telling the truth about a laser burn, they had also conveniently neglected to mention one other thing.

Identical to the scar on his own chest, a sizable, starburst shaped mark was visible on her forehead, a darker color than the skin around it. Already, the actual wound had closed, thanks to Legion's medical technology, but the discolored skin remained. What Omega was looking at, however, made that seem completely irrelevant.

There, in the center of the scar, the unmistakable triangular shape of Model O's signature blue gem stared back at him. A single crack marred its clear facets, but other than that, it looked no different to the one that had previously occupied Omega's crimson helm.

"O-Omega?" At the sound of Celtis' timid, almost frightened question, he looked down at her. One look, and he knew that without a doubt, the green-haired Hunter was the one in control of the body before him. The smell of that disgusting impostor still hung maddeningly heavy on her, but whatever intelligence left in it was buried far below Celtis' own personality right now. He stared at her for a moment longer, then gritted his teeth in a disgusted growl and released her abruptly, stepping back. Grabbing a mirror from the table nearby, he tossed it to her.

"See for yourself." He growled. He watched as Celtis finally saw the mark the corrupted Biometal had left on her.

"What the…What is this?!"

"How much do you remember?"

Celtis was taken aback by his sudden question.

"A-about the mission? Not…much…" Even as she said it, her voice trailed off, a strange look in her eyes. Omega twitched as he suddenly felt a brief pulse from the jewel on her forehead. Celtis clutched at her shoulders, dropping the mirror as she doubled over, her eyes wide in pain and shock.

A torrent of images flowed into her mind, all of them new and different. She saw everything that had happened after Siger's fall. She saw herself taken over by the Biometal, and saw Ace, Vile and Rika all damaged by it. She even saw Omega, struggling to rise before her, Model O's Buster leveled directly at his head.

And over all of these images, she heard that voice again.

'**_When you return to your reality, you will understand. For now, I will return the memories it has taken from you._**'

Omega stared at Celtis' shivering form as she recovered, her shoulders still shaking.

"…the hell just happened?"

Celtis looked up, a scared look on her face.

"O-omega…the Biometal we were transporting…was yours!"

Omega grimaced. "Yeah, I kinda guessed that. I take it you remember now?"

She looked away. "Yeah…I do…"

He smiled. "Good, then that makes this so much easier."

A violet flash of light, a blur of movement, and the razor-edged tip of the Zweihander was suddenly hovering inches away from her throat. The God of Destruction's expression was terrifying as he stared down at the petrified Hunter girl.

"If you **EVER** let that thing take control of you, I will **PERSONALLY** tear you to pieces myself. Do you understand me?"

Celtis barely managed a nod.

Another flash of motion, and the massive sword was once again transformed into the deactivated form of his O-saber. He smiled brightly.

"Good, I'm glad we had this conversation!" he said cheerfully. Celtis opened her mouth to respond, and somebody kicked down the door to her room.

Ace stared down at the broken door, a disappointed look on his face as he lowered his boot.

"Aww man. The amount I pay these guys you'd think they could at least install a door that wouldn't fall down after one measly kick…They really don't make these things like they used to, huh?"

"Ace, for the last time, you do NOT have to kick open a door to go through it! Would it kill you to open it normally for once?" Ashe followed him in, with Grey close behind.

"Yes." Ace replied with a straight face.

Striding into the room, he saw Celtis, mirror in hand, and bandages removed. He sighed.

"Well, I take it you've found out already." He glanced across at Omega.

"How much does she-"

"She remembers everything." Omega cut him off. "I checked that myself."

"Oh." Ace blinked. "Really? Well, that saves a lot of time."

Dropping into a nearby seat, he gave a sigh, and tossed a folder onto the table.

"That's everything my techs were able to get. This whole thing was such a mess that it gave even my souped-up mainframe a headache."

Omega gave the closed folder a disdainful look.

"I'm not a big fan of techie jargon, so give me the short version."

Ace glanced across at Celtis, who nodded. Taking a deep breath, he started talking.

"I've already told Ashe and Grey most of it, but here's what we've got: The Biometal we were transporting, Model O, is gone."

"Gone?! But-!"

Ace raised a finger to stop Celtis. Leveling it directly at the blue jewel on her forehead, he continued.

"And yet, it's still here, just not in the form we're used to." He smirked. "Now, this is the part where it gets interesting."

"Model O appears to have been a Biometal completely unlike anything I or the entire Legion command has ever come across. From what fragments of data that were left behind, we've managed to piece together parts of a Biolink interface that makes normal Models like A here," he indicated Model A, " look positively harmless, even with all of their capabilities."

Ace leaned forward in his seat.

"Just like any other Biometal, the Megamerge gifts the user with the armor and general appearance of the original hero, while leaving the user in full control, usually accompanied by an AI of the original's consciousness to provide any assistance required." He shook his head.

"Not this one."

"For one thing, Model O has no AI like that. At least, not a normal AI. As near as we were able to make out, it was more like a bundle of instincts than any rational thought, sort of animal-like, in a way."

He shrugged. "I don't know if that's the way it was designed, or if something went wrong, but whatever it was nearly took my head off when I did a digital scan. Blew the scanner system clear off the desk. Whatever was in there, I think we can be glad it got wrecked before it used Celtis to do some serious damage."

Celtis looked up at that. "Used?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "Which brings me to the next disturbing point. You all saw how Model O's Megamerge was different from all the other Biometals, right? There's a reason for that."

His face darkened.

"That…thing, doesn't use a system like 'the Chosen Ones' to decide who it can or can't establish a Biolink with. If you can call that abomination a Biolink, anyway. Model O doesn't _need_ a Chosen One to manifest itself."

"What?!" Ashe jumped up, a shocked look on her face. Apparently, Ace had neglected to mention this bit.

"So, what, does that mean just anyone can use it?" Grey spoke, a troubled look on his face. Omega ignored them. He had a feeling that it was nowhere near that simple. As if to confirm his suspicions, Ace shook his head.

"No. Quite the opposite, in fact. _No-one_ can use Model O."

Seeing their confused expressions, he went on.

"Now, most Biometals Megamerge, by granting the user the armor, and capabilities of the original hero, but for the most part, they leave the actual fighting, and use of those skills up to their Chosen One. With the possible exception of you two," He amended, indicating Ashe and Grey, "since Model A's special ability allows you to quite literally become anyone you've obtained the Copy Data for."

"…Model O, on the other hand, does not stop at merely that. The Megamerge protocols for this Biometal are far more extensive than that, and they run much, much too deep."

"What do you mean?"

Ace took a deep breath.

"Model O is a parasite. A lethal, deadly parasite. When I say it doesn't need a Chosen One, what I really mean is that any human or Reploid will do. The reason for this being that the condition of the host body is completely irrelevant by the time the Megamerge is complete. When it Megamerges with the host, it not only gives them the armor and skills, it completely overwrites the entire cellular makeup of the host."

All four of them stared at him.

"Which means…what, exactly…?"

"The host is completely destroyed. Model O converts them into a perfect clone of the original. The effect is permanent, and from what I can tell, practically irreversible. The host's consciousness is erased altogether, and is replaced by the one hidden in that Biometal. They're nothing more than a vessel, to be used by the Biometal as its new body."

Ace stared darkly at them.

"Whoever the person was before the Megamerge, no longer exists when it is complete. All that's left is the fully powered up form of the being that the Biometal was created from, controlled by the consciousness within the Model O. It basically takes them over completely, and they become whoever Model O was based off of. It's like granting the original a second life, at the cost of the user's own."

Silence followed his words. Ashe and Grey stared at him in shock, unable to believe it. Even Omega, standing apart from the conversation, half-turned to face the gold-haired Commander, a startled look on his face. He alone knew what was inside that Biometal, and to know that it was capable of recreating the original body of Omega Zero simply by taking over anyone foolish enough to come into contact with it was enough to set even him on edge. If it was allowed contact with a host just once, Omega would find himself going up against a perfect copy of himself, right down to the extremely powerful and damn near indestructible combat Reploid body the host had become. The truly frightening part was that the consciousness that lurked within it was nothing more than a mindless killing machine. With no Weil to command it, it would just wander the world mindlessly, killing and destroying everything in its path. In a world without Zero to stop it, Omega was doubtful anything could.

And even then, all that would happen would be the destruction of the body it was using. The Biometal would probably survive, and all it needed to do was come into contact with another living body, and the legendary monster would rise again.

And again, and again, until either the world itself was destroyed, or the thing destroyed itself.

"…So that's what it was…" Model A said quietly. Remembering the way Celtis had looked when under its control, the blank, zombie-like stare, the strange sensation that it had been altering her body to suit the Biometal, rather than the reverse, and all of the other strange phenomena the Model O had demonstrated out on the battlefield, they all made sense now. The reason behind all of it was that Model O was corrupting her, transforming her entire body into what its original form had been.

Celtis stared down at her hands tentatively, as if at any moment, they would transform back into the crimson armored ones of Model O.

Ace sighed, and leaned back in his chair.

"At least, that's what we've managed to piece together so far. There may be other things hidden in it, that we can't find, since the majority of its core programming got fragged by the blast that took Celtis down. There are a few broken ends here and there, which suggests that there might have been more to it than that. Either way, I think it's a safe bet that whatever's in that thing," he hefted his cast covered arm, "It ain't friendly."

"Okay…" Ashe said hesitantly. "So that wasn't Celtis that almost killed us out there, but whoever the consciousness of the Biometal was?"

"…Pretty much, yeah. But that's not all. I'm guessing that _usually_, the assimilation procedure works a lot better than what happened to you, Celtis. This…Model O," and they could hear the distaste in his voice, "Seems to have been created for the sole purpose of propagating itself through multiple hosts in a process that ensures that it is practically impossible to kill. In a sense, the whole procedure was designed to enable to carry out its destructive nature as much as possible. I highly doubt that anyone designing such a system would leave such a glaring hole in its defense."

He looked thoughtfully up at the ceiling.

"Despite the fact that this was the only reason we were able to save you at all, the question is, why did it take so long to assimilate you…? I had some tests run on you while you were out cold, so hopefully, they'll give me some of the information I'll need."

As if on cue, there was a knock on the door. Ace gave a smug grin.

"And that's probably the results now." He said cockily.

A nurse poked her head in.

"Ummm…I was asked to bring up a bottle of water?"

"Ah, that's mine." Omega spoke up, a pleased look on his face. Humming, he strolled over to the door to get it. As the door closed again, he unconcernedly walked back to his spot by the window, and leaned against the wall.

Noting the sudden silence, he looked up.

"Hm? Oh, yeah, don't mind me. Carry on."

Ace's eye twitched. "So much for a convenient plot-device…" he muttered.

"Did you say something, Ace?"

He was saved from an explanation by another knock on the door. This time, however, it really was the results, thus allowing the Commander to further develop his theories.

There was a momentary pause as he scanned through the file. Then…

"Those BASTARDS!"

The sudden outraged yell sent the birds perched outside into a panic, squawking in alarm as they took to the air.

"What's wrong?" Model A asked, surprised. Ace continued reading for a few moments, then shut the file with an angry snap.

"It seems that once again, Legion's idiotic bureaucracy has its head shoved so far up its collective tailpipe that it can smell what they had for breakfast." He said flatly.

"I knew I'd come across something like this before." Looking back up at the ceiling, he continued.

"Do any of you remember the first Model W disaster? Back when we thought there was only one Model W, and not a whole bunch of them?" He gave Omega a sidelong glance. "Well, not you. You were stranded out in the boondocks, so you probably missed it."

Omega shrugged. "I picked up a bit here and there."

"Fine. Then I'm sure you all remember the two who fought against Serpent, the original Chosen Ones, Vent and Aile. Thus far, they are the only Chosen Ones in existence capable of wielding all seven of the currently acknowledged Biometals."

"Hey, we can do that too!" Ashe objected.

"Um, no, not really. You just copy the data of the Megamerged Biometal, and use that. And as I'm sure you've noticed, the power of the original far outclasses the copy."

Ashe grumbled and folded her arms, remembering how she'd temporarily broken both of them fighting the Granz Golem. Omega, on the other hand, merely filed _that_ particular little tidbit away for future reference.

"Anyway, they went on to beat Serpent, and then paint the walls with Model W's insides, yada yada yada, and much hero-ing ensued. That's not important. What _is_ important, though, is the fact that at some point, those two went into Area N. When they came out, they had a little surprise with them…"

Everyone started.

"What?! You don't mean…"

Ace nodded grimly. "They were using Model O long before this whole mess started."

"But that's…impossible!"

He looked up at the outburst. Celtis stared back at him, a bewildered look on her face.

"All of the information about that place had been wiped off the servers! I managed to find it only by chance! There's no way…" Her voice trailed off as she remembered the massive, unsealed door she had passed through. Okay, scratch that.

"A-anyway, even if they really did go down there, and recovered the Model O, how is it that you guys were able to find it? Wouldn't they still have it?"

"Actually…about that…" Ashe spoke up. For the last few minutes, she'd been frowning in thought, this whole situation striking a chord in her memory.

"Back then, I heard rumors of the two of them using an eighth Biometal. But some of the people who'd seen them said there was something different about it. Something dark…Then after a few weeks, there was nothing. The mystery Biometal disappeared. A few rumors floated around after that, saying that the Guardians had decided it was more of a threat than an asset, and they had sealed it away again."

She caught their expressions and shrugged.

"Well, it was just a rumor. Compared to some of the other stuff I heard back then, this one seemed pretty normal. Now, though…"

Grey nodded. "That'd explain how it ended up back in the ground."

Ace looked thoughtful. "Not only that, but…" He stopped for a moment, a faraway look in his eyes.

"Yes, that might just be it…" he murmured. Coming back to reality, he glanced back at Celtis.

"I think I know why Model O's Megamerge went haywire. Didn't you just say that Vent and Aile were rumored to have been using Model O for a while, before the nastier rumors started cropping up?"

"Yeah, but…"

"I get it!" Grey's eyes lit up. "If they could have used it for so long before it started to corrupt them, you think the same thing might be the case here!"

"Ten points for the kid!" Ace grinned.

"I'm not a kid!"

"Whatever. Anyway, he's right. And the tests we ran on you gave me the final piece of the puzzle." He paused for a moment, unsure of what he was about to do. By rights, there was no way in hell Ashe was going to let him get away with this when she found out what Legion had been hiding. Then again, Celtis did at least deserve to know what had happened to her…

Oh, to hell with it…

"Ever hear of something called Link Serum?"

Omega glanced surreptitiously across at the faces of the others. From the looks of things, they were in the dark as much as he was. Ace sighed and leaned back in his seat.

"Well, I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. With the number of security layers around it, I guess it was inevitable…" He groaned. "Personally, I'd rather you lot didn't have to find out about this, but…"

"The Link Serum is one of Legion's most closely guarded secrets. When used on a human or a Reploid subject, it temporarily grants a tremendous boost to the subjects compatibility with certain…uh…external devices…" Ace hesitated. Whatever it was this Link Serum did, he seemed quite hesitant to go into the specifics. A fact which was not missed by either the Chosen Ones or Omega.

Ashe's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Exactly what _kind _of 'external devices' are we talking about here…?"

Ace tugged nervously at his collar, the menace in her voice all too visible to him.

"Er…well…there's no easy way to say this, is there…" Taking a deep breath, and steeling himself for the inevitable pain that would follow, he continued.

"Biometals. The Link Serum is a method of allowing a normal person to use Biometals."

The silence yawned open like a great, bottomless chasm.

"…Come again?"

Ace sighed.

"It's a method to artificially create Chosen Ones."

"WHAT?!" Ashe exploded. "You're telling me Legion was trying to _create more_ Chosen Ones?! What are you guys, IDIOTS?! Didn't you learn _anything _from Albert?! What, were you trying to create your own personal army or something?!"

Ashe stopped, her outraged expression fading to one of shock.

"…That's what it was, wasn't it…"

Ace scratched the back of his head in annoyance.

"Now, see, this is exactly why I didn't want to tell you guys about this. Yes, at some point, the higher-ups decided it would be a great advantage if we were able to create our own Chosen Ones, who would follow Legion's orders, instead of having to rely on people outside the system, and therefore outside of control, to take care of threats like Serpent and Model W. HOWEVER…"

Already seeing the silver haired Hunter opening her mouth to rant at him again, he cut her off.

"That plan inevitably failed. Albert certainly knew what he was doing when he created the Megamerge system, I'll give him that. Only one man was ever able to produce a working Link Serum and even to this day, no-one knows how he did it. Despite that, though, the cost to produce even a small amount of Link Serum was astronomical. Eventually, the Council had no choice but to shut down the project. All traces of the Link Serum were supposed to have been destroyed after that. And yet…"

He turned back to look at Celtis, a dark smile on his face.

"Years later, here it is again."

Celtis' eyes widened as she understood his meaning.

"You're saying…that stuff's…inside me?"

The Commander nodded grimly. "Correct. I don't know who did it or how, but somehow, you ended up with approximately 10 milligrams of that crap floating in your bloodstream."

"Uh, quick question here." Omega cut in.

"This stuff is supposed to be ridiculously expensive, right?"

"Um, yeah."

Omega had a familiar, innocent looking expression on his face. "So…just for the sake of curiosity, exactly how much would 10 milligrams be worth?"

Ace blinked. "Er, I think about 1.2 billion at today's prices…"

There was a long pause. Eventually, Omega spoke up thoughtfully.

"One…"

"Point two billion, yeah. Why?"

"Oh, no reason." Omega said innocently. "Carry on." He and Celtis glanced at each other for a moment, an unspoken argument passing between them.

_My blood! MINE! You can't have any! I'm the only one allowed to profit off of it!  
_

_Oh yeah?! Let's see you say that after I've painted the walls with it!_

Ace cleared his throat.

"So anyway, as I was saying, somehow, you managed to end up with that stuff in your system. Ironically, it seems as though that's what saved you. I suspect that Chosen Ones have some kind of innate resistance to the corruption of Model O, which explains why Vent and Aile were able to use it for several weeks before it started to affect them. It also explains why the corruption was slowed down in your case. Reviewing the entire mess, it seems as though the entire purpose of the joint Maverick/Raider attack was not, as we expected, to capture the Biometal, rather, their goal was to awaken it. If you look at the facts from that angle, it starts to make sense. By making you a temporary Chosen One, they expected Model O to go for you like a shark after fresh blood. What I don't think they expected was that the Link Serum would ironically work against them, slowing down O's Megamerge."

"Hold on, if it was targeting Chosen Ones, why not go after one of these two?" Omega jerked a thumb across at Ashe and Grey.

"Simple. They're already Biomatched to Model A, so Model O can't go for either of them. That's one thing that stayed the same in the protocols. The other reason, is that whoever it was, also screwed around with the Serum in and of itself. The new version was programmed to invade cybernetic implants and reprogram them with the Maverick Virus."

"It's because of the Virus that Model O was able to take control of her, and bring her to it. After all, a host that was both a Chosen One and with a Maverick signature? Somehow, I don't think Model O would have bothered with taking any mere grunt over a specially prepared body like that. We've since replaced all of the cybernetics with clean ones, so you can take your hand off of that portable cannon you call a handgun, Ashe. She's fine."

Ashe had the grace to look embarrassed as she guilty slipped the oversized handgun back into her jacket.

"Oh, so all of that size _isn't_ just because of your brea-"

**WHAM-O!**

Ace stared.

"…Where the _hell_ did she get the baseball bat from?"

Grey shrugged. " I stopped asking questions like that a loooong time ago."

Five minutes later, after all the blood had been cleaned up, Ashe had gotten rid of the now U-shaped aluminum bat, and Omega had set his dislocated jaw back in place, Ace resumed.

" Either way, the end result is that you are currently safe and, for the most part sane." Lowering his voice, he muttered to himself.

"Although, considering what passes for sanity around here, that's not saying much…"

"Hold on a minute." Grey spoke up. "Even if this Link Serum of yours temporarily made her a Chosen One, if Vent and Aile were anything to go by, shouldn't it have taken much longer to have actually taken control?"

"Ah. Yeah, about that…" Ace scratched his head awkwardly. "I'm not too sure how to explain that. There was one thing that might have explained that, but we're not exactly certain about it… We found traces of some seriously weird nano-tek in there as well. Nano-tek that, strangely enough, matches Model O's signature to a T. Currently, we think they're a variant of the regular self-repair nanomachines in use today, but these are nothing like any of the ones I've come across before. They're ridiculously efficient, but they're really, really old. Practically ancient, in fact."

He gave a sheepish grin. "Hell, if I didn't know any better, I'd say they were from the same Reploid Model O was built from!"

_**PPPFFFFFTTTT!**_

Model A ducked as a jet of water sprayed across the room. Everyone turned to see Omega suddenly leaning over the windowsill, choking as he tried to get his breath back.

"Umm…You okay?" Grey said uncertainly.

"Er, who, me? Haha yeah, I'm, uh, I'm fine. Just uh, choked on some, er, water. Yeah, that's it! I'm fine, so just, uh, carry on." Omega said hastily, frantically trying to regain his self-composure.

Ace raised an eyebrow.

"…Ooookay…" Deciding to ignore yet another example of the weirdness in his life, he plowed on.

"Of course, the only question now is how on earth did Reploid nanomachines end up in Celtis' bloodstream…"

There was a long pause, broken only by the sound of Omega breaking out in a fit of coughing that sounded _suspiciously_ like barely restrained laughter. Celtis' face was a brilliant red color as she was suddenly very, _very_ interested in the ceiling.

Ashe caught the embarrassed look on her face and grinned.

"Well, aside from the obvious way, you mean?"

Ace coughed, his cheeks flushing slightly. "Er, well…I suppose there is that…er…"

Omega was grinning now.

Grey looked up at Ashe, a confused look on his face.

"What obvious way?"

There was a long silence. Everyone carefully avoided looking over at Ashe, who was suddenly at a loss for words.

"Then again," Ace said with faked cheerfulness, "It could be that they were created from Model O, and whoever it was behind the Link Serum put those in to neutralize the resistance effect."

"Er…yeah! Yeah, it might be that!" Ashe laughed nervously, grateful for Ace's sudden change of subject. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"Right, anyway, we'll go with that theory for now." The Commander went on hastily, desperate to leave behind that embarrassing moment.

_Then again, that leaves the question of how the hell this bastard got his hands on either of those things! God knows how long it'd take to create specific nanomachines like that, but all of the Link Serum's been destroyed!_

"Now that's out of the way, there's only a couple things left…"

Reaching into his jacket, Ace drew out a familiar object. Celtis gasped as she recognized the familiar skull sigil of the Hades.

"Do you have any idea what this is?"

"Um, no?" Glancing across at the others, he saw the same answer written on their faces.

Ace's features darkened. "Good. If you _had_ known what this gun was, then we'd have a problem." Taking a deep breath, he launched into an explanation.

Back during the Elf Wars, there had been a number of weapons created similar to this, used predominantly by Reploids. They took many forms, but for the most part, they were usually guns. Their power was fearsome, capable of destroying anything in their path. This was possible thanks to the ingenious design of the weapon's power source.

By creating a positive feedback loop between the weapon's energy source, and the Reploid's generator, it became possible to create a weapon that, the more it was fired, the stronger it would get. Unfortunately, no-one really knew the upper limit of that power, as the Reploid was inevitably destroyed when the weapon's power grew too great to be controlled. It was only after several months that disturbing new information came to light. After a period of prolonged usage, it appeared that the weapons began to have a frightening effect on their wielder. As if they were not satisfied with merely devouring their user's energy, and by extension, their life, the weapons' programming began to eat into their user's data, corrupting their programming little by little until there was nothing left to consume. At this point, what was left behind was merely a shell of the original wielder, with a mental state that made even the most insane Maverick seem positively normal by comparison.

Reaper's Weapon was the name they gave to weapons like this. A weapon that consumed its owner's life in exchange for impossible power. Eventually, though, they were outlawed with the foundation of Neo Arcadia, as X had seen the horrors caused by these weapons, and ordered them to be destroyed.

"Oh, like your supposedly-destroyed Link Serum, you mean?" Ashe commented sarcastically. Ace pointedly ignored her.

The creator of these weapons was a man named , the insane madman who had been responsible for the Elf Wars.

"All of this is information that none but the most high-level personnel can access. _However_, what even they don't know is that there is one other piece of information, hidden even deeper than this. This is something that I and I alone know of."

He took a deep breath.

"It was believed that while the Doctor was a genius, he did not create the Reapers. Rather, it was suspected that he simply based them off of a design that was already in existence."

"In other words, the Reapers he designed and built were nothing but copies, mere shades of a far more powerful original. _Someone had already beaten him to it._"

Now even Omega was staring at him, a stunned look on his face. The Reapers were fakes?! He'd seen those things in action before, and the carnage left in their wake had disgusted even him. For something as powerful as that to not have surfaced earlier in the wars was unthinkable, much less for something even more powerful than them.

"The original was said to have capabilities light-years beyond anything else of the time. In fact, if half of the rumors are to be believed, even now we're still struggling with some of it."

"So what, the Reapers that he created were just mass-produced copies?"

Ace nodded. "Exactly. I'm not certain why he simply didn't use the original instead, but it's irrelevant at this point. As I was saying, there was believed to be an original weapon that preceded even the Reapers. There are many variations on this mythical weapon, and numerous rumours of it resurfacing over the years but throughout all of them, there is only one thing that all of these versions have in common."

He held the crimson gun so that the light caught the silver writing along the barrel.

"The original weapon was marked with the name of Hades."

There was a long silence as that sank in. Omega finally broke it with a low whistle.

"Well, that explains how she managed to frag Siger."

"So this is that original?"

Ace nodded. "The one and only. The clincher was the move you used to take down Siger."

"The Final Bolt." The words sprang unbidden to Celtis' mouth, and she immediately looked surprised. Ace gave her an interested look.

"Yes, actually. How'd you know that?"

"I…I don't know…" Celtis said falteringly, pressing a hand to her head, which was starting to hurt again.

Ace looked at her speculatively for a moment before continuing.

"Correct. The Final Bolt is a move unique to the Hades and _only_ the Hades. It creates a positive feedback loop using the body's natural bio-electricity, and amplifies it exponentially. After just a few seconds, the accumulated energy would be enough to level a city easily. Dr. Weil attempted to build something similar into his Reapers, but in the end, all he was able to create was a system that drained all of the Reploid's energy to fuel the reaction."

"Basically a kamikaze attack." Omega growled.

"Exactly." Ace nodded. "This, on the other hand, is more likely to leave you unconscious if you overuse it, so do try to avoid that. Also, as far as ammunition is concerned-"

"Umm, about that…" Celtis said hesitantly. "When I was on the train, I accidentally fired it. There weren't any bullets in it, but it still shot something."

Ace's features hardened. "Well, that pretty much erases any doubts left. That's also a prime example of what I mean by 'light-years ahead'."

He hefted the Hades and indicated the spiraled lower barrel.

"This is all the ammo you'll ever need. The Hades isn't like an ordinary gun, in that it makes its own ammunition. As long as this keeps spinning, the Hades will rip matter out of the surroundings, and condense it back into a bullet. Think of it as a gun with unlimited shots."

Ashe gave a whistle. "Now that's what I call genius!"

Omega grinned in agreement. "Works for me!"

"B-but why are you letting me keep it? Something like this is-"

Ace raised an eyebrow. "So you want me to keep it?"

Celtis' brain caught up with the rest of her. _Wait, did he just say unlimited ammunition?_

"Ah, on second thought, it's fine. I'll hold on to it."

Ace gave her a skeptical look. "Yeeeaahh, that's what I thought."

They were interrupted by a knock on the door. The Commander raised an eyebrow and glanced towards it.

"I didn't think there was anything else for them to report…"

"I'll see who it…is…" Ashe's voice trailed off as she opened the door. Her gaze went up, and up. And then went up again.

"Uh…Ace? I think this one's for you."

Ace turned in his seat. "Huh? What are you-"

He choked on his words in shock as he saw the unmistakable, massive form of Hadrian Craft standing in the doorway, his huge frame almost completely filling it. Even worse, in each hand he was holding up the easily recognizable figures of a certain mechanic and a weapons dealer, their feet dangling several inches above the floor.

"Hey, put me down you big- Oh. Er, hi Celtis." Vix grinned sheepishly at her friend.

"Hiiii!" Kitara waved happily at Celtis, who promptly planted her face in the sheets, groaning in embarrassment.

"I apologise for interrupting, Commander, but I found these two eavesdropping outside the door."

Ace groaned and covered his eyes in disbelief. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me…"

He sighed. "Okay, how much did you two hear?"

"Er…All of it?"

"Bloody…Grr, alright, fine. Craft, bring 'em in and keep an eye out for any more busybodies."

The grizzled commando Reploid nodded and released his grip on the two girls' collars, depositing both of them in an untidy heap on the floor. Vix struggled upright as the door slid closed behind Craft's disappearing figure.

"Ow…jerk." She looked up. "Hey Ashe. Haven't seen you around in a while."

Ashe shrugged. "I've been busy. You know how it is."

On the other side of her Kitara tackled Grey with a flying glomp.

"Greeeeeeeeey! Hiiiii!"

Grey merely laughed and pried the overenthusiastic girl off of him. "Nice to see you too, Kitara. How're things at the shop?"

Kitara smiled happily. "Never better! Things really started to pick up after you started coming by! I guess it's because you're so famous!"

"Aw, stop it, you're embarrassing me." Grey chuckled, scratching his cheek.

"Hey, aren't you forgetting somebody?" Model A elbowed the Reploid boy out of the way. That is, as much as a belt-buckle sized paperweight with no limbs can.

"Hi, A!" Kitara hugged the Biometal, happy to see her other friend as well.

Omega stared at Model A, who was currently being stifled to death in Kitara's not-entirely-insignificant bikini-clad cleavage. Releasing the pint-sized Biometal, Kitara giggled as she watched it weave a dizzy circle in the air, bonk face first into the wall, and then land on the floor in a happy daze.

Omega shot it another dirty look as it wobbled back up to its normal height.

'_…Lucky bastard…_'

Celtis on the other hand was beginning to wonder. Her two best friends were currently chatting casually with the famous heroes Ashe and Grey as if they were old acquaintances. Okay, in Vix's case, maybe a bit more than that, considering the fact that Ashe kept edging away every time the voluptuous vixen got a _little_ too close for comfort.

Ace looked equally lost. "So, uh, you guys know each other?"

"Yeah, and let's just leave it at that for now." Ashe said flatly.

Both Kitara and Vix caught the pointed look Celtis sent them. It said, in no uncertain terms, that when she got out of here, the two of them would have some _serious_ explaining to do.

Ace rubbed the bridge of his nose, already feeling a headache coming on.

"Alright, fine, whatever. You two are Celtis' closest friends so I was planning to tell you about this after I told them, but since you're here now, I might as well get it over with."

To Ashe's incredulous disbelief, Ace casually tossed the Hades over to Celtis, who caught it in surprise.

"I do owe you one for taking down Siger, and also for dragging you into this whole mess, so to pay it off, I'm letting you hold on to that for now. The final thing I have to discuss…"

He leveled his gaze directly at Celtis.

"Is the matter of Model O itself."

"As you are all aware by now,"(Here, he shot Kitara and Vix a pointed look) "Model O was not recovered from the battle. It was not captured by the enemy, nor was it destroyed by us."

'_Okay, technically that last part isn't quite true, since I ordered Craft to blast it, but best not to mention that now._'

"It has been reported as having simply disappeared when its attempted possession of Celtis Arcana failed. This is, in fact, a blatant lie."

His flat, unambiguous statement caught them all by surprise. Omega stared at Ace, his mind racing. '_He knows…!_'

"In reality, Model O never went anywhere. It was right before us the entire time, staring us right in the face as we brought it to the hospital."

"What the hell are you talking about, Ace?!" Ashe demanded. "You know as well as I do that there wasn't a single trace of that thing left over!"

Ace merely smiled. "But of course there was. Where else did you think I got the fragments that we used in our analysis? No, Model O is right where it's been since the start of this conversation: Sitting in that bed and watching us with violet eyes."

"Ladies and gentlemen,"Ace said theatrically, his voice heavy with dark sarcasm, "I give you Celtis Gisborne-Wingates Arcana, Biometal Model O!"

There was a long shocked silence in the wake of Ace's bombshell as everyone turned to stare at Celtis. With the exception of Omega, who merely gave a dark smile as he mentally acknowledged Ace's deduction.

'_So, the bastard knew all along that it was hidden inside her…Interesting. He could prove to be more dangerous than I thought…_'

Ashe leaned over Ace menacingly.

"Okay smart guy, start talking. What the hell do you mean?!"

"Are you saying…that I'm Model O?" Ace glanced across at Celtis and sighed.

"Weeeellll…Yes and no. By destroying the physical manifestation of Model O's core programming, the blue gem in its helmet, all of its control procedures were broken down. However, by that point the corruption process was too far advanced. What _should_ have happened was that Model O should have been knocked clear out of her, and rendered inactive. Instead, what we got was…well, you all saw it."

For a moment, Model A remembered the distorted silhouette of the mysterious Biometal, and the eerie wail of distress it had given off before it vanished completely.

"That explains what that whole screaming thing was about, then."

"Correct. Unable to escape, unable to continue its corruption, Model O lost control, and was ironically, absorbed by the very host it sought to capture." Ace stabbed a finger at Celtis.

"That host, was you, Miss Arcana. All that is left of Model O now resides solely within your body's cyber-organic network. It's been reduced to…"He paused for a moment. "Well, it's not quite pure data, but then again, it's not just energy either. What little traces of its signature we were able to find are something we can't quite classify yet. All we know for sure is that it's in there, just…not in any kind of solid, physical form that we can simply remove like a tumor or something."

Celtis prodded a few spots on her body gingerly. "So…does that mean I'll suddenly turn into some psycho killing machine at random?"

"Uh…" Ace held up a finger for a moment to say something, then paused.

"Actually, I don't have the slightest idea what that means. All I really know is that that's the reason why you've got that jewel sitting on your forehead right now. Beyond that…" He shrugged expressively. "Hey, your guess is as good as mine."

"Is that so?" Omega said, a cold glint in his eyes. "For someone who claims to have no idea, you seem to have a pretty good grasp of how this thing works. Exactly how do you know so much about it?"

"Hey, that's not-" Ashe began, but Ace cut her off with an upraised hand.

"No, it's fine Ashe. I suppose it had to come up sometime." He turned his head back to face Omega.

"Much of the information I was able to obtain came from the tests we were able to run on Celtis' body in the aftermath of the mission. However the more, shall we say, 'intimate' details of Model O's function, well…"

With some difficulty, Ace reached up with his remaining hand and tugged the collar of his business suit loose. Pulling open the right side of it, he let it slide halfway down his right shoulder, exposing his chest and most of his right upper arm.

"Let's just say I've had some personal experience with it, and leave it at that, shall we?"

Celtis stared aghast at the sight before her. Almost his entire chest was covered by a terrible, twisted scar that looked frighteningly similar to the one now marked on her forehead, only his own was far, far larger. Worse still, the darkened skin of his scar extended well into his arm, continuing into the part still hidden by the sleeve of his business suit. With a sudden chill, she realized that they probably extended all the way to his hand.

'_Well, at least I know why he always wears that long-sleeved suit all the time._' she thought bleakly. Then the full force of his words hit her.

"Wait, you don't mean that you-?"

Ace sighed as he shrugged his suit back on.

"On the mission where we first discovered the eighth Biometal, I was the first person to come into contact with it. It had been sealed in a hibernating state so all of its protocols were still reactivating when it got me, meaning it was slower than it should have been. Not as slow as what happened to Celtis, but still not instantaneous. If it had been allowed to complete, the whole process would have taken less than five minutes."

He jerked a thumb towards Ashe.

"It's only thanks to her that I'm still here today to talk about it. She used the data of Model H to find the weak point, and then shot it with a fully-charged Buster. Even then, it needed two more follow-up Charge Shots before it finally took the hint."

He tapped the right side of his chest. "The little bastard damned near burned all of the skin off of my right side when it overloaded and went inactive. Took a chunk out of the muscle too, when I think about it and, of course, practically totaled my nervous system." He made a face of disgust. "It was almost three weeks before I could move again…"

"Thanks to that though, I was able to figure out how to force Model O back into its dormant state, which is to basically smash the gem before it finishes forming. Using my experience with it, and then seeing what it tried to do to Celtis, I managed to piece together everything I've just told you. Now…"

He gave an eerie smile.

"Any more questions?"

The look in his eyes, on the other hand said quite clearly: There had better not be, since I've spent damn near the whole day explaining already, my broken arm is hurting like a bitch, I've had one of my favorite coats ruined, and the very next person to ask me anything else is going to get all of the knuckles on my remaining fist broken off in their face.

Everyone else exchanged looks, and then unanimously shook their heads. With the exception of Omega, who merely snorted and looked away.

Ace grinned cheerfully, the suddenly dangerous feeling in the air vanishing as if it had never existed.

"Great! Now to get down to business!"

His hand whipped out, bringing one finger to point squarely at a surprised foxgirl.

"Right, first up is you, miss Vix!"

"Wh-wha? Me? For what?"

"I want you to use whatever contacts you have in the business to try and track down the trail of that Hades gun. I'm fairly certain that it was deliberately planted in your last shipment, so if we can find out who held it last, we should have some idea of who was responsible for having it put there in the first place."

"Next up is you, miss Kitara!" The finger was transferred to the mechanic who watched it nervously.

"Umm, okay…?"

"I've heard of your shop and from what I've seen of your work, you have quite the talent for dealing with machines, both current and Lost Technology-class types. Since this whole mess seems to indicate corruption at a surprisingly high level within Legion, your machine shop is perfect, because it's completely out of reach of the normal chain of command. Private and independent from Legion, that's ideal for what I've got in mind. Any and all tech related matters pertaining to this that may crop up, I'll be rerouting them through you. I need an independent source who can get me information that I can't trust normal Legion channels with. I'll send somebody along with the paperwork for a temporary private contract later."

Leaving a shell-shocked Kitara behind, he moved on to the two Chosen Ones.

"Alright you two. Whoever set this whole thing up might or might not know about Model O's state right now, but the main thing is that if they do find out, chances are good they'll make another try for it. Also, we don't know if Model O's weird connection with Mavericks is still up, so who knows how that'll end up. And of course, there's always the chance that…well, you know…Model O's real nature might…" he hesitated for a moment, then gave Celtis an apologetic glance.

"Yeah, we get it." Ashe said gruffly. Grey nodded too, but he had a troubled look on his face. Celtis looked down at her hands, instinctively understanding what he had hesitated to say. In case Model O took control of her again, Ace wanted his two powerhouses close at hand to stop it before there were too many casualties. And there would be casualties, she knew, now that she had seen first hand the insane, twisted consciousness (If the word consciousness could even be applied to that raging demon) that lay hidden at the heart of Model O, and which now lay chained somewhere in the depths of her psyche, if that strange dream had been any indication. Unconsciously, her hands moved to her abdomen, remembering the pain left by the demon's claws as they slashed across her stomach, and again she remembered the mysterious, black-clad man's words and shivered:

_'**There will come a day when these chains alone will not suffice. On that day, you will have to face it yourself.**'_

"I wouldn't worry about that if I were you." A familiar voice spoke up, laden with menace.

"If that little shit even _thinks_ about showing its ugly face, well, that bastard is MINE."

Ace raised an eyebrow as he turned to look at Omega.

"Really…I'd heard that you were the one that took down Granz, but don't think that he's anywhere near on the same level as that Biometal. It's far more than it appears."

Omega said nothing, merely scraping his claws together with a rasping, metallic sound. He gave Ace an evil smile, red lights dancing in his eyes.

"Don't worry…"He said, dark laughter hidden in his voice. "I think that after some time, you'll find the same can be said about me…"

Ashe remembered Granz's roars of fury as Omega had smashed his Orotic around, as if it was little more than some kind of toy. And more than that, she remembered the look in his eyes when he had asked her whether or not she believed he would be able to defeat Granz.

And not for the first time, she felt her mind ask the familiar question:

'_Just who is this man really…?_'

Ace gave a smile of his own, his eyes narrowing in a challenging look. The two of them held that pose for a moment, both of them daring the other to back down.

"Is that so…?" Ace murmured.

Then, as suddenly as it started, he stopped and snapped his fingers with a happy smile.

"Then it's decided! I'm assigning you to be miss Celtis' personal bodyguard, to keep an eye on her at all times!"

There was a moment's silence, broken only by the sound of Omega falling off the windowsill he'd been leaning on and landing flat on his face on the room floor.

Then:

"WHAT THE F-"

The whole room exploded with the sound of an outraged God of Destruction.

"What the _HELL_ are you talking about?!"

…Closely followed by the equally incredulous (albeit not as loud, or as obscene) yell from Celtis.

Omega picked himself up, a look of complete and utter disbelief on his face.

"You wanna try running that past me again? 'Cause I think maybe I didn't hear that quite right." His voice suggested clearly that this had BETTER DAMN WELL HAVE BEEN THE CASE OR ELSE.

The scarlet clad commander hardly flinched in the face of the onslaught, still smiling cheerfully.

"It's simple, really! Even if I was to have Ashe and Grey on permanent standby, I'd still have to explain why exactly it is that I've decided to have two of the most valuable people in the world watching some apparently harmless Hunter girl. And even if I didn't explain, someone would start poking around anyway. It would be impossible to hide Model O after that! Not only that, but who knows where Ashe and Grey might be if Model O was to suddenly go out of control? No, the ideal thing would have to be someone under the radar, a person as equally anonymous as miss Celtis, to act as her guard and to keep an eye on the Biometal. Unfortunately," he gave a dramatic sigh, "where on earth would I find someone strong enough to hold out against a rampaging Model O until help arrives?"

Now Ace smiled triumphantly. "I have heard that you are quite powerful in your own right, Mr. Saber. Adding to that your sheer arrogance and confidence in your own strength, I believe that you may just be strong enough to deal with Model O in the event it returns to its former power."

He gave him a taunting smile. "Or at least survive long enough for reinforcements to arrive."

"Why you…!" A vein pulsed in Omega's forehead as he realized exactly how much trouble his big mouth had gotten him into. If he protested, A) it'd make him look like he was trying to back out of his earlier statements and B) he might end up having to leave that Biometal, and by extension, ugh, that annoying Celtis girl, in Ace's hands.

No, there was no way he was running the risk of letting that little bastard of a Biometal out of his sight.

And of course, there was C), the fact that Ace had just mocked his combat capability. Nuh-uh. No way was he letting that smug bastard get away with that. Omega knew that this was probably exactly the kind of reaction the Legion Commander was expecting from him, but to hell with it! If that's how he wanted to play it, fine by him. He'd beat Ace at his own game!

Then again…Omega's mind flashed back to the sight of Celtis, asleep in her room, with a most gratuitous lack of clothing, and he started to smile. Sure she might be annoying, but hey, he had to admit, she had a killer body under those clothes. And on top of that, he could always just off anyone who pissed him off and say it was in the interests of protecting her.

…Being a bodyguard might just have its perks after all.

If Omega had a tail, it would be wagging. Celtis suddenly felt a chill go down her spine at the sight of a now-familiar evil smirk on his face. She hadn't known the God of Destruction long, but she had learned one thing.

Whenever he got that particular smirk on his face, very bad things usually followed soon after.

"U-umm, it's okay, really I feel fine! I don't need a bodyguard or anything, so-"

"I'll take it!" Omega grinned, cutting her off.

A flicker of surprise marred Ace's smile for a moment. He had been aiming for this outcome, but it was still quite a surprise to him that this mysterious Reploid would be so willing to leap headfirst into the fire.

Then it was gone as quickly as it had appeared.

"Excellent! Do try to take good care of her, would you?"

Celtis waved a hand half-heartedly in the air. "Uh, I'm right here, in case you guys forgot, or anything…"

Both of them ignored her. She glanced helplessly across at Ashe, who shrugged.

After a few moments, Ace returned his attention to the room and Omega returned to staring out the window, still grinning.

"And finally, miss Celtis. Currently, there isn't too much else we can do for you now, so I'm not too sure what to tell you. For now, I guess you should just carry on like you normally would. I'll be keeping an eye on you though. Miss Kitara and miss Vix, I trust you'll continue to support her as you have in the past?"

Vix folded her arms haughtily. "Of course we will! She's still our friend, even with a weird jewel on her forehead."

Kitara on the other hand, was staring at Celtis with a hungry look, her fingers twitching towards her tool belt.

"Umm…Kitara…? I'm still human, just so you know…" Celtis said nervously.

"Eh? Oh, uh, haha, of course! I knew that!" Kitara said hastily, hiding her hands behind her back. For a moment, her gaze shifted briefly to Omega, who caught her stare.

"Come anywhere near me with those and you're _dead_."

Kitara gave a squeak and hid behind Ashe.

"Mister Saber is scaaaary…"

Ace raised a quizzical eyebrow at that. "Well, you're going to have to work around that, since you'll be in charge of making sure he stays operational."

Omega whirled on him. "Wait, what?!"

"Yep, same reasons as before. I don't want any of you in here coming into contact with Legion any more than necessary, outside of my Security Department."

He glanced over his shoulder at Ashe and Grey and gave an apologetic grin.

"Sorry about this you two, but that applies to you as well. Grey, I'm not too worried about, but Ashe on the other hand, well…" he shrugged his shoulders and gave a rueful smile.

"One Happy Hour in a bar, and you can get pretty much anything out of her."

Ashe went bright red. "Wha-ACE!"

Omega on the other hand, gave her an interested look. Now there was a useful bit of information if he'd ever heard one. Particularly for a man interested in finding out exactly what those delectable curves looked like without the irritating barrier of her clothes in the way…

Watching Ace block the aerial kick Ashe launched at him, yelling in embarrassment, Omega grinned. Certainly she was attractive, but what was truly eye-catching for him was the fiery, arrogant attitude of hers. He'd always enjoyed chasing down women like that. It made the prize at the end so much sweeter when they finally surrendered to his wiles…

Smirking, Omega drew himself back out of his fantasies and returned to reality as Ashe finally calmed down.

"Anyway, as I was saying, for now I'll be hiring Kitara's services for any repairs and maintenance costs that might crop up in the meantime, and also so you can keep me updated on Model O's condition. My department's contracted you for so many of our Lost Tech jobs already that I'm pretty sure this won't be much of a problem for you."

Kitara sighed. "Okay, but I don't want any of your goons in my shop. They scare away customers."

Ace rolled his eyes. "Oh, like he's any better." He jerked a thumb over at Omega. Kitara only giggled.

"Mister Saber's different. I like him!"

Omega flashed Ace a triumphant grin. The Legion Commander placed a hand over his face and muttered a few imprecations under his breath before continuing.

"Anyway, until I get to the bottom of this and track down the bastard responsible, not to mention whoever it is he's got on the inside, I want this whole situation kept as secret as possible, understand?"

When he'd received confirmation that they understood, albeit grudgingly in Omega's case, he leaned back.

"Right. Ashe, Grey, you two can continue as is. Act normally, and if anyone asks, act like the whole thing's just a rumor. Ashe, you've got a whole network of contacts in the Hunters, right? Someone has to know something."

Ashe shrugged. "I'll see what I can find out, but don't expect too much."

Ace nodded. "Fair enough. Grey, you help her out and make sure she stays out of trouble."

Grey groaned at that. "I'll try, but I can't promise I'll succeed-Ow!"

Ashe whacked him over the head in embarrassment. Sensing another Ashe-riot brewing, Ace wisely decided to call it a day.

"Okay you two, knock it off." He stood up, brushing himself off. "That's all I have to say for now so I suppose I'll be going now." Looking across at Celtis, he gave her a reassuring nod.

"For now, miss Arcana, just keep your head down and try not to draw attention to yourself. I'll let you know the minute I find out anything on how to get you back to normal."

Celtis sighed. "Okay…"

He raised an eyebrow. "Something wrong?"

"No, it's just…" She hesitated, then waved an arm at the room in general. "…All of this! Just a day ago I was a normal Hunter, and now…" She gestured again.

"Oh." Grey nodded sympathetically. He knew the feeling. The sensation that events were just rolling on forward without waiting for you to catch up. "Don't worry about it. I felt the same way when I first got dragged into the whole Game of Destiny."

Ashe scratched her head and looked away. "Don't worry about it. Things'll probably settle down soon enough." She glanced at Ace for a moment.

'_At least, I hope so. Where he's concerned, _nothing's_ certain._'

Ace started walking towards the door, tossing a casual wave over his shoulder.

"Well, that's that. Take care of yourself, miss Arcana. I'll be in touch. The rest of you," here he gave Ashe a piercing look, "stay out of trouble."

He was almost to the door when a low growl came from behind him.

"Oh no you don't." Ace winced as Ashe's hand descended on his damaged shoulder. At the same time, he felt the sharpened claws of Omega's gauntlet clamp onto the other shoulder.

"And just where exactly do you think you're going? I seem to recall being promised a reward for this mission… A reward, which conveniently, you seem to have neglected to mention during the course of this whole conversation…"

Both of them loomed over him, a positively demonic look on their faces.

'_It looks like they've put aside their petty arguments in order to team up on me…_'Ace thought bleakly. '_Aren't I a lucky guy…_'

Fortunately he had a plan prepared just for this eventuality! After all, he wouldn't be Ace Phoenix, badass Legion Commander if he didn't have at least two different backup plans!

Plan A had been to simply walk out, hoping they'd forgotten about it, but considering this was Ashe and Saber he was dealing with here, that plan had a life expectancy of practically zero. Time for the surefire Plan B…

Ace spun around, smiling brightly.

"Why, of course! How silly of me to forget that! I do apologise if you thought I was trying to get out of paying you for your services!"

Delving into an inner pocket of his jacket, he drew out a white envelope.

"Here you go-whoops!"

The envelope slipped from his fingers. Instantly, Ashe and Omega were on it like starving piranhas at the sight of a swimming cow, diving at the fluttering piece of paper with record speed. Moments later, a furious brawl broke out, both combatants trying to see who would get their hands on it first.

* * *

Down the hall, Craft looked up in surprise as a scarlet-clad blur shot past him, a hurricane of wind in its wake.

"What on earth…?"

* * *

Back in the room, Ashe had triumphed, a folding chair and a now shattered vase having aided her in victory. Omega staggered upright, still dizzy from the battering. He wasn't complaining, though. Neither of those two hits had had anything to do with the actual envelope, rather, they had more to do with Ashe's response to having Omega's hands end up in some, shall we say…personal…areas.

"Totally…worth…it…" he grinned lopsidedly, and fell over again. A vein twitched in Ashe's forehead at the comment. She glanced questioningly across at Celtis for a moment.

"Do you mind?"

"Not at all." Celtis shook her head emphatically. "Please, go right ahead!"

Ashe grinned. "Great!"

She handed Grey the envelope. "Here, hold this a sec."

Grey winced as Ashe leapt back at Omega with a painful looking elbow smash. Then, after a few minutes he looked around, suddenly sensing that someone was missing.

"Hey, where'd Ace go?"

Ashe and Omega stopped in mid-brawl.

"What?"

"Uh, Grey, I think you'd better open the envelope…" Model A said nervously. The Reploid boy looked curious but he opened it anyway. After a long pause, he wordlessly handed it to Ashe. A temporary truce declared, she read it with Omega looking over her shoulder.

_**Dear Hunters,**_

_** Due to the unfortunate fact that the news of Model O's current condition must be kept secret, and that, for the sake of Miss Arcana's safety, the Biometal must be reported as being destroyed, I am afraid that your reward will be frozen until this entire matter has been settled.**_

_** After all, Model O has not been delivered yet, has it?**_

_** I look forward to your continued work on this mission!**_

_** Signed,**_

_** Ace Phoenix**_

Celtis, Ashe and Omega all stared at the letter.

There was a long, frightening silence.

* * *

Ace Phoenix was three floors down, out the hospital's front door and accelerating by the time the entire top floor exploded.

* * *

A/N: Aaaaand there we go! Finally you're beginning to get a glimpse of the dark depths of the mysterious Model O. Don't worry, you haven't seen anything yet!

And at long last you find out the story of the Hades. At least, some of it. The truth behind its existence, and that of its mysterious creator...well, you'll just have to wait and find out, won't you?

DarkShift Out!


	11. Chapter 10: The Gilgamesh Factor

**Chapter 10: The Gilgamesh Factor**

Disclaimer: If you haven't gotten it by now, repeating this another time is probably not going to help you in the slightest.

* * *

Ace dropped heavily into his chair, wincing as he felt his freshly repaired ribs twinge in complaint. He stayed their for a moment, savoring the comfort of the reclining leather seat, then swiveled around to stare out of the clear window that made up the entire back wall of his office. From here, high up in the Legion government building, he could see for miles around, watching over the massive, sprawling city that relied on him for its protection. It was up to him to deal with Mavericks, to arrest Raiders and to ensure that the people of this city woke up to enjoy another beautiful sunrise. He knew that the best way to make that happen was to stay here in this fancy government job, with all of this bloody paperwork, and also, with the power to make the right decisions that would lead to the correct outcome of any battles, but…

He looked down at his still broken arm and sighed. Not for the first time, he wondered if maybe, just maybe, he was making a mistake. Maybe those damn scientists were right. If he was to allow them to restore his body to its original state, then perhaps he could do more than just what he was capable of now…

He shook his head and gave a rueful smile. Enough of that morose, pessimistic crap. He was here now, in this body that he'd chosen, and he'd just continue on using it, just as he always had.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his intercom buzzing. Raising an eyebrow, he reached for it.

"This is Phoenix."

"Good morning, sir. This is the reception desk."

"Yes, how can you help me?"

"Er…what, sir?" Ace sighed and shook his head at the bewildered tone. Sometimes he wondered if he was the only person in the whole damn building who still had a sense of humor.

"Never mind. What did you want to say?"

"Well, we have a message here from you stating that you wanted us to call when your aide returned from that Security conference."

"Hm." Ace's brows furrowed. "Yes, I believe that was the message." He had skillfully dodged his way out of _that_ boring meeting by the simple expedient of avoiding any and all calls to his number, and hiding out in his labs until they finally lost patience and grabbed the next highest ranked person, which had been his aide.

"Why, what seems to be the problem?"

"Well, er, that's why we're calling, sir…"

"Ohhhh." Ace nodded in understanding. There were a few moments of silence.

Then Ace went as pale as a ghost. He stared at the unholy mess that his office had become during his aide's absence, various pieces of gaming equipment and anime DVD's scattered all over.

"SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTT!"

He flung himself over the desk and into the towering piles of paperwork and electronics. The air was suddenly filled with a storm of paper as the scarlet clad Commander frantically tried to clean up everything with his only remaining arm. Filing cabinets were locked, drawers were slammed (and in most cases, kicked) shut, and in general, everything that had been lying around was desperately shoved into any available bit of space that got them out of immediate sight.

Too late, he heard the sound of the door. A massive pile of old documents balancing in one arm and halfway through stamping another boxload of DVDs into a filing cabinet with his foot, Ace managed to look around.

There was no-one there. The door slid closed. Ace felt a cold sweat break out all over his body.

"You're right behind me, aren't you." He managed to say at last. He was surprised at how little his voice shook.

"Yes, I am." A female voice said sweetly from about, oh, say, five inches right behind him.

"Ah. Well, you see, there's a perfectly good explanation for this."

"I'm sure there is." His aide replied agreeably. "And I'm sure I'd love to hear it at great lengths."

Ace swallowed.

"This, uh…isn't about that conference, is it?"

"The one that _you_ were supposed to go to? Of course not. And of course, knowing how responsible you are, I'm sure you used the free time productively…like say, for instance, _not_ using it to have a marathon viewing session of all your various anime, right?"

That did it. The Legion Commander sighed.

"I'm screwed, aren't I."

"Yes, you are."

After that, there was silence, broken only by the sounds of loud, oddly heavy sounding crashes, such as the kind that might be made by furniture being thrown across a room, along with an occasional scream.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, Ace leaned back in his chair again. Only this time, he was using his free hand to keep an ice pack pressed against the sizable lumps on his head. He gave a slight groan of pain and shifted to stare across the desk at his aide.

"Well, at least now I know you're still in top shape. That last kick of yours could've split rock!"

"Then it's a good thing your skull's a lot harder than that." His aide replied coolly, dropping down into a comfortable chair and crossing her shapely legs. She nodded towards his broken arm.

"Looks like somebody busted your wing while I was gone. This wouldn't happen to be the work of our pocket sized demon, would it?"

Ace gave her an appraising look. "So you've heard then."

His aide shrugged. "Even when I'm all the way across the continent, my information network's still one of the best."

She had a point there. Even Ace had to admit that when it came to underworld connections, links that could get you into places that Legion could only dream of being able to infiltrate, the woman now sitting across from him was his superior. Then again, it had been exactly because of her affinity for matters like this that he had 'recruited' her. That, and her other, lesser known skills.

At the moment, his aide was clad in her civilian outfit; Ace guessed that she'd stopped to change before coming here: a tight fitting dark pink top that left her shoulders bare, reaching down to her hips, and a pair of long black tights. Her top had a wide strip of white down the center, through the middle of which ran the zip that did it up. Just above her breasts, four circular metal badges lay right on the line between the pink and white sections, two on either side of her chest. Long, lime green hair reached down just past her waist, curling at the end. She wore no headpiece, leaving her short bangs to fall free, ending just above her eyes. They were for the most part straight, save for one curl right in the middle. Her eyes were a light sparkling blue-green color, gleaming with a constant hint of mischief.

At first glance, she looked like the kind of woman any man would be more than happy to ask out, and quite a bit more as well, but on taking a closer look, one would begin to notice little things that would very quickly make you think twice. Hidden beneath that playful exterior was the concealed grace of a predatory lion in the grass. The hidden glint in her eyes seemed to taunt her opponents onwards, as if daring them to try her, while at the same time appearing to be nothing more than a girl out for a good time. The best way to summarize it would be to say that she would be the kind of person who, in poker, would watch in amusement as you laid a full house on the table, would let you gloat about it for a bit, and would then drop a royal flush on you and grin gleefully as she raked in the winnings. And for her, it would all be just a game of great fun, outwitting all of the silly idiots that tried to outdo her.

Ace was still six grand in the hole from his last match with her.

This was the woman known as, to use her current alias, Marin Zero, one of Ace's most trusted accomplices. In addition to that status, she was also in charge of a Security Division of her own, one that specialized in dealing with security and protection for homes and businesses, as well as providing much-needed manpower to the local law-enforcers. Under her management, the Internal Security division had flourished, almost to the point where it could have been counted as a private military corporation. The income from their contracts with the city was surreal, and her devious innovations, particularly in the area of anti-theft systems, ensured that those contracts would just keep on coming. Ace was all too happy to leave her to run it on her own. Despite her mischievous nature he knew she was miles more trustworthy than half of the other self-styled Legion Commanders who Ace was willing to bet money that they would have just turned the whole thing into their own personal military. And, another point in Marin's favor; she was very, _very _good at catching criminals. After all…

'_Set a thief to catch a thief, was it…?_' Ace stifled a smile as the old saying floated across his mind. If that was true, then there was no better person to have in charge than the person sitting on the other side of his desk.

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. He looked up as he recognized the sound of it.

"Oh good, he made it. It's open, Craft!"

Marin looked around, grinning as the seven-foot tall commando Reploid stepped into the room, the door hissing shut behind him.

"Hey, Hadrian! Still lugging around that tank cannon of yours, I see."

"And I see that you're still carrying around a veritable arsenal of concealed weaponry as usual." The grizzled Reploid's mouth quirked into a faint smile as he returned the jab.

Marin winced. "Touche"

Ace rolled his eyes at their usual banter. "Yes yes, we all know you two love walking around with enough weapons to level an army, now can we get down to business?"

As Marin settled back into her chair and Craft slouched down onto a nearby couch, he went on.

"All right, what'd you get?" The question was directed at Marin, who sighed.

"I checked out her apartment like you asked, but there wasn't anything to suggest that she's someone we should be careful of." She paused for a moment. "Except when it comes to dealing with money, if the receipts scattered all over were any indication."

"So she seems relatively stable enough that she won't readily go insane on her own?"

Marin nodded. Ace's eyes narrowed in thought. "Good. That means there isn't anything that could accidentally reawaken Model O's programming."

He caught Marin's dark expression and groaned inwardly.

"Okay, what's the bad news?"

Marin held up a hand. Pinned between her thumb and forefinger was a tiny black dot, barely visible against the white of her glove.

"Aw, crap." Ace sighed.

"Yep." Marin shrugged. "They got there before I did. The place was crawling with spy bugs. Somebody wants as much info as possible, as quickly as they can get their hands on it. I swept the place as best I could but…" She gave another expressive shrug. Ace groaned.

"Swell. So not only do they know where she is, they've also got the place under surveillance." He rubbed the bridge of his nose, already feeling a headache coming on.

"Fine. Not entirely unexpected, but they're moving a lot faster than I anticipated. Any luck finding whoever planted them? I've got a good idea who the agent they sent was, so if we can track him down…"

Marin grinned. "You mean that self-styled ninja Chosen One? Yep, he was leaving just as I got there."

Ace's eye twitched. "Did you manage to track him?"

Marin gave him a disdainful look. "Of course I tracked him. Have you forgotten who you're talking to? I've been doing that sort of thing since before he was born! I managed to follow him all the way to the Third Residential before I had to pull back. It was either that, or risk being detected. If he's got a base…" She grabbed a map off of Ace's desk and opened it.

"It's in this area."

Ace stared at the area she had indicated, and nodded.

"Right. See if you can get some operatives to scope out the area and report any other activity. Craft, anything on your end?"

The Reploid shook his head. "I'm afraid I've had no luck with tracking down the Hades as yet. I traced the shipment back to the source, and I've searched at every location that it could have been tampered with, and still…nothing. Surveillance wise, I believe Celtis'…partner…is beginning to suspect that I am following them. Other than that, there has been no other approach by the Chosen of Shadow."

Ace leaned back in his chair, frowning. No further attempts at direct surveillance? That probably meant that whoever it was behind this was trying to lie low, instead planning to rely on the surveillance bugs for data collection. As for Celtis' partner, the enigmatic Saber…

Marin started as he tossed a piece of paper to her. Turning it over, she discovered that it was a picture of a devilishly handsome Reploid with long, unruly white hair.

"Whoa, where'd you find this hunk?" she whistled, immediately interested.

Ace rolled his eyes. Why was it that every woman who saw this Saber guy had the same reaction? Thus far, the only female he'd seen who didn't seem remotely interested in getting laid by him was Celtis who, ironically, just happened to be his partner. Oh, Ashe had put up a good front, but Ace had known her long enough to spot the little tells.

"Yes, okay, he's handsome. Great. Stop drooling over him for a minute and listen."

"I've done some checking on him, and Legion files have come up blank. We don't know who he is, where he's from, or even if Saber is his real name."

Ace missed the slightly guilty look that crossed Craft's face at that.

"All we know is that he was with Celtis when she came back from Area-N. I've had Craft shadowing him since then, to make sure he's not some kind of operative for the other side. Although, after hearing about what he did on the Model O mission, I think we can pretty much discount that theory. Double agent or not, wiping out three armies' worth of your own troops is a bit much. That aside, we still haven't got a thing on him. That's why I want you to take a look as well. See if that vaunted network of yours can dig up anything."

Marin was all business again as she pocketed the snapshot.

"Sure, but you know the usual deal."

Ace stifled a groan. "How much is it gonna cost this time?"

Marin smiled sweetly. "I'll let you know when I find out."

The Commander let his head drop onto his desk with a thud. The problem with using Marin's agency for any Legion business, he thought gloomily, was that he inevitably ended up having to pay for a ridiculously costly expense account.

He snapped his head back up as he remembered the other reason he'd called the two of them here.

"Oh yeah. There's one other thing I have to tell you two." He took a deep breath. "I'm beginning to get the suspicion that there's far more going on here than can be seen at first glance. In situations like this, it's always a good idea to have as much firepower on hand as possible. Therefore, (and this is against my better judgment), the Colonel is being recalled to Legion City."

There was silence following this announcement.

Then Marin gave a groan of disbelief.

"Oh no. Not him!"

Ace shrugged morosely, clearly agreeing with her, although he didn't say anything.

"You're calling the Colonel back? Here? Into the heart of Legion City?"

"Yes, I am. There's not much else I could do."

"But…but…" Marin flailed around hopelessly for something to say, "Him? The Colonel makes Judge Dredd look like a freaking pansy! Didn't you send him out to the border to pacify some warring Raider factions or something?"

Ace winced.

"Oh believe me, he pacified the _hell_ out of them. The Security troops out there had gotten far too lax and corrupt to deal with the situation. Now that he's finished with them, you could send them up against the best of the Military's combat teams and they'd win. He's a complete hardass, but you'll have to hand it to him: He knows how to command, and more importantly, how to win."

He nodded over at Craft, who seemed to have been listening with interest to the conversation.

"I believe the score is 300 to 301 now?"

Craft grinned. "Not quite. I managed to pull off a win last time, so we're even now."

"Right." _I'm not even going to ask how many draws they've had,_ Ace thought. It was common knowledge that the two had struck up a friendly rivalry, both of them sparring with each other as much as possible. The Colonel, a top-class swordsman, had sneered at Craft's use of a gun as a weapon. Craft had challenged him in retaliation, and lost the first three fights, before going on to royally trounce the Colonel four times in a row. The two had hit it off after that, and well, the rest was history.

The scarlet clad Commander leaned back in his seat.

"Well, that's it for now. Craft, I'd like you to continue keeping an eye on the two of them for now, at least until we get some more information." As Craft nodded and stood, Ace glanced across at Marin and continued.

"Not yet. You still didn't sign off on that expenses query I sent you earlier." He grinned, and held it up.

"Hey, I'll cover for you, but you've at least got to sign the thing!"

Marin rolled her eyes. "Fine, give it here."

Five minutes later, Ace watched the two of them walk out, no doubt already planning their next respective moves. He spotted the expenses query and pulled it towards him to verify it. His eyes caught the signature at the bottom, immediately recognizing it as his aide's, and groaned.

A signature that matched her alias, and her real name at the same time.

Marin Zero

Marin.0.

He sighed.

"You know, I really wish she'd stop signing like that. Somebody might figure it out." He said aloud to the empty room.

* * *

Omega barely spared the passing crowds a glance, storming through the streets back towards Hunter's Camp. Next to him, Celtis was in a similarly foul mood. Both of them were currently fantasizing about the many, _many _ways in which they could cause the Scarlet Phoenix grievous bodily injury.

Well, all right, in Celtis case, this was slightly mitigated by her worries about herself and the mysterious Model O, but you get the picture.

Celtis looked down at her hand, flexing the fingers a few times. Questions still buzzed in her head as she tried to cope with the fact that she was now fused with a Biometal that, if the original now walking beside her was any indication, could probably rival even the feared Model W. She couldn't even feel any real sense of superiority either, since it wasn't as though she was capable of using it in any case.

For all intents and purposes, Model O was completely useless now. And on top of that, she now had a weird blue diamond in her forehead too. She thought back to the black clad stranger that had appeared in her mind, and the terrifying monster that was the core consciousness of Model O. She shivered as she remembered his words to her.

'_He said I would understand when I woke up , but…_' She sighed and reached up a hand to poke the dull, lifeless gem on her forehead.

'_Most of this stuff still doesn't make any sense!_'

"Oi." Omega elbowed her.

"What is it?"

"Quit spacing out. You're the one who knows where we're going, so lead the way already!"

"Gah, quit pushing already! Since when do you care, anyway?"

"Since I started getting paid to stick around and bug you." Omega grinned. He was already starting to like this bodyguard gig.

"I knew this was a bad idea…" Celtis muttered as she stormed off, a snickering Omega sauntering after her.

* * *

Twenty minutes later, the smug grin slipped off of his face as he stared up at the entrance to Kitara's machine shop.

"Holy crap."

There were two entrances. One was a normal glass swinging door, like those used in office buildings. Omega suspected that it led to the main office, where the customers would stop off to discuss their request. The other entrance, though…

Omega stared up at the biggest damn garage door he'd ever seen in his life. Hell, Vile's Crucio could have driven through it without ever touching the top of it! Cautiously, he stepped through, and his jaw dropped in disbelief.

If Vix's warehouse had been a heaven for weapon-lovers, then there was no doubt in Omega's mind that what he'd just stepped into was Valhalla for tech-heads. He stared around in disbelief at the array of completed, and in some cases, half-completed projects Kitara had been working on. There were normal civilian vehicles, bikes, a few engine blocks here and there, the skeletal shape of a partly disassembled tank, and finally a disturbingly large number of military vehicles, all almost totally wrecked, bearing the trademark scarlet color that Omega had come to associate with a certain hot-blooded Commander.

He had a feeling he knew how they'd gotten wrecked…

For the most part, the vehicles were scattered all over the factory floor, each with their own individual mass of parts and machinery littered around them. Staring at the mess, Celtis sighed. It seemed Kitara's method of working on projects hadn't improved in the slightest. Whenever Kitara reached a stopping point on one of the vehicles (or more likely, just plain lost interest), she'd jump across to another one, and start working on that instead. It was messy, and considering the hyperactive personality of the mechanic involved, surprisingly fast. When considering the fact that Kitara also had an attention span of oh, about ten minutes, it suddenly didn't seem that surprising.

Along the left wall, Omega spotted a row of repair bays. Some of them were empty, while others held the forms of several of her other repair jobs. These, unlike the semi-completed skeletons haphazardly arranged across the floor of the machine shop, were almost completely finished. An array of robotic arms mounted on the walls of each bay whirred as they added the finishing touches, fine tuning the repair work. Or at least, that was the official definition.

The Kitara definition for their task was: "Doing all the boring, easy stuff so I don't have to."

Even further back, waaaaay to hell on the other side of the machine shop, Omega caught a glimpse of a few more booths, these with an easily recognizable cylindrical shape inside. The design was all too familiar to Omega, and he grinned.

"Two hundred years, and you still can't beat a capsule for high-quality repair, huh…?"

Celtis' eye caught movement on the far side of the factory floor, near one of the newer looking vehicles that was being repaired.

"Oi, Kitara!"

There was a feminine gasp, and the sounds of paper rustling frantically behind the vehicle Celtis had spotted. After a few moments, a sandy colored tail appeared, the tip wrapped firmly around some kind of wrench. Kitara poked her head up, her feline ears twitching at the sound of her friend's voice.

"Oh, uh…Hey, Celtis! The hospital finally let you out?"

"Yep. Apparently they didn't want my 'friends' wrecking any more of their expensive rooms during my stay."

Kitara winced. "Yeah, that was pretty bad…"

Celtis grinned. "It's not all bad though. It got me out of that stuffy hospital and back on my feet, didn't it?"

…_Plus Ashe charged all the damage to Ace's expense account…_Omega snickered silently.

Then Kitara caught sight of the white-haired Reploid standing behind Celtis and went bright red.

"O-oh, hello, Saber…"

When she'd met him in the hospital, she'd been too preoccupied with worrying about Celtis, and then Ace had dropped the Model O bombshell on them, leaving very little room for any other thoughts. Now though, she had all too much time free to remember his little message to her after their first meeting.

He caught her reddened cheeks and grinned knowingly.

"I take it you found my message from our last encounter, then?"

"Wha…um…er…ye-yeah, I did…" Kitara stammered.

"Hey." Celtis suddenly interrupted them, a suspicious look on her face. "What are you two talking about?"

"Who, us?" Omega asked innocently. "Oh, we were just talking about-"

"N-N-Nothing! Nothing at all!" Kitara hastily squeaked, frantically waving her arms in the air to distract Celtis.

"S-so, was there any particular reason you came by?" Kitara went on, desperate for any change of subject.

Celtis shrugged. "Well, not really. I just figured I'd stop by to say hi."

She shot Omega a dirty look. "But thanks to that idiot Commander, I'm stuck with this guy following me around all the time. So he came along too."

She paused. "Okay, well, that and I wanted you to check out my biotech implants yourself, just to make sure they didn't do anything weird when they were poking around in there."

Kitara's ears perked up, all previous conversation forgotten at the prospect of a job. Not only that but…Her eyes lit up as she realized that she now had a heaven-sent opportunity to get a first-hand look at the effects of the mysterious Model O.

Celtis felt a chill go down her spine.

"Uh, Kitara? Don't go all machine-freak on me now…I've had enough mental scarring for one day, thanks…"

Kitara snapped back to reality. "Oh, aheheh…sorry…but I can't help it! It's not every day I get to take a look at something as amazing as this!"

Celtis stared. "You're talking about the Biometal again, aren't you…"

"Of course!" The green haired Hunter felt a bead of sweat slide down her neck at Kitara's energetic reply. _Somehow I feel like I'm in even more trouble than I was with the Legion techs…_

Kitara suddenly stopped, as she realized the full force of her own words.

_No…Celtis isn't the only one here with an amazing piece of technology…!_

Kitara turned. There, standing only a few feet away, looking around unconcernedly, was the enigmatic Reploid known as Saber. The man who, if Vix's records were to believed, had somehow managed to pull off a move that should never have been possible. A system so powerful, it held an almost mythical status, a legendary ability that was said to have vanished countless decades ago.

"The Gilgamesh Factor…and the Gate of Babylon transfer sequence…" Kitara murmured, still staring at Omega. An impossible ability that should not exist…If this man really did have the capability to use it, the question remained: Just who on earth was he really? And how did he come to possess the Gilgamesh Factor?

Just thinking of the possibility of recovering the legendary Factor was enough to set Kitara's heart racing. A find like that would be beyond incredible!

She shook her head, calming down, and fixed Omega with a determined look. One way or another, Saber wasn't getting out of here before she had gotten a look at him! She grabbed Celtis and started moving purposefully towards her nearest uncluttered workstation.

"All right then, let's get started!" And in an undertone to Celtis:

"You've got some explaining to do about Mister Saber…"

Celtis gulped. She knew from experience that whenever Kitara got serious about something, the one place you never, ever wanted to be was under her attention for a tune up.

She could do some very, shall we say, _inventive_, things to you with those tools of hers…

Kitara had Celtis go through all the motions, testing out all her fine motor functions, then ran some scans on her cybernetic implants. Fortunately for Celtis, this wasn't too serious a procedure since it was just a basic systems check, which meant that Kitara didn't have a chance to terrify her with all of the scary looking tools she usually used. In anyone else's hands, said tools looked innocent and harmless enough, but when in the capable grip of Kitara…

Yeah, suddenly an iron maiden started to look appealing…

"Exactly what do you know about him, Celtis?"

"Er…not much really..."She held up her hands in an effort to placate her friend. "Look, I don't know anything about him, other than his name and that he's really strong, okay? It's just a coincidence that I happened to run into him the first time, and now Ace stuck me with him."

Kitara bit her thumbnail, a pensive look on her face.

'_Darn it…so much for that! I guess I'll have to go a more direct route instead…_'

"Hey, Celtis, do you think he'd mind me taking a look at him?"

Celtis looked over to where Omega was curiously poking at something on one of the partially disassembled vehicles, then looked back at Kitara, a teasing smile on her face.

"Are we using the word 'look' in the same sense that Vix does, or is this purely professional?"

Kitara went several different shades of red at that.

"Wha-wha-wha-no! Professional! Just professional!"

"Riiiiight…" Celtis smirked. Kitara caught her knowing glance, and looked down, playing with her fingers nervously.

"Well…okay…some of it isn't all that professional…"

Celtis sighed in response. "It never changes…Anyway, you'll have to ask him yourself, but I wouldn't be too hopeful…He seems to have a bit of a problem with letting anyone take a look at his insides."

_I can't say I blame him though…If any of the historical information is accurate, he probably has a good reason to be suspicious of anyone working on him…_

Kitara puffed out her cheeks in indignation. "Well, I'm not just anyone! I'm the best mechanic in Legion for Lost Technology or otherwise!"

While the two of them continued talking, Omega ignored them, instead examining the machine Kitara had been working on when they had arrived. As far as he could tell, it seemed to be some sort of armor, but not like any he'd seen before. Of far more interest to him, however, was the laptop computer and huge stack of papers lying behind it, hastily stashed under one of its pieces. For a moment, he remembered the strange noise when Celtis had called out, and his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

With a quick glance over his shoulder at the two women, he darted over and around the armor in a single fluid motion. Snapping the laptop open, he grinned as he saw that Kitara hadn't had time to shut it down, meaning everything she'd been viewing was still up.

"All right, kitty, let's see what's so important that you had to hide it from that green-haired servant of mine…"

Then the words died in his throat as he saw pictures start coming up. Pictures of an all-too familiar demon with white hair, and a killer smile that never failed to draw the attention of any woman in range…

_Why the hell does this girl have pictures of me on her damn computer? _Omega thought, completely off-balance. He'd been expecting something, anything else, but this was just plain WEIRD!

As the pictures continued to appear on the screen, an eerie feeling suddenly started to creep over him. Something was wrong here…His eyes narrowed as he began to realize that these pictures weren't simply taken because of some strange obsession.

_'Close-ups of my hands, feet, arms, legs, head, torso…'_ Omega gritted his teeth as he realized what Kitara was attempting.

_'She's trying to match my body structure up to any recognizable Reploid body type! But why the hell would somebody I don't even know be interested (or obsessed) enough to try that?_'

Omega sat back for a moment mulling it over.

_'I'm going to need to be a bit more careful around this girl…why did it get her so damn interested? I'm supposed to be undercover dammit!'_

…_Gilgamesh Factor…_

Omega's head snapped around, those two words springing into life on one of the pages scattered nearby. Now, why did that one phrase seem to ring a bell…?

Snatching up the sheaf of paper, he started flipping through. A lot of it was high-tech gibberish that sailed straight over his head, but some of it seemed eerily familiar.

…_used as a control for multi-transfer sequence…also called the key to the Gates of Babylon…later attempts at re-creating the Factor program were failures…_

Omega's eyes narrowed as he read on. The move where he had thrown his entire arsenal at Granz's army seemed to be a much bigger deal than he'd previously thought. Snapping the papers back together, he cast a dark look back in the direction of Celtis and Kitara.

Someone had some _serious_ explaining to do. Omega had never recalled Weil or anyone else for that matter, himself included, ever installing something like that. Like the weapons data of Zero's Z-Saber and his newfound Redline Mode, this was something that had simply appeared in his system at a moment when he needed it. He remembered the hundred years of sleep that Celtis had woken him from and gritted his teeth. There was only one explanation for all of these things, and it was one that the God of Destruction did not care for in the slightest.

Whoever had put him into cold sleep had done far more than just remove Weil's controls, and repair the damage done in his last battle…! They'd gone in and seriously messed with his systems, resulting in the strange new abilities he was only now discovering.

To be honest, considering the amount of kick-assedness these new abilities were granting him, Omega wasn't really complaining. But after Weil, if anyone was messing around with his insides he wanted to know who the hell they were and more importantly what the HELL they thought they were doing there in the first place!

Her interest in his design was of secondary importance. Right now, the thing Omega was _really_ interested in was this so-called Factor…and he knew just the person to ask.

'_Now…_'Omega grinned, glancing at Kitara, '_Time for some answers._'

Kitara meanwhile, was still trying to get Celtis to cough up any more information about the mysterious Saber. Despite her best efforts, Celtis refused to say any more, feigning ignorance.

'_God alone knows what she'd do if she found out who he really was…_'

To be honest though, she was beginning to get the feeling that Kitara had an ulterior motive for her interrogation. Usually the diminutive mechanic was nowhere near this persistent, save for when the subject involved Lost Technology in some way. A worrying thought crossed her mind at that. Did Kitara somehow manage to find something about Omega that made her suspect he had a connection with Lost Tech? If that was the case, then she was in a lot more trouble than she'd first thought.

Number one rule of dealing with Kitara: Never, _ever_, under any circumstances, get between Kitara and Lost Technology.

Ironically, however, it was that very same ancient Reploid that saved her from further questioning. There was a whoosh of air from his coat and suddenly there he was, looming behind Kitara like a towering crimson shadow.

"Sorry, but I'm afraid I'll be interrupting your little conversation."

He smiled widely. That is to say, there were a lot of teeth involved.

"Now…What _exactly_ do you know about this?"

Kitara's eyes widened as she caught sight of the papers held in his upraised hand hand.

"Th-that's…!"

"Information about something which is apparently called a Gilgamesh Factor. Something that I have never heard of before in my life, and would be very interested in finding out just what the hell it has to do with me!"

Kitara stared at him for a moment, complete surprise the only expression on her face. Finally, she opened her mouth to speak.

"You mean you don't know?"

It was right at this point that Celtis wisely decided to interrupt. "So…either of you mind filling me in as to what the heck you're talking about?"

There was a moment of silence as the two of them stared at her. Then Omega rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Oh right…You were busy getting possessed by an evil paperweight when this happened…"

_One brief summary of Granz's army getting Gate of Babyl**OWNED** later…_

Celtis stared at him in disbelief. "You're telling me you threw a whole arsenal of weapons at them? And it never occurred to you to ask why or better yet, _how_ the hell you managed to do that?"

Omega shrugged. "Hey, five minutes later I Zweihander'd his Orotic into itty-bitty pieces over a five-mile radius of desert terrain! I just put it down to my natural badassness and left it at that."

He saw her incredulous look and grinned. "Yeah, I'm just awesome like that."

She sighed. "And yet, according to Kitara, this is actually because of some legendary program called a what?"

"It's called the Gilgamesh Factor." Kitara replied, looking slightly downcast. "Look, I'm sorry I didn't say anything, but I wasn't sure if it was real or not! Plus I didn't really know what to think if it was true!"

She colored slightly. "Er, no offense mister Saber…"

"None taken." Omega replied briskly. "So, now that we've established that I have not the slightest clue what this thing is or how I ended up with it, would you mind getting around to the part where you tell me just what the hell this is all about? And just why exactly this is such a big deal?"

"O-Oh, right…"

Kitara cleared her throat and launched into her explanation.

"When trans-servers were first modified using the now infamous transfer tag system, there were still a considerable number of limitations on using them. One such limitation being the amount of energy required, and the ridiculously complex calculations that needed to be done for a transfer involving multiple targets to the same location. The closest thing that could be done was to transfer the objects one after another, in a sequential process.

And so, a program was created. One with the capability to register a selected number of targets, and immediately transfer them to a waiting trans-server. On the battlefields of the fledgling Legion era, this was an invaluable asset, allowing entire battalions of troops to be transferred into a combat zone almost immediately. This was quite an improvement over the more traditional method, which was to ferry them in on dropships and transports.

The advantage here being that there was less chance of getting shot at before you actually got to the damn battlefield. Needless to say, it was a perk that the ground troops were most appreciative of.

Still another advantage was that the program enabled the sequence to be carried out on a minimum amount of energy that was staggeringly far below the levels currently required by similar systems. Even today, no-one knew how the hell he had managed that.

This program, which defied all of the conventional laws of technology at the time, was what came to be called the Gilgamesh Factor. Named after mankind's oldest heroes, the man said to have collected all the weapons and treasures of the world, the capability of this system was unrivalled by anything ever seen before. When combined with a trans-server arsenal, a collection of items which individually required very little energy to transport, it could summon the entirety of the stored items to its wielder's side. As had been seen in the battle with Granz, this power could be wielded to devastating effect.

This transfer sequence, which denied all logic and reason, carrying out the impossible task of teleporting an incredible number of targets to the same location, with precise co-ordination, completely controlled by the master of the Factor…This was the transfer sequence known as the Gate of Babylon.

The treasury which contained all of the user's collected 'treasures', storing them within the infinite space of Cyberspace and then allowing them to unleash it in a devastating torrent of destruction on any foes in their way.

That was the ability granted by the Gilgamesh Factor.

Then, just as suddenly as it had appeared, the Gilgamesh Factor disappeared. No-one knew how or why, but only the copied versions of it were left. These however, were nowhere near as powerful, and after some time, simply ceased functioning altogether. Without the original to work from, and unable to completely dissect the impossibly powerful encryptions guarding the core programming of the copies, the Gilgamesh Factor soon faded into history, joining the ranks of those ancient creations now called Lost Technology."

Omega stared at Kitara when she had finished.

"And somehow, I ended up with that thing in my systems?"

Kitara nodded. "There's no doubt about it. Only a Reploid with the Gilgamesh Factor would be able to initialize the Gate transfer signal. Any other person would have been instantly killed by reactor overload."

"You sure about that? Felt like a piece of cake to me."

The feline mechanic shook her head. "Without the Factor to act as a catalyst, the energy drain would have been too much. The feedback would have blown your reactor apart."

Both Omega and Celtis considered that image for a moment.

"That would be…bad." Celtis said finally.

"No shit." Omega winced. Ignoring their discomfort, Kitara went on.

The only question now is whether what you have there is the original, or if it's simply one of the copied versions, one that simply hasn't deteriorated into self-destruction yet."

"I don't like the sound of Option No. 2 there…" Omega muttered.

"If it's that one, well, you'll just lose the ability with repeated use. If it's the real thing though...Well, even I don't know what will happen. Either way…"

Kitara's heart sped up, her cheeks flushing as she considered that thought. Already she could hear the beautiful voices of an angelic choir, singing her triumph.

"I'll get a chance to finally see it! The programming that even experts from the era of Lost Technology couldn't crack!"

Omega stared blankly at Kitara as she lost herself in her own little fantasy world.

"Er…is this normal?" he asked Celtis, gesturing towards the mechanic. She pressed a hand to her face and sighed.

"Happens everytime she thinks she's getting a chance at some super-rare Lost Tech, so yeah."

"Hmmm." A thought occurred to Omega. "So, if someone was to say, randomly give you a million dollars…"

Celtis joined Kitara at the gates of heaven.

Omega sighed. "Birds of a feather all right…One loves money, the other loves tech…"

When the two girls had finally snapped themselves back out of their entranced fantasies (and Kitara had wiped the drool off), the discussion continued.

"So you want to examine me, for a chance to see this Factor thing?"

"Yes please!" Kitara said, her eyes sparkling.

Omega grinned at her, and-

"Not a chance."

-flattened her with his words.

Celtis groaned. "I told you, Kitara…"

Kitara stared up at him, stunned by the abruptness of the response "Um, is there anything I could do to make you change your mind…?"

"Nuh-uh." Omega shook his head vehemently. "I've got a bit of an issue with letting anybody get within a mile of my workings."

"Well, um…I have a way I can repair you without actually, um, going, er…inside, so to speak…erm…and I can investigate the Factor at the same time…"

Omega raised one eyebrow. Seeing that he wasn't going to interrupt her, she charged on.

"You noticed the capsules earlier, right? Well, if you're familiar with those, you should know the effects of using that instead of the normal method, right?"

Omega spared the capsule a momentary glance. For the most part, he usually relied on his own outrageous regenerative capabilities to deal with any repairs, but he'd learned from experience that that could only do so much. Even back when he'd been working for while, a periodic visit to one of those things was a big help. They weren't necessary, but they allowed the self-repair and various other diagnostic functions a chance to run themselves and restore him to maximum condition. After his fight with Granz, Omega estimated that the damage he'd taken (and subsequently repaired) had left him currently operating at about 90%. Irritating, but inconsequential in the end.

Though he had to admit, he didn't really mind the thought of getting rid of this dull, bone-weary feeling, caused by the stress of fighting against the cooldown of Redline Mode.

Still…He shook his head again. "No way am I letting you knock me out in one of those things. God alone knows what you'd get up to."

"That's just it!" Kitara said excitedly. "You don't need to go into sleep mode for this one!"

Omega blinked. "What?"

"Yep! Some of my other customers are kind of like you, in that they prefer their privacy, so I had to come up with something like this to cater for them too. This way, you'll still be aware of everything going on around you. In case, you know, anything happens."

Celtis hid a laugh as she remembered the last time that had come in useful. One of Kitara's previous clients had been a high ranked Hunter, with quite a sizable number of Raider enemies, some of which had decided to…pay a visit to the machine shop when he was recovering. Having counted on him being out of commission for repairs, they were unpleasantly surprised to find him fully alert, and with more than enough firepower to wipe the floor with them.

Kitara had been most annoyed that someone had tried to attack, and had then spent a week redesigning her warehouse's defense systems.

Omega folded his arms. Despite himself, he was getting interested. The only thing that had ever kept him from using anything like this was the same as the one behind his aversion to trans-servers.

Namely, a lack of control. His control, to be precise. After Weil, well…Let's just say Omega had some serious issues with trusting other people, and leave it at that.

But now, if he could stay online during the process…He stared at the capsule with a calculating expression. If anything started going out of whack, he figured he could be out through that flimsy glass faceplate and killing whoever was messing with him in a couple of seconds.

As for that Gilgamesh Factor, if there was a chance he could get some clues as to how it ended up in his body, then he figured now was as good a time as any. From what he'd seen, Kitara was an excellent mechanic, despite her various other faults, and at the moment she was all he had. But still…

" Assuming that I'm considering your offer, explain to me how this is going to help you get a look at my programming?"

"Have you ever heard of something called a Spatial Dive?"

Omega blinked, caught off-guard by the sudden question.

"Uh…I'm gonna go with 'no' on this one."

Kitara stared at him for several moments. Then she turned to Celtis with a look of complete disbelief.

"No, really, Celtis. When you found him, was he like, frozen in some kind of glacier for the last hundred years or something? How could anyone be so out of touch?"

"…I'm still here, you know, just in case you cared."

Ignoring Omega's sarcastic muttering, Celtis sighed and looked at her friend.

"Kitara, no offense and all, but you hoard new scientific releases like a teenager with porno magazines. Your idea of 'out of touch' is a LOT different from most people."

Kitara reddened at her friend's analogy.

"Er…well…okay, fine then…" she muttered, sheepishly twisting her tail around her fingers.

"Hello? Still waiting for an explanation here!" Omega waved a hand in the air in annoyance.

"Oh right, sorry!"

"A Reploid's data banks can be considered to be a small-scale, isolated piece of Cyberspace, containing all of the Reploid's core programming, such as the personality, memories and skills of the Reploid. A Spatial Dive allowed the programmer to transmit their consciousness into that Cyberspace in a manner similar to that of entering the real Cyberspace. The user's physical body would remain in the real world while their mind roamed the three dimensional 'mindscape', for lack of a better word, of the Reploid. As the user could now fully experience the information of the data banks with all of their senses, the ease with which it was possible to find and correct any errors was _considerably_ easier than using the normal method, i.e. spending hours poring over layer upon layer of complex code.

After some problems with programmers ignoring normal ethics and illegally poking their noses into the more private areas of the Reploid's data banks, e.g. the memory centers and shamelessly abusing their newfound power, a few additions were made to it.

Now the Reploids themselves could also be present in the Cyberspace, making sure the user didn't go anywhere they weren't supposed to. A simple way of putting it would be to compare the whole process to a form of virtual reality, with the programmer and the Reploid both using avatars as they went through the debugging."

Omega scratched his chin, staring speculatively at the capsule. He didn't get most of what Kitara had just told him, but from what he did understand, it sounded a lot like just going into Cyberspace, walking around until they found the Factor and then poking around at it to see what the deal was. At the same time, he'd be there too, watching her to make sure she didn't 'accidentally' wander anywhere she wasn't supposed to go, like say, the schematics for his body, or worse still, his memory banks. Stained as they were with the blood, carnage and glory of the centuries of war he had lived through, he figured he'd have a hard time explaining that one off…

So to review: He could go get repaired, stay awake while being repaired, and then get a crack at this mysterious Factor, (which some bastard had just decided to stash in his programming without him knowing) _and_ he could monitor Kitara's tinkering at the same time.

Omega pondered that for a moment. Well, that pretty much took care of his 'trust problem'. And to be honest, he himself wanted a look at this Factor as well…

"All right, you've got a deal." Omega said finally, turning to walk towards the capsule.

"Yaaaaay!" Kitara leapt into the air with a whoop of delight.

"BUT-" Omega cut her off. "The first sign of any funny business and I'm putting you through that wall, understand?"

Kitara snapped off a mock salute, smiling widely.

"Understood!"

Shaking his head at her enthusiasm, Omega headed towards the capsule. In a single motion, he swept his coat off of his shoulders, along with his shirt, and tossed it over a nearby chair. Belting the capsule a swift kick in the side, he triggered the release mechanism, opening it up. Spinning around, he dropped into it with a thump. Stretching out into a more comfortable position, he sat back and folded his arms, staring out at the other two with an expression that clearly said that he was doing this against his better judgement.

"Well, get a move on already, would you? Do I look as though I've got all day to waste here?"

Kitara was lost for words for the second time in as many minutes. One minute, he'd been stoically against anything that involved him and that capsule, and now the next minute he'd calmly booted it open and was now sitting in it like he owned it! She stared stared mutely at Celtis for assistance, but the green-haired Hunter only shook her head ruefully.

"That's just how he is. Better to just accept it and move on."

Kitara wasn't going to argue with that. Hey, as long as she got a look at that Factor, she couldn't care less!

Her fingers shook slightly as she booted up the Spatial Dive system. It had been years since anyone had gotten their hands on a Factor and now here she was, about to do a Dive on a Reploid who possessed just that. It was moments like this that were the reason she had decided to go into mechanics!

"Okay, Mister Saber, just give me a minute and we'll be all set!"

Omega raised an eyebrow. "So, I don't need to do anything?"

"Nope! You just relax and leave everything to me!"

Celtis sighed and walked over to one of the consoles. "I guess I'm the back-up then."

"Yep!" Kitara grinned sheepishly. "Sorry about that, Celtis. You remember the drill, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, if the green light changes to red, hit the big button saying abort, right?"

"The hell is that about?" Omega demanded.

"Oh that's just in case anything happens and we can't get out. Factors are notorious for having fierce defense systems. If they cut off our link, we'll be stuck in there until we get a new one established. That abort sequence shuts everything down, creating a forced log-out for us if that happens."

" And just how likely is it that we'll be needing that…?" Omega asked, a dangerous look in his eyes.

"Oh, about fifty-fifty." Kitara replied cheerfully, bringing an odd looking visor down to cover her eyes. "But don't worry, it'll all work out in the end! And…START!"

"What? Hey, hold-"

It was the most bizarre sensation Omega had felt. One minute, he was in the capsule, yelling at Kitara, and the next, he was…

…Here.

Omega whirled around, instantly recognizing the tell-tale green hues of Cyberspace with ease. He was standing in the middle of a vast corridor, the ends of it stretching off into infinity on both sides of him. High overhead, he could just barely make out the vague outline of an elaborate, arching roof, almost lost in the shadows. It was supported by a row of square columns running down each side of the corridor. Lamps mounted on each column provided illumination, keeping the darkness at bay. To his surprise, the areas illuminated by the lights were not, in fact, composed of the green coloring that was common to everything in Cyberspace as he had first thought. The pillars were carved from some sort of marble, their sleek surface an eerie blood red in color, and trimmed with wrought silver decorations. The floor, and the walls in between the pillars, however, were made from a similar material, only this was ebony black instead of red, the light from the lamps reflecting off of the polished surface, and casting a faint sheen on the flawless material. Where the light's illumination did not reach, however, the world once again faded, returning to the normal green-tinted darkness Omega was familiar with.

For a moment, he just stood there, taking in the dark splendor of the world around him. This was a lot different from any Cyberspace he'd ever come across before. For one thing, there were actual sensations here. Instead of the normal, flat, dull existence of normal Cyberspace, he could actually feel the sensation of a cool breeze playing across his features, tousling his loose hair as it wafted past him.

"Wow."

He was snapped back to reality by the sound of Kitara's awed gasp. He turned to see her standing next to him, a look of stunned disbelief on her face at the regal decadence before her.

"I'll take that to mean that this isn't supposed to be the norm, then."

"Not a chance…!" Kitara whispered. "To be able to reshape Cyberspace to this extent…the processing power alone would probably outmatch most supercomputers today! The amounts of data I'm reading here is incredible! There are whole terabytes here, compressed in layer upon layer of coding…!"

She crouched down and pressed a hand against the floor, marveling at the sensation of cool marble against her skin.

"There's even a simulated sense of touch…Just what the hell is this place…?"

"My data banks, apparently." Omega muttered. He'd discovered a useful little map function, that seemed to part of his diagnostic systems, which was able to tell him exactly where in his so-called 'mindscape' he was. Then an unpleasant thought occurred to him.

"Shit! How the hell am I supposed to see what's going on outside?"

Kitara gave him an odd look. "It should be right there in your HUD."

Omega blinked, and suddenly a new window opened up. Looking through it, he realized he was in his normal body again. Somehow, he was both aware of everything happening in the real world, _while at the same time_ being fully immersed in this virtual world.

He shook his head slightly.

"Damn, this feels _weird_."

Kitara nodded understandingly. "It usually does at first, but you'll get used to it."

"Yeah, yeah." Omega waved off her concern. "Now, where's this Factor thing supposed to be?"

Kitara frowned. "Well, to be honest, I thought it'd be kind of, you know, obvious to spot, but I never expected anything like this!"

She gestured out and the infinite corridor in front of them.

"Can't you sense anything? This is your body after all."

Omega grunted and looked around. He sniffed the air for a moment, then turned to look in the direction of the breeze's source, his eyes narrowing.

"Now that you mention it…I'm getting a weird kind of feeling from that direction…"

"All right!" Kitara leapt up. "Well, what are we waiting for? Come on!"

"Wha-Hey, wait up!"

"Ooh, look, there are doors here!"

"What?" Omega looked around in surprise. Sure enough, in the recesses between the columns, there were doors. One in between every two pillars, they continued onwards, running along the length of the corridor as far as Omega could see. As he watched Kitara reach out to poke a door handle in curiosity, his map diagnostic beeped a friendly alert.

Omega went as white as his hair as he realized what those doors were. Without even thinking about it, he brought Kitara down with a flying tackle.

"Ow! Hey, what was that for?"

Omega pulled himself up, wheezing.

"DON'T touch any of those. EVER."

"What? But then, how am I supposed to find it?"

"I'LL…*pant pant* find the damn thing…You…just follow me and don't touch anything…alright?"

It was then, with Omega's face inches away from her own, his chest heaving from his mad sprint and his long white hair falling around her, and his hands pinning her wrists back against the ground, that Kitara realized that she was still lying on her back on the floor, with him on all fours over her. Her mind flashed back to the teasing message she'd found in her bikini, and she blushed bright red.

"Ah…umm…o-okay…so, um…could you let me up now…?"

Omega blinked, his senses returning to the present. Looking down, a knowing grin spread across his features.

"Well, isn't this awkward." He smirked. A quick check to the real world confirmed that the real Kitara's face was also flushed, much to the wary surprise of Celtis.

"I don't know about that…" Omega grinned. "The way I see it, I've got a pretty good view right here…"

"What?" Looking down, Kitara went an even deeper shade of red as she realized what he was talking about. During the fall, the front of her jacket had come unfastened. Now, the only thing covering her ample chest was the flimsy material of the bikini she always wore under it.

Catching her flustered and embarrassed expression, Omega grinned. God, but he did so love to tease girls like this! He leaned forward, bringing his mouth right next to her ear.

"Well, now that we've seen that this place has a sense of touch…I wonder…just how far that sense can go…"

Kitara's eyes widened. For a brief instant, her mind played the fantasy of lying in his arms, feeling the muscled body that was hidden under that crimson coat of his…

Then she snapped back to reality, her face coloring as Omega leaned back. Before she knew what was happening, he was standing up again, leaving her lying there, utterly bewildered.

"Well, come on. We can't just lie around all day!"

"I…wha…huh?" Kitara's brain, reeling, couldn't keep up. One minute, he'd been seducing her (successfully too, part of her treacherously added) and the next he was acting as though nothing had happened!

"That Factor's not going to find itself, is it?" Omega folded his arms and looked down at her. "Quit lying around with your mouth hanging open and let's go already!"

Chuckling to himself, he watched as Kitara snapped her jaw closed and scrambled to her feet, blushing furiously. Now, he was quite glad he'd taken her up on this offer. He felt slightly put out when she made special care to zip her jacket all the way up this time, denying him the view of her chest behind its thick material. Then again… his gaze slid down to her hips, and the long, slender tail that swished enticingly from side to side with each step.

He figured there was plenty of eye candy left.

As they started off again, Kitara determinedly avoiding looking at him, a thought occurred to him.

"Whoops, hold on a sec!"

Leaving a bewildered Kitara standing there, he trotted back to the door he had tackled her in front of. Opening it, he poked his head through.

He was rewarded with the sound of explosions, and horrible screams. Flames leapt into the scorched air, now blackened with smoke and ash. The cloying scent of fresh blood hung heavy in the air, along with the smells of ozone from energy weapons, and the odor of gunsmoke from more conventional artillery. Omega took a deep breath, savoring all the sights, smells and savagery of his time in the Elf Wars again, and let it out in a happy sigh.

Closing the door again, he sauntered back down the corridor towards the confused mechanic, smiling widely.

"Ahhh…I do _so_ love the smell of napalm in the morning."

And with his mood now hugely improved, Omega headed off into the darkness, a bewildered Kitara following in his wake.

* * *

One hour later, he was glad of that morale boost. If it hadn't been for that, he'd have been murdering something by now.

"Are we there yet?"

He pressed a hand to his face, willing himself not to turn around and clobber his companion.

"No."

"How about now?"

"No."

"Now?"

"No."

"What about now?"

"No!"

"…" Kitara was silent for a moment.

Omega silently prayed that she would stay that way.

"Are we there yet?"

"AAARGH! FOR THE FRIGGIN SAKE OF ALL THAT IS UNHOLY, WOULD YOU JUST SHUT-"

Omega stopped, staring at the sight before him. There, at the end of the no longer infinite corridor was another door.

This one, however, was nothing like the ones they had passed on the way here. It towered over them, well over thirty metres tall. Instead of the simple black design of the other doors, this one looked as though it was forged entirely out of pure gold, it's surface decorated with brilliant blue trimmings.

It looked more like the doors to a giant throne room, the kinds that used to exist in the castles of history's most powerful kings. Richard the Lionhearted, Alexander the Great, King Xerxes…all famous kings in their own right, tales sung of their legendary exploits even to this day.

Thes doors however, seemed to call to mind an even sense of greatness. As if to say that an existence that surpassed all other heroes lay beyond it. A silent warning to all who stood before it, that to enter here was a fool's errand.

Omega remembered what Kitara's earlier words.

"History's oldest king of heroes, was it…?" He grinned darkly. " Looks like they picked a really appropriate name, then…"

Beside him, Kitara was going crazy with excitement, her computers pulling in every ounce of data she could find.

"This is incredible! These security encryptions, this multi-level programming…This is it! It really is the Gilgamesh Factor!"

"Other than looks, it certainly doesn't seem like all that much." Omega commented.

"That's because this is just the access point!" Kitara replied, typing away furiously at something only she could see. "This is just to get into the Factor itself, sort of like a lock on the folder that contains the Factor software. Then I'll finally be able to tell if this is the real thing, or just one of the copied versions."

There was a chime from the door in front of them, and Kitara punched the air in triumph.

"Got it! We're in!"

As the massive doors slowly disengaged, swinging open with ponderous grace, Omega stepped through, itching for the chance to finally see how the mysterious Factor would appear in this strange, altered Cyberspace.

So when Kitara finally walked through behind him, she walked straight into his back. She bounced back, pressing one hand to her nose and wincing.

"Ouch! Heya, watch where…you're…going…" she trailed off as her senses finally registered the reason for his shock.

A regal red carpet ran down the length of the room, inlaid with gold designs. Massive golden pillars towered over them, reaching all the way to the gleaming roof far above them. Lush red cloth draped around and between each pillar moved slightly in the wind. Soft yellow light filled the room from an unseen source, the already gleaming gold surfaces glowing even brighter in the light.

And on the golden walls…

Each mounted in its own private alcove, nestled in the soft caresses of red cloth, were the weapons. Glittering dangerously in the light, even Vix's armory could not compare to this. The closest description Omega's stunned mind could come up with was a combination between Vix's armory and the Wise Men's quarters. There had to be thousands, no, tens of thousands of weapons in here!

"What…the…hell…" Omega finally managed to say. "What…IS this?"

Kitara swallowed, and looked at the information coming up on her screen.

"I-It's definitely a Factor, but I still can't tell whether it's a fake or not…"

"Well…I guess we'd better keep going, then…" Omega muttered, looking around.

And so they did, as the ranks of weapons continued past them.

"I think that foxy friend of yours would probably have an orgasm if she ever saw this place…" Omega murmured eventually.

"You're probably right." Kitara agreed, her scanners investigating every aspect of the golden world around her. "This place…I've never seen anything like this before…It's like a giant treasury, storing all of the data of every weapon ever made…"

Omega looked around at the walls with a new respect. Every weapon ever made? Daaaaaaamn…! He'd used a lot of stuff in his day, but even he could not profess to having used every weapon ever created. A familiar object caught his eye and he grinned.

Ahh, the Milkor MGL-140…one of Omega's preferred grenade launchers. He might not have used every weapon, but he knew for sure that he'd used some of the best! Even when he'd bought that shipment off of Vix, there'd been a Milkor in the-

He stopped.

"There's no way…" he whispered. Turning around, he looked back at the grenade launcher he'd spotted. It lay there innocently, the lights playing across its burnished metal surface. Save for one, blinking regularly just above the hilt. The one that had caught Omega's attention, and was now giving him an extremely bad feeling.

It was the light of his transfer tag.

Crouching down next to it, he ran his hands over the weapon. He'd seen this weapon destroyed, exploding as he launched it onto the eye-socket of one of Granz's Mechaniloids. As Omega looked up, he was suddenly aware of more blinking lights on the walls around him. From where he stood now, all the way back to the doors they had come in by, transfer tags winked accusingly back at him.

"But…these were all destroyed! I threw all of this at Granz's army! How are they still here?"

"Hey, Mister Saber?"

He turned at the sound of Kitara's voice.

"There's something weird here. Come take a look!"

With a last uneasy look back, Omega headed towards her. He found Kitara standing up in front of a strange shimmer in the air.

"What is it?"

"I don't know, but if you try to go any further past this point…"

She stepped through, and then suddenly she reappeared on the other side of Omega.

"…that happens. I don't understand it. Even my scans aren't seeing anything past here."

Looking past the strange shimmer, Omega could clearly see the room continuing onwards. Seeing the look on his face Kitara shrugged.

"I know, but we just can't go any further."

It was then that Omega realized that, while the lights of transfer tags could be seen on practically all of the weapons on this side of the barrier, there were no such lights on the other side.

Reaching out, he touched the strange shimmer in the air. To their amazement, there was a spark of red light, and it vanished. Omega stared cautiously at the space it had occupied, and then carefully set one foot onto the next side.

Nothing happened.

He heaved a sigh of relief. Stepping over the line, he turned back towards Kitara and grinned.

"Well, whatever it was, it's gone no-"

He stopped, staring past Kitara in shock. The massive doors they had come in by, all the way at the other end of the room, were slowly closing.

"That's not supposed to happen, is it?"

As Kitara looked back at them, the unit on her wrist started to beep frantically. She looked down at it and paled.

"Damn it! I knew this was too easy! It was a trap!"

"What?"

"It _let_ us get in! If those doors close, we're in really big trouble! Come on!"

She turned to run, Omega right behind her, when they both froze. A chill ran down Omega's spine as he heard the sounds of metal rustling behind him, in the darkened area they had just gotten through to. Kitara too, couldn't move, paralyzed by a sudden fear as her scanners continued to send her data. She knew what was making that sound.

So too, did Omega. Having used this same power once before, he had a very bad feeling he knew what he'd find. Then suddenly, he sensed something much different. As Kitara's scanner beeped an alert as well, she whirled around at the exact same moment Omega did.

In that single, fleeting instant, he caught a glimpse of piercing red eyes, a flash of gold, and then the countless millions of blades that had hung poised in the darkened air descended on them like a rain of steel.

* * *

Omega's head collided with the glass cover of the capsule with enough force to crack it. He fell back, pressing both hands to his forehead and biting back a fusillade of obscenities. Slamming his fist down on the release button, he staggered out of it in a pneumatic whoosh of air.

Shaking his head he saw Celtis hurrying towards Kitara, who was dazedly picking herself up off the floor.

"What happened?" Celtis demanded. "One minute everything's fine, and then the next, everything blew up!"

A quick glance at the sparking remains of Kitara's terminal confirmed that statement.

"I…I don't know…" Kitara stammered, accepting Celtis' hand up. "I've never seen anything like that before! All of the defenses I had in place, all of the scanners I had up…All of it was crushed in an instant! I'd heard tales of what the security on the Factors was like, but there was never anything like that before! It was just too powerful!"

"Fine fine, we got that." Omega waved dismissively. "What I really want to know is if you got anything useful out of that?"

Kitara shook her head. "I don't know…that last attack damaged most of the data, but I'll see what I can find in the remains. As it is, all I can tell you is that's not a regular copy, but there are too many anomalies to confirm it as an original. It's just that…for a moment there…_something_ appeared. My scanners barely caught a glimpse of it, but in programming terms, it was massive. That's what knocked us out of the connection."

Celtis looked troubled as she agreed. "I hate to say it, but I didn't have anything to do with getting you out."

Omega remembered for an instant the pair of red eyes he had seen, and the flash of gold that had accompanied them, and frowned.

'_Just what the __**hell **__was that…?_'

Suddenly he winced, a throbbing pain shooting through his right arm.

"Bloody-OW! I thought that capsule was supposed to _fix_ crap like this!"

Kitara looked at him for a moment, a troubled look on her face. Celtis saw the look in her eyes and groaned.

"Don't tell me you're going to do that…!"

"I don't have much choice, do I?" Kitara grinned sheepishly. "Besides, what good was getting this upgrade if I don't use it?"

Then she was gone, leaving Celtis with her jacket.

Omega bit back a curse, redirecting all of his repair mechanisms to the searing pain in his right arm. To his chagrin, it only seemed to make it worse.

Then suddenly, he felt a small arm slip around him from behind, and then a gentle hand caught his tensed up right hand.

"Please stop moving around so much, Mister Saber. You'll only make it worse."

Omega stopped, startled. "What the-What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Then he felt something soft press against his back as the grip on his waist tightened. He was momentarily rendered speechless as he came to the realization that Kitara was no longer wearing her jacket.

There was silence for a moment, before Omega's eyes widened, a strange feeling creeping over his body. Along his back, and all the way down to the fingertips of his right hand, wherever her bare skin touched his, he could feel a weird, cold, pins-and-needles like sensation.

"Okay, I've got it." Kitara said finally, her voice shaking with concentration. "Celtis, pass me that tool over there."

Wordlessly, Celtis gave her it, watching intently as Kitara freed her left hand from around Omega's waist and did something to his right arm.

The God of Destruction bit back another curse at a sudden, sharp burst of pain, and then stopped in surprise as it gradually began to fade away. After a few moments, he flexed his arm experimentally, finding it to be working better than it had in quite some time.

When he realized that Kitara was no longer pressed up against him, he swung around, only to find her hastily pulling her jacket back on.

"Now that I am no longer in screaming agony, would somebody care to enlighten as to what the HELL it is that you just did?"

Kitara gave him a wan smile. "Once in a while, if a Reploid suffers a large amount of damage in the intervals between visits to a capsule, the next time it uses the capsule, it's nanomachines may suffer from feedback errors. Which means, in simple terms, that they'll turn cancerous and start to attack the Reploid's body itself. The only way to stop it is to find the controller nanocell that has gone cancerous and to neutralize it. After that, the cancerous ones will be destroyed by normal non-cancerous ones, solving the problem."

Omega stared at her blankly. "Fine, but this has what to do with you hugging me?"

As Kitara blushed and looked away, Celtis sighed and stepped in.

"It's a special upgrade. Basically, her entire body is like one big sensor array. By making physical contact with a Reploid or a human, she can 'see' what lies beneath the surface, or more specifically, she can see where something's wrong. Thanks to that, what she did just now let her scan your entire upper body and right arm. The more surface to surface contact there is, the wider the area she can search for the problem. So in one go-"

"-she scanned three-quarters of my body, finding the cancerous cell, and was also able to make sure there were no more problems in my upper body." Omega finished.

"Umm…y-yeah." Kitara said, her cheeks still pink with embarrassment.

Omega stared at her for a long time.

"You do realize that if you had said that you could have scanned me just by getting naked, I'd've been happy to do that instead of using the capsule, right?"

_That_ image was really too much for Kitara, and she passed out with a colossal nosebleed, leaving Omega alone to deal with a pissed off Celtis.

Unnoticed by either of them, on the cracked screen of Kitara's ruined terminal, one message still flashed in golden letters, before the machine finally shut down for good.

_**Know your place, mongrels.**_

* * *

Within the golden walls of the Gilgamesh Factor, far beyond the point where Omega and Celtis had been forced out, at the end of the gleaming treasury, a single figure leaned back into his golden throne.

"It appears that the Darkbreaker's recommendation of this man was not entirely undeserving…I shall allow him the use of a fraction of my power for now, until he has proven himself worthy of my greatness. Until then…"

Red light flashed, and a glass of claret-colored wine appeared in his hand. Lifting it to his lips, he smirked, his blood-red eyes glinting with amusement.

"I shall simply remain here and wait."

Chuckling quietly to himself, the golden-haired man sat back in the silence, surrounded by his infinite treasury.

* * *

A/N: Aaaand we're done! Wow, been a while, huh? Lotta talking in this chapter, but don't worry! Big fight in the next one, and you'll find out exactly what they managed to find out about the Gilgamesh Factor with regards to new abilities for Omega!

Well, that's that for now, I'm off to prepare to face the greatest enemy of all…

FINALS!

Damn you, university! Damn you to hell!

P.S. See if you can guess who all the mystery people I introduced in this chapter are! You'll get a cookie for each one…!

*waves plate of cookies in the air*****


	12. Chapter 11:Secrets of the Demon's Eye

**Chapter 11: Rise of the Hunter-Killer**

Disclaimer: I don't own Megaman, Capcom does. (Lucky bastards…)

* * *

Omega swept off down the streets of Legion, a brooding look on his face. Behind him, he could hear Celtis saying her goodbyes to Kitara as she started to follow him. Ignoring the looks from passers-by, he continued onward, his hands shoved deep into the pockets of his new jacket. The mishap at Kitara's had totaled his coat, so she had lent him a set of extra clothes that had happened to be on hand, promising to repair his coat. A simple black jacket with white trimmings over a white dress shirt and a pair of long black jeans, they were a far cry from his normal, eye-catching red attire.

To be honest, he had no real destination in mind, his body just automatically finding some form of physical action to carry out while he lost himself in thought.

What was bothering him, you ask? Simple.

The Gilgamesh Factor. A mysterious system implanted directly into his core programming, allowing him to summon any and all of the considerable weapons he had bought and used in his fight with the Granz army. Who had put it there, and why, was a question he had just tried to answer with Kitara's assistance. The results of that investigation, however, had been far from profitable. The security defenses built into the Factor had almost killed them both when they had tried to access it. Somehow, they had escaped death by mere inches, while all of the systems Kitara had been using for the operation had self-destructed.

Kitara had put it down to the work of the security, but Omega wasn't so sure.

Either way, there wasn't much he could do about it now. Looking back, he realized that there were several other anomalies that couldn't be accounted for, all centering around his miraculous return from the dead. For example, who had sealed him away in that capsule, far underground, where Celtis had first found him? How had his O-Saber ended up with the combat data of Zero's Z-saber? Where had he gotten the strange Redline Mode?

And now this. Omega was beginning to get the sneaking suspicion that he was being used. A mere pawn in some grand scheme that he had yet to get the slightest glimpse of.

Lost in his bitter contemplation, he almost missed Celtis' question.

"So now what?"

He blinked. To be honest, he hadn't really thought of anything involving his next step. Until she had asked him, in fact, he hadn't even been aware of that problem. Heaving an irritated sigh, he shrugged.

"How the hell should I know? Let's just head back to your place for now. Maybe I'll get lucky and some moron'll try to ambush me or something…"

Ironically, Omega had no idea that both he and Celtis were at that very moment under surveillance from a new foe. Darting like lightning across the rooftops as it followed them, the figure was a constant blur of movement as it shadowed the two. Red eyes narrowed as they focused on the female Hunter, immediately spotting the tell-tale blue glint on her forehead.

It smiled unpleasantly, revealing a mouth full of razor-sharp fangs. Looking up, it estimated that they were heading for Hunter's Camp, and it gave an annoyed growl. It seemed as though that damned woman had been right. She was probably already lying in wait for them already, ready to sweep in and steal his prize. God, how he hated that bitch!

He paused for a moment, considering his options. Sure, he could always just leap at them now and get the drop on his rival, but then again, this wasn't the wilderness, or one of the smaller cities. This was the capital of the world, Legion City, home turf of the elite Security forces, and their feared Commander, the Scarlet Phoenix. If he got jumped by them, he'd lose the prize anyway.

Fine then. He'd wait until they got closer to Hunter's Camp. He flexed his deadly claws and leapt to another roof, continuing his shadowy pursuit. And if that forked tongue bitch even _thought_ about getting in his way, well, so much the better…

* * *

As the guards at the gates of Hunter's Camp continued their patrols, one of them turned, a strange rustling sound catching his attention. He stopped, looking around, a suspicious look on his face as he tried to find the source of the noise. After a few minutes, he scratched his head, puzzled, and returned to his patrol, dismissing it as nothing.

He didn't see a long, slender reptilian tail disappear around the corner of a nearby building.

Hidden in the darkness of the alleyway, the serpentine figure effortlessly scaled the walls, reaching the rooftops in a matter of seconds. She reared up, surveying the layout of Hunter's Camp. Not exactly an ideal location for an ambush, but far better than a head-on battle. She'd seen the wreckage of Granz's prized army.

A glow of soft yellow light, and the snakelike tail that formed her lower body disappeared, splitting apart into a pair of long, shapely legs, smooth as silk, but covered in a scale-like tattoo.

She felt the cool metal of the building's roof under her bare feet and smiled, stretching out. Her tongue flickered out for a moment, long and sinuous, before she hastily snapped it back and clamped a hand over her mouth, muttering a curse. After a few moments, she carefully lifted her hand away, and stuck her tongue back out. This time, it was more normal looking, albeit a bit longer than usual.

That was the problem with a bimorphic body right there. Having the ability to shift from one form to another sounded cool enough, she knew, but when certain parts of your body caught on a little slower than the rest, it tended to cause some problems.

Then she stiffened. In the instant she had 'tasted' the air just now, there was another scent. Even in that tiny, trace amount, it was unmistakable. She snarled, already feeling her fangs lengthening, and a familiar itch in her poison glands. Of all the other Raiders, bounty hunters and criminals of the world…!

So…that _bastard_ was here too?! He must have caught wind of the same bounty as she had. By now, he had to be aware that she was here as well. Her lip curled back into a disgusted snarl of disdain. So he wanted to challenge her did he? This was _her_ prize! Fine then! If it was a fight he wanted, then by God was he going to get one _hell_ of a fight!

Shifting back into her combat form, she dove off the roof, slithering through the network that was the upper levels of Hunter's Camp.

* * *

Ace blinked and looked up as a beeping noise went off. His eyes narrowed and he tossed aside the manga he'd been reading.

That was an alert from his cyber-network of threat sensors scattered throughout Legion City. Any time a known criminal bio-signature got within twenty feet of one of those sensors, it triggered an alarm. Reaching under his desk, he tapped in a long, complex code on a hidden keypad.

Hitting the Enter key, he spun his chair around as the lights dimmed. The entire left wall of his office slid open to reveal a massive plasma screen. As it responded to his command, it lit up with a schematic of Legion City. Green dots indicated all of the still normal sensors, but the red ones…

Ace bared his teeth in a snarl. The trail of red dots showed the route of the detected Security threat, with new ones lighting up as the target passed them. According to his screen, there were not one, but _two_ of the bastards! But what the hell were they doing in his city?

The answer came a moment later as yet another alarm went off, this time from his database scanner, signaling that it had found something of urgent importance. Growling, he opened it up.

Ten seconds later, he was cursing in every language he knew. Somebody had put out an assassination bounty on Celtis! With a price of 350 grand on her head, there wasn't a chance that the job would stay open for long. And what was worse, whoever was behind it, had posted it on the lowest, most unscrupulous levels of the criminal net, which practically _guaranteed_ that none but the worst, most vicious of Raiders and bounty hunters would come across it.

Having already guessed that both of the unknown threats were aiming for Celtis, he was halfway out of his seat before an unknown sixth sense gave him the feeling that he was missing something important.

Then he saw the ID tags on the two hostile targets.

"Oh, _SHIT._"

Ten seconds after that, he had all of Legion on high alert, calling in every available Security force he could get his hands on.

That Saber guy alone was bad enough, but these two Raiders would just as soon tear each other apart as catch Celtis. Worse still, if they did in fact manage to reach Celtis, then they'd get tangled up with that maniac Saber.

Worst-case scenario? An all-out, no holds barred, three-way smackdown brawl between three _extremely_ hard hitting Reploids right in the middle of his damn city.

Yep, Ace thought darkly. It was going to be one of those days.

* * *

Omega narrowed his eyes. For the last ten minutes, his sensors had been picking up a strange reading. According to this, whatever it was, it was hiding up on the rooftops, keeping a close watch on them. Ordinarily, Omega would have suspected that it was that Rika girl again, except Vile wouldn't have any reason to spy on him.

Omega considered that last statement.

Okay, so maybe that last part wasn't entirely true. He was the God of _Destruction_ after all. Anyway, even if that was the case, he didn't think somebody like Rika would be using such an aggressive style. Whoever this was, they were consistently pushing forward, always coming as close as possible, as if daring Omega to detect them.

Which of course, he had. The only question remaining was what to do now. It seemed as though the unknown spy wanted him to attack. Either that, or they were just very, very impatient, and itching for an excuse to pick a fight. To be honest, though, with the foul mood he was in right now, picking a fight was starting to sound like a _damned_ good idea…

He blinked as he suddenly realized he was walking on alone. He looked back and raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Several steps back, Celtis was doubled over, her hands clutching at her head. Omega rolled his eyes and strolled back towards her. Whoever this mystery stalker was, they seemed to be unwilling to make a move until Omega struck first, which meant that he had time to spare.

"Oi, what's wrong with you? You suddenly develop a migraine or something?"

"A-agh…There's something…Something's nearby…!"

Omega's eyes narrowed. "What?"

"An enemy…! There's an enemy!" Celtis' head snapped up and Omega saw her face clearly. In that instant, he caught a glint of light from the gem on her forehead, and stopped, stunned.

Celtis' eyes were no longer the same as they had been moments ago. Now, red spirals blazed a brilliant trail across her violet irises, glowing with a strange iridescent light. Despite himself, Omega jerked backwards, his hand already flying towards his sword, before he fully comprehended what she'd said.

'_Wait, she can sense-?!_'

The next few seconds were a blur of movement. As a bolt of lightning shot down towards them, Omega skidded and dodged, the sidewalk blasted into craters behind him. As he turned, already drawing his Buster what he saw caused him to halt in shock.

He wasn't the only one planning a counterattack.

Three feet away from him Celtis whirled, the Hades leaping into her hand at a speed that Omega would have never believed possible with a human body. Without hesitating, and with inhuman precision, she leveled the crimson handgun and fired a single blast, aimed with perfect precision, directly back at their attacker.

'_She…She fucking out-drew me!_'

That one thought blazed a path across Omega's incredulous mind, even as the Hades' shot struck home in a blast of debris, smashing apart the top corner of an apartment building. It was as though some kind of spell had been lifted.

For a moment, Celtis remained in that position, the Hades still trained with rock-steady aim at the cloud of dust, a fierce, determined look on her face, looking almost as if she was an entirely different person. Then, she blinked, and slowly lowered the Hades, her expression returning to normal as she looked in bewilderment at the wreckage of the apartment roof.

"Wh-what happened…? When did I…?"

Without warning, her knees buckled and she fell sideways. If not for the sudden grip of Omega's gauntlets on her shoulder, she would have collapsed to the ground. She looked up at him, startled.

"Omega…? What's going on? The last thing I remember was my head hurting, and then…"

Omega ignored her, staring instead at her eyes. They were no longer glowing eerily like they had been moments before, but for some reason, they still seemed different from their normal appearance. For a moment it evaded him, but as the light shifted, he caught a flash of red, and realized what the difference was.

Unlike before, when her eyes had been a pure violet color, now, that was no longer the case. Where the red spirals had been, there were now a series of razor-thin black lines, tracing the same helical path as the red ones had. It was barely visible, almost impossible to see if you weren't looking for it, but it was there nonetheless.

Freaky-looking, but that didn't do a THING to explain to Omega how Celtis Arcana, a mere _human_, had managed to not only out-draw him, but had been able to fire at a target that shouldn't even have been visible to her, and to do so with an accuracy and speed that rivaled his own!

Further speculation was cut short by an outraged yell.

"You lousy BITCH!"

Celtis gave a cry of pain again, flinching as a faint red light emanated from the spiral pattern on her irises again.

"It's coming…!"

A blur of motion from the settling cloud of debris, and a figure slammed down onto the ground in front of them. It lifted two clawed arms, and brought them down, sending twin waves of crackling lightning racing along the ground towards them.

Omega didn't hesitate. Ignoring Celtis' startled yelp, he grabbed her by the collar and dove out of the way as the two bolts shot past. As he skated to a halt, he staggered slightly as Celtis lost her balance and crashed into him.

"Bloody-! Get off of me, dammit!"

Celtis ignored him, staring wide-eyed at the opponent facing them, the only thing remaining stationary in a world of running, screaming citizens, all desperate to get away from this sudden battlefield.

Where all of their previous opponents had been huge, hulking brutes, all built to rely on the use of sheer overwhelming power, one look at this new foe was all it would take anyone to realize that this one was designed for speed.

A long, sinuous body reared up before them, its articulated sections flexing with the movement. A pair of narrow, animal-like hind legs shifted, the wickedly curved triple claws mounted at the end of each foot gouging the asphalt of the road. Several body sections above that was a slightly thicker, armored section that served as a torso for the creature. Its two arms were long and slender, belying a hidden strength. Its hands were four fingered, three fingers and one thumb, mounted on a circular palm. Electric sparks danced between the tips of its razor-clawed fingers as it clenched its fists. Finally, a sleek, bullet-shaped head rested at the end of the long neck, bending around to glare angrily at the two of them with sparking green eyes.

Even from this distance, Omega could spot the telltale scorch-marks around the left eye socket, marring the bronze armor plating along the left side of its face.

"How the bloody hell did you manage to hit me?!" The Reploid demanded, its long tail lashing the ground in anger.

"That's what I'd like to know too." Omega muttered. His mind raced as he tried to figure out just what the _hell_ exactly he was up against. All of the readings he was getting were way out of the norm. They didn't match anything he'd ever come across before, Mutos Reploid, combat Reploid or anything else in his database.

The Reploid growled and flexed its body, rearing up into an S-shape as he stared down at them.

"Bah, no matter! You guys started the fight, just like I wanted! Now, I've got all the excuse I need to wreck the two of ya and get that prize!"

Omega's eyes widened.

'_Prize? What the-Aw, come on, don't tell me they put out a hit on her all-freaking-ready!_'

"Hahahaha!" Laughing at the look of realization on Omega's face, the mysterious Reploid drew his arms back and snapped them forward, launching two whirling discs of electricity towards them. The violet flare of Omega's O-saber chewed up the first, and he dove behind a nearby car as the other one blew apart the road where he'd been standing. He heard a grunt, and moments later Celtis landed heavily beside him. He almost laughed, her landing nowhere near as graceful or skilled as his own. She saw him grinning and hastily scrambled back up.

"Smooth, kid, real smooth!" Omega chuckled.

"Oh, shut up!"Celtis spluttered in embarrassment, pulling out the Hades and pressing her back against the car. She gritted her teeth and risked a quick look around their makeshift defense.

"I've seen this guy before…! Usually he keeps a pretty low profile, but this is the first time I've seen him try something so public!"

"Yeah? So then who the hell is he?"

There was a wild whoop, and both of them dove out of the way as a bolt of lightning turned the car they had been sheltering behind into a burning wreck. As the sinuous form of their opponent emerged from the wall of flames, Celtis spoke again.

"Gallidin Voltzer, the Lightning Bullet!"

Gallidin's name was well known among the darker parts of the criminal underworld. A solo Raider without equal, he was rumored to be one of the best mercenaries for hire in the world. The key to his success was nothing other than the very same body that confused Omega. Once a Reploid Raider, he had traded for a new body after his own was almost destroyed in a cataclysmic battle between Raider factions. Once belonging to the powerful Queen of Storms, the body that Gallidin had succeeded in obtaining was none other than the body of the hurricane Pseudoroid, Hurricaune. Using his entire fortune as a Raider boss, Gallidin soon modified Hurricaune's ruined chassis into a form that far outclassed the original. If Hurricaune had been based off of a weasel, then this new form was that of a mongoose. With the elemental powers of Hurricaune, a flexible body that could easily evade even the fastest of attacks with greatest ease, a built-in acceleration drive that outstripped some of the fastest engines on the market, and the incredible, innate power of a Pseudoroid body, there was very little that could stand up to the Raider known as the Lightning Bullet.

"Well done, Celtis Arcana! It seems my reputation precedes me! Now, let me show you why they call me the Lightning Bullet!"

The now-named Gallidin threw his head back and laughed. Then, before they could react, he launched himself forward with incredible speed, his flexible body blurring into a crackling streak of electricity. Even with his godlike reflexes, Omega was barely able to get clear. Gallidin skidded as he came out of his dash, a bubbling, blackened streak of molten asphalt marking his passage.

"Shit…" Omega muttered. Nearby, Celtis staggered back to her feet.

"I don't get it! What's going on?"

Omega grinned savagely. "It seems as though Ace's security isn't as great as he thought."

Celtis' eyes widened as se realized what he was saying. " You mean they already found out about Model O?!"

He nodded. "Looks that way. Now, if you'll excuse me…"

A sudden burst of wind, a crimson blur of motion, and suddenly Omega was twenty feet forward, leaping through the air towards Gallidin, the O-Saber roaring to life overhead.

"COME HERE, BITCH!"

Gallidin cackled madly, and blurred again. The ground shook as Omega's attack landed, his fully charged Saber strike blasting a ten-foot crater in the road. Growling, he whirled around, Buster blazing as Gallidin leapt at him from the clouds of smoke.

To the God of Destruction's shock, the Lightning Bullet dodged every single bullet, his sinuous body easily flexing into impossible positions as he snaked his way around a fusillade that would have ended any other opponent. Snarling with fury, he kept up the barrage. His Buster tracked him up the side of one of the buildings, chewing up the steel and concrete in its line of fire with ease. With a laugh, Gallidin leapt off of the building just before the trail of destruction reached him. At the top of his mid-air arc, he spun around and with a lightning-fast lash of his tail, sent a crescent-shaped wave of energy hurtling towards Omega.

"Tch…all of these damn tricks…!" Without missing a beat, the Zweihander was in Omega's hand, it's cross-shaped blade pulsing with eagerness for the fight. As Gallidin's attack reached him, Omega drew the Zweihander back. With a savage roar, he brought it swinging upward, all of his strength behind the blow. The crescent wave of electricity was immediately torn asunder, ripped in two as if it were nothing more than paper. At the same time, the Zweihander's swinging blade launched a wave of its own, heading straight back towards Gallidin.

"Let's see you try to dodge in mid-air, dipshit!" Omega snarled. Gallidin's eyes narrowed.

"If that's what you wish for, then I'll gladly grant that wish!"

A blur of electricity, and an impossible serpentine blur, and then suddenly Gallidin was right there in front of him, the Zweihander wave smashing harmlessly into a distant building. Incredibly, Gallidin had somehow managed to cover a distance of over a dozen metres away, from his position in mid-air, move _around_ Omega's attack, and land less than a foot away from him.

"No fucking way…" Omega cursed in shock.

Seeing the look on his face, Gallidin grinned, his arm crackling with electricity as he brought it around for a devastating right cross.

"…Did you really think I'd say something like that?"

Gallidin's mind froze, his eyes widening in shock at Omega's voice. Looking up, he saw no trace of the previously expression of shock on the silver-haired Reploid's face. Now, there was only a demonic smile, his red eyes alight with mocking glee. Too late, Gallidin realized that only Omega's right hand was holding his sword. His left hand was the one now moving on a direct course for Gallidin's face, glowing with an ominous looking energy.

What happened next was a blur of motion, but at the end of it, both combatants went flying in opposite directions, Omega smashing backwards through a row of cars, while Gallidin hurtled back into a building with enough force to demolish the entire front wall. Omega muttered a curse as he shook his head. He hadn't expected Gallidin to pull off a counterattack at that range, or at that speed. By whipping his lower body forward, Gallidin had used that motion to snap his upper body back, so that when Omega's fist hit its mark, the Lightning Bullet's head was already moving in that direction, lessening the force of the blow. The God of Destruction, on the other hand, had gotten the full force of Gallidin's whiplash tail slamming him straight in the face, which explained why he was right at this moment, endeavoring to remove himself from a pile of crushed and ruined cars.

He grinned to himself, as he remembered his earlier comment to Celtis.

"Well, whaddya know, I guess I did get lucky!"

Then, as he saw what was happening where he had thrown Gallidin, the grin froze on his face. Not three feet away from where Gallidin was dizzily getting back to his feet, Celtis was on all fours, shaking her head in an attempt to recover from the effects of having a Pseudoroid that weighed several tons slammed into a building next to her.

Noticing Omega's stricken look, Gallidin turned his head, and spotted Celtis. A savage smile slowly crossed his face as he realized that the crimson Reploid was too far away to reach him in time.

Even as Omega cursed and started running, his Buster leaping into his hand, Gallidin was already moving.

"The reward did say 'dead or alive' after all, and live targets are so much harder to deal with!" he sneered, his claws already bared to eviscerate the still-dazed Hunter girl.

Then all hell broke loose.

"GA-LL-I-DIIIIIIIIINNN!!"

The Lightning Bullet's eyes widened in shock as a female voice cut through the air.

"It can't be…!"

There was a wordless, reptilian shriek of fury, and the whole wall behind him and Celtis exploded outward. A shimmering, emerald-hued shape burst out of the cloud of debris and slammed into Gallidin's side like a runaway freight-train.

Omega's eyes widened. "What in the hell…?!"

With a roar of fury, Gallidin was launched across the road from the force of the tackle, snapping and biting as he engaged the new attacker. Finally getting a grip on the scaled hide of his opponent, Gallidin bit down hard, and was rewarded by a yell of pain. As the long coils tangling around him loosened, he took the chance, and with another whiplash motion of his flexible body, launched his enemy backwards with a ringing blow.

Landing hard, he skidded backwards, snapping his head up as he caught sight of the figure looming through the settling dust, an outraged look on his face.

"YOU?! You were supposed to be all the way over in Hunter's Camp! What the HELL are you doing here?!"

"I thought I smelled your disgusting stench, Voltzer, so I thought I'd come kick your ass in person!" A female voice shot back, seething with anger.

Gallidin flipped her the bird. "Oh yeah, bitch? I seem to recall me beating the shit out of you at our last meeting!"

"Well, if you think you can do that again, I dare you try, you overrated weasel!"

Gallidin's patience snapped. Roaring with rage, he leapt forward and slammed into his opponent.

"FUCK you, snakebitch!"

As the two combatants rolled out of the smoke, Omega finally got a look at the Gallidin's opponent. Her long blue hair blowing in the wind, from the waist up, she was a strikingly beautiful woman. On either side of her head, poking up through her long hair, was a strange sort of 'fin' made up of three individual sections, rustling as they shifted up and down in perfect synchronization, seemingly of their own accord. They were a bright red color, with gold lining their edges. Omega caught a glimpse of a pair of snapping green eyes, the pupils slitted as she stared at Gallidin in rage.

Her upper arms were bare, save for a single, segmented plate of armor on her shoulders, while her forearms and hand were encased in a pair of strange metal gauntlets. The wrist and armguards flared out, growing progressively wider as they went back, segmented in a manner not entirely unlike the frills around her head. The fingertips tapered down to a set of wickedly sharp talons, which opened up vicious cuts on Gallidin's armored hide with each stroke. She wore nothing to cover her top, save for what looked like a metal plated bikini top, a fact of which Omega was most appreciative of, considering her not-entirely-insignificantly-sized rack.

From the waist down, though…Omega's eyes narrowed as he realized what he was looking at. Where her legs should have been, there was instead the long, vibrant green shape of a snake's tail. Curved at the hips, and extending for almost a full six metres, the tail tapered smoothly down to an elegant tip. From a distance, it appeared smooth, but as the light caught it, Omega could just barely make out the details of the tiny scales covering it.

With another glance back at the weird fins on the back of her head, and at the way they flared whenever she hissed, he finally realized what she was.

"A naga-type!" he muttered.

Hearing a moan from Celtis as she finally recovered from the snake-woman's explosive appearance, he turned towards her and poked her with the tip of his boot.

"Hey, servant number one, any idea who this new girl is?"

Celtis took one look at where the newcomer was trying to tie Gallidin's neck in a knot and paled.

"Umm…Omega, maybe we should think about leaving…like right now!"

His gauntleted hand descended on her shoulder, preventing her from fleeing.

"Now I'm really interested. Who is she?"

Celtis risked a look up at Omega. He still hadn't taken his eyes off of the fight.

"Um, she's…Syrene Nagato."

Omega raised an eyebrow as he heard the story. Head of a Raider faction that was constantly at war with Gallidin's, the last battle between them that had ultimately annihilated their respective factions had left both Gallidin and Syrene nursing terrible injuries. Gallidin's entire body had been all but destroyed, while Syrene had been left with both of her legs completely ruined.

Upon hearing of Gallidin's resurrection into a Pseudoroid body, Syrene had chosen to have her body upgraded to that of a Naga-type Reploid. Half human and half serpent, with the ability to transform between a humanoid state and a serpentine one, she had earned the moniker of Emerald Queen Cobra, a name feared throughout the underground, as well as within some of the more legal institutions like Hunter's Camp. Her coils could crush anything foolish enough to be caught in their deadly embrace, and her sharpened claws could cleave through solid steel. Add to that her body's lightning fast reflexes, specially adapted to counter the Lightning Bullet's acceleration, and a venomous bite that'd leave you six feet under in the same amount of seconds, the Queen was widely acknowledged as one of the most feared and dangerous figures in the Raider underworld.

And the one thing that was a worse idea than challenging either the Lightning Bullet or the Emerald Queen to a fight was being within fifteen miles of a fight between the two of them.

Now, looking at Omega, Celtis had come to recognize the dangerous glint in his eyes that meant he was about to do something incredibly badass, or incredibly stupid…

Omega blinked as a message popped up on his HUD.

"From the crazy mechanic girl…? What could she want?" Opening it up, he was rewarded with a very, very interesting message.

Omega grinned wolfishly.

"All right, servant number one! Listen up! This is what we're gonna do…"

* * *

Gallidin laughed madly as he smashed Syrene into the floor.

"Pathetic! You still haven't got nearly enough to beat me, bitch!" Seizing her by the throat, the Lightning Bullet picked her up and slammed her forcefully into a wall.

"You should have just stayed in that wheelchair like the cripple you are!"

Syrene pried open one eye, fixing him with a death glare.

"And you…" Her tail lashed out, coiling itself around his waist. Gallidin cursed as he felt his carapace dent, crushed in by the frightening power of its constriction.

"Should have just stayed in your growth tank like the damn vegetable you were!" Snarling her retort, the Emerald Queen lashed her tail like a whip, slamming Gallidin into the ground with bone-crushing force. Gritting his teeth against the pain, he bit back a curse as he managed to slip out of her clutches. Before he could rise again, Syrene was on him again, her claws slicing into his armor as he slammed another electrically charged fist into her gut.

She backed off slightly, her frill rustling as it flared back up, responding to her anger.

"This reward is mine, you chauvinistic bastard!"

"Fuck you, I found her first!"

"Only because I was trying to keep a low profile, unlike certain fools I know!"

"Well too bad! First come, first served and all that!" Gallidin sneered. On his wrists, a pair of rotor shaped blades appeared and started to spin, glowing green as they powered up.

"It's a little memento from this body's previous owner. I'm sure you're familiar with it, since this is the move I used to wipe the floor with your scaly ass last time!"

Syrene's metallic fins flared dangerously in response.

"Well, I've got a few tricks of my own, so you just try me if you think you can!"

"With pleasure!" With matching snarls, the two mortal foes leapt at each other, murder in their eyes.

"Sorry, but I don't think so!"

A violet flash, and the world exploded. Caught by surprise, both combatants were knocked backward by the force.

In the settling dust, one figure straightened up. Hefting the colossal shape of the Zweihander over his shoulder, the ice white hair of the God of Destruction billowed out in the wind, a demonic smile on his face.

"Ignoring somebody else for the sake of carrying out your own personal grudges is kinda rude, hey? Especially when you interrupt one of _my_ fights to do that!"

He leveled the Zweihander at Syrene.

"Hot babe or not, NOBODY interferes in one of my duels and gets away with it!"

Syrene blinked, startled. "Hot…? What the hell are you talking about?"

Omega sneered. "I was fighting this douchebag first, so get in line!"

"Wha-?! How dare you?! Some meddling punk like you wouldn't understand the meaning of the word duel if it danced naked in front of you!"

"Oh, is that an offer?" Omega grinned. "'Cause see, if you want to try that, it's fine by me-

Omega halted, a sudden chill running down his spine. The massive shape of Gallidin suddenly blurred into shape behind him, wrist rotors whining as they channeled electrical energy. The Lightning Bullet sneered.

"Duel shmuel! If you two want to argue about pointless shit, go right ahead!" His entire right arm blazing with electrical energy, Gallidin brought his blade screaming down towards Omega at an incredible speed.

"It'll make it that much easier to slaughter you both!"

Recovering, Syrene also launched herself forward, her claws bared.

"Good! That way, I can kill both of you at once!"

A flash of light, and a metallic clang…

Both Raider's eyes widened in shock.

"What…the hell…" Gallidin managed.

"…is this…?!" Syrene finished, shock clearly audible in her voice.

Their target, the red-eyed devil with the hair as white as bone, hadn't moved a muscle. He still stood, one hand resting easily on his hip, while the other balanced that colossal sword over his shoulder.

He hadn't moved, and yet, both of their attacks had been stopped. And it was how they had been stopped that had shocked them.

There floating in mid-air, their blades crossed to defend their master, floated six swords. Two to block Gallidin's strike and two for each of Syrene's hands, which had been aiming for Omega and Gallidin both.

The God of Destruction grinned.

"Looks like servant number two came through! I guess it really _was_ worth going through all that Spatial Dive crap for this!"

With a snap of his fingers, the sky behind him flashed red and four Buster cannons materialized as if by magic. It was only through their accelerated reflexes that the two Raiders were able to avoid getting blasted by a barrage of shells.

"Now…" Omega brought the Zweihander down, grabbing it in a two-handed grip. "Let's try this again, shall we?!"

Lunging forward, his Zweihander lashed out at Gallidin, forcing the ex-Pseudoroid to execute another one of his high speed dodges. Seeing a chance, Syrene leapt at Omega's unprotected back.

"Don't expect me to hold back if you leave yourself open like this!" she yelled triumphantly, light glinting off of her razor sharp talons as she closed in for the kill.

Omega grinned. "Who said anything about leaving myself open?"

Syrene's eyes widened. "What?!"

Without turning around, Omega simply raised one hand, and snapped his fingers. Syrene gasped as she saw the familiar red flash and jerked back, narrowly avoiding being skewered by a rain of blades, shooting at her from a wide variety of angles. Taking the opportunity, Omega blocked two strikes from Gallidin and slammed the Zweihander into the Lightning Bullet's hasty guard, knocking him flying. Then, whirling around as red light flashed around him, Omega drew a massive warhammer from the Gate and launched it at Syrene. Caught unprepared, she didn't have a chance to block, the warhammer smashing into her midsection and flinging her backwards.

Omega grinned as he felt a sense of déjà vu. That was the same warhammer he had used to wipe out a squad of stealth Raiders and total a battle tank, using pretty much the same method. One of the things Kitara had said was that all of the weapons he had bought and stored in his trans-server arsenal had apparently been saved as data in the Cyberspace of the Factor. These saved images could then be used to summon the weapons again and again, no matter how many times the physical ones had been destroyed. Which explained why Omega had seen all of them back inside the Factor, despite the fact that he had destroyed all of them in his battle against Granz.

That second of amusement cost him, as Gallidin recovered much faster than he had expected, rocketing back towards him and landing two devastating blows with his electrically charged fists. As Omega staggered back, the electricity temporarily screwing with his movement, Gallidin reared back and, channeling more energy into his tail, brought it swinging around to slam into Omega, putting the full force of his whiplike body behind the attack.

Even though Omega managed to block the attack with the Zweihander, the force of the blow was still enough to knock him off his feet. Flipping twice in the air, he skidded backwards, taking the momentary reprieve to launch another round of attacks from the Gate of Babylon at Syrene, who was only now managing to get back up after Omega's warhammer had knocked the wind out of her. Rewarded by a screech of pain as several of them struck home, Omega chuckled, and leapt at Gallidin again, only for the Pseudoroid to blur out of range, his incredible speed bringing him around to the God of Destruction's unguarded back.

"You've got some good moves, punk, but you're still nothing against my speed!"

"Is that so…?" Omega glanced back at him, a dangerous glint in his eyes.

Too late, Gallidin realized that his opponent's hands were empty. Hearing a high-pitched whine growing closer, he cursed and threw himself sideways as the Red Ripper scythed through the air where his neck had been a split second earlier.

"When the hell did he throw that?!"

Then he felt something wrap around his leg, and before he could react, the Lightning Bullet was yanked off of his feet and into the air.

"Now, boys, don't forget there's still a third player in this game!" The Emerald Queen laughed triumphantly, her long tail wrapped around Gallidin's leg. Then with a single motion, she snapped it forward, launching the hapless Pseudoroid towards Omega.

Both of them went down in a painful sounding crash, accompanied by a yell of outrage from Omega and a pained grunt from Gallidin.

As Omega struggled to disentangle himself from Gallidin's articulated body, he caught sight of Syrene again and he froze.

The Queen reared up to her full height, her segmented metallic frills flaring open to their maximum extent, beginning to glow an eerie neon-green color. Her eyes dancing with the taste of victory, Syrene tilted her head back, a sphere of light forming in front of her open mouth.

"Hope you like this trick, Gallidin! GIGA REFLECTOR!"

Snapping her head back down, she released her attack, a beam shooting from each of her six frill segments into the sphere of energy, erupting in a single, colossal blast of brilliant green energy that burst forward, heading directly towards her downed opponents in an unstoppable cascade of destruction.

Both Omega and Gallidin paled.

" FFFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUU-"

KA-BOOOOM!

* * *

Moving through the upper levels of Legion City, Marino skidded sideways as a tremendous explosion shook the area, the tremor shaking the building she was standing on. She gritted her teeth and kept moving, remembering the sudden orders from Ace.

_"It'll probably be about fifteen to twenty minutes before I can get the Security forces mobilized. In the meantime, get over there as fast as you can! If I can manage to raise Craft, he'll be heading that way right behind you, if he isn't already! Now get moving, and make sure those two stay alive at all costs!"_

She took note of the direction of the blast and sped up, leaping from rooftop to rooftop as she closed in on it.

"Let's hope I'm not too late…!"

* * *

Racing through the streets, Craft's bike roared as he pushed the accelerator to its limits. Like Marino, he too had gotten the orders from Ace to get to Saber and Celtis as fast as possible.

Unlike Marino, however, Craft did not have the luxury of being able to go jumping across rooftops. He was a soldier, after all, and much preferred a less death-defying method of transportation. The downside of this was that while Marino had practically all of Legion's upper layers to move, he was restricted to using the roads. And when said roads were crammed full of panicking citizens, all fleeing from the battle between two infamous Raiders and the Maverick once known as the God of Destruction, that could present some problems…

He cursed as he saw that the road up ahead was blocked by debris. Slamming one armored boot down on the ground, he spun the bike by ninety degrees and took off down a side street.

Craft silently hoped that Marino was having better luck than he was.

* * *

And so it was, ironically, that despite the two of them passing along routes that ran surprisingly close to one another, that Ace's two agents never saw each other.

So it was no surprise that neither of them spotted the jet black figure that raced through Legion City's upper levels, his bicolored eyes leaving a faint trail of red and gold light in the air behind him.

* * *

Syrene slowly lowered her frills, her eyes darting from side to side as she strove to pierce the cloud of dust created by her explosive attack. Transforming her legs back to a human form to present a smaller target, she stepped forward cautiously. In that form, a simple v-shaped piece of gold plated armor covered her groin, six long thin metal tassels ringing its circumference, jingling softly with the motion of her hips.

"I really need to work on that…" She muttered. "I can't even tell if I fragged them or not…"

SMACK!

Syrene gave a ear-piercing yelp and leapt about three feet into the air. Landing, she spun around and jumped back, her hands flying to her now-sore rump.

"Wha-what the hell?! You?!"

Omega grinned and lowered his hand. Guaranteed way to take a scantily-clad, female opponent off-guard: one slap to the ass!

"Yo! Miss me?"

Syrene's face was a brilliant shade of red, a mixture of embarrassment and outrage.

"What….What the hell was that?!"

Omega shrugged. "Hey, I'm a guy! Dress like that and let me get behind you, well, you were pretty much asking for that to happen!"

Syrene was seriously considering Giga Solar'ing the impudent Reploid into next weekend when the clouds of smoke erupted, and the enraged form of Gallidin Voltzer exploded out of it.

"_**ENOUGH!**_"

With a roar like the end of the world, he shot past his arch-rival, his electric blades slashing her across the back.

She staggered forward with a scream, belatedly triggering her transformation.

'_**Shit..!**_' she cursed, clenching her jaw with the pain. _' I let my guard down!_'

Then, before Omega could react, Gallidin had halted, made an impossibly sharp turn without skidding even a fraction off course, and launched himself back at the God of Destruction. Omega was barely able to lift his Saber to deflect it in time. It was only when he felt an electrically charged claw rip a chunk out of his back that he realized something was wrong.

"I blocked him…but he's already back again?!" Even as Omega thought that, in the time it had taken for him to process that very thought, Gallidin had landed two more strikes on the still reeling form of Syrene, and was coming back towards him, fangs bared in a snarl of rage.

"I have had just about ENOUGH of dealing with this bullshit!" he roared. "Now, I'll show you the fury of the Lightning Bullet!"

The bastard certainly wasn't exaggerating that, Omega thought grimly, ignoring the pain as Volltzer slashed into him again and again, his speed already at the point where he was visible as no more than a streak of electricity arcing through the air. Even now, Omega could feel the air around him starting to speed up, whipped into a vortex-like frenzy by the speed of Gallidin's passage. Even Omega's enhanced senses were barely able to keep up with him, his Buster shots all missing by miles as he tried in vain to knock Gallidin out of his attack.

And still Gallidin continued to accelerate, strike after strike slamming into the two of them, held prisoner by the raging whirlwind, and their bodies slowed by the repeated hits of his electrical abilities.

"Son of a…bitch…!" Omega gasped, another attack slashing a gaping furrow across his chest. Already he was having trouble standing, the gale force winds threatening to tear him off his feet, where he would be helpless in the face of Gallidin's aerial assault. It took all of his strength just to force his arms to move, fighting against the wind to aim his Buster into the raging maelstrom. Even in mid-air, Gallidin's movements were like lightning, zig-zagging in an erratic, unpredictable pattern as he bolted from one place to another.

The Lightning Bullet cackled madly as another shot from Omega's Buster sailed harmlessly past him.

"How useless! Give up you fool! All of your skills are nothing in the face of my godlike speed! You can't hit me, you can't block me, and you cannot avoid me! I am Gallidin Voltzer, the Lightning Bullet! Once I've caught you in my sights, there's no miracle in heaven or earth that can save you!"

And then, even as Omega opened his mouth to snarl a curse back at his tormentor, the incredible happened.

A single blast, a gunshot that shattered the world with its mere sound, and the vortex was torn apart. Gallidin Voltzer, the Pseudoroid of supposedly untouchable speed, was plucked out of the air and slammed sideways through a building as if swatted by a giant hand.

Without its master's godlike acceleration to spur it on, the raging wind disappeared, torn apart by its own velocity. Omega dropped back down, landing on all fours, his body covered in the marks of Gallidin's blades. As he gritted his teeth, wincing with the pain, he could already feel the wounds starting to close, his natural regeneration kicking in. If that barrage had kept up any longer, he was almost certain that even his ridiculous regenerative speed wouldn't have been able to keep up. These Pseudoroids, whatever they were, were a far cry from the combat units he'd fought before if this was the kind of crazy shit they could do!

Dismissing that thought, he stood back up. Now, he had a much bigger concern.

That impossibly high-velocity blast could only have come from one gun. Add to that a stupidly powerful impact, heavy enough to knock even a Pseudoroid weighing over a ton out of the air and launch him through a wall with ease and there was really only one weapon that you could be dealing with.

Gallidin blasted the ruined concrete and steel apart, shaking with rage and shock.

"WHO?! Who the FUCK hit me?!"

Then he saw the familiar glint of crimson metal, and his eyes widened. Now he knew why that impact had felt familiar! He had been on the receiving end of it just a short while before, the blast ripping clean through an apartment floor to knock him straight off his feet.

"…YOU!" He breathed, his claws clenching into fists.

Omega couldn't help but grin at the sight of Celtis Gisborne-Wingates Arcana, the barrel of the Hade still glowing red-hot, holding the crimson handgun tightly in both hands, her shoulders shaking, and with the red spirals in her eyes blazing an unholy crimson color.

"Well, look who grew a spine after all!" The God of Destruction smirked. Celtis blinked at the sound of his voice, the red glow in her eyes dimming slightly.

"Wh-what? Oh shut up!" She retorted, her cheeks coloring slightly. "Considering I just saved your supposedly invincible ass, I think you could be a little less insulting!"

Omega threw his head back and laughed raucously. " 'Saved'? Darlin', I had him right where I wanted him the whole time! You just saved me the trouble!"

He brought his head back down to stare at her, an arrogant smirk on his features.

"Or did you really think something as small as that would be able to take me out?"

The last of the Lightning Bullet's patience left him. With a shriek of fury, he launched himself into the air, his body crackling into the erratic, darting motion that had earned him his title.

"Enough of this! I've wasted enough time on you two punks! Now that you've been so kind to show yourself, I'll just kill you and take your remains back for the reward! I don't care what type of gun you use, it doesn't matter if you can't hit with it!"

Omega stabbed the Zweihander's blade into the ground and folded his arms, a feral smile appearing on his face.

"Then it's a good thing that my servant doesn't have that problem, then is it?"

Gallidin's eyes widened as he heard the amusement in Omega's voice. In that instant-

-the red spirals in Celtis' eyes blazed back to life-

-the eyes of the Hades' skull sigil flashed a brilliant gold-

-the barrel of the Hades snapped sideways and upwards-

-a blast like a cannon-

-and Gallidin was smashed backwards out of the air, a tremendous impact sending the entire world spinning crazily around him as he slammed back into the ground.

He staggered back to his feet, shaking his head to clear the ringing in his metal skull, an utterly bewildered expression on his face.

"Who…what…how…What the FUCK?!" he spluttered. "How in the name of all nine rings of hell did you fucking hit me?!"

Celtis didn't answer, breathing hard. It was Omega who answered him, still standing over by his Zweihander, an expression of pure amusement on his face.

"Just a little bio-genetic weapon called the Lightspeed Lock-on." He grinned.

Gallidin whirled around, a look of shock dawning on his face.

"Lightspeed Lock-no, it can't be…!"

"I believe you guys know it better as the Demon's Eyes."

Gallidin reeled, spinning back to face Celtis, Hades still trained on him.

"But that's impossible! That tech is supposed to be a legendary piece of Lost Technology! No-one even knows if it really existed in the first place! How does some low-level Hunter like you have something that powerful?!"

"Beats me." Omega shrugged. "Either way, your ass is toast!"

The Lightspeed Lock-on, or the Demon's Eye to use its informal nickname, is a truly feared ability. Created by grafting a specialized, extremely high-powered sensor array into the optic nerves of the host, coupled with an extremely advanced target recognition software, the Demon's Eye is essentially a targeting system that once it has locked onto a target, will never lose it unless specifically commanded to do so. No matter where the target hides, be it behind six metres of reinforced steel, behind a lead wall, an armored bunker buried deep underground, or even an airship high in the stratosphere, or concealed with layer upon layer of illusions, the Demon's Eye would pierce through the veil, never losing sight of it. When coupled with a direct link to the nervous system, it allowed for a reaction time so fast it was practically automatic, with accuracy that was damn near 99.98%! In addition to that, it possessed a limited critical-point location system, automatically locating points on the target that would do the maximum amount of damage. This particular ability, in fact, had been what allowed Celtis to drop the colossal Firestorm Tiger on his back during the Model O mission.

By itself, the Demon's Eye was just that, a targeting system. But when combined with a devastating piece of artillery like the Hades, suddenly it became much, much more dangerous.

The information that Celtis possessed the Demon's Eye had come from none other than Ace Phoenix himself, sent to Kitara with the strict orders that it be relayed to Celtis and Omega at maximum speed, as a result of their impending clash with the Lightning Bullet and the Emerald Queen Cobra. Kitara in turn had passed it on to Omega along with what information she had managed to get on the Gilgamesh Factor, with an additional warning from Ace.

_Celtis appears to still be unaware that she possesses this ability. Her fusion with Model O appears to have had some kind of effect on it, causing it to stir from __its__ dormant state. If that is the case, then it is possible that all it needs is some sort of trigger to awaken it. My knowledge ends here. It's up to you two to figure it out if you want to have a chance of surviving against those two, Gallidin in particular. Good luck –Ace Phoenix._

With this information, Omega had left Celtis with the simple instructions of finding a place to take cover, and to do nothing but watch the battle unfold.

Celtis had done just that. However, it wasn't until well into the battle, when Gallidin had really begun to lay on the speed, that the Demon's Eye had begun to stir. Bit by bit, with each passing second that Gallidin continued his breakneck onslaught, Celtis had gradually been able to follow him with more and more ease. Until finally, it eventually reached its point of awakening.

It was as though there had been a switch inside her consciousness, locked in the 'off' position for all her life, and now, for the first time, someone had switched it on. Just like before, when she had somehow sensed Gallidin's presence spying on them, her body moved almost without her control, the Hades leaping into her hand with an eager glint, the spiraled lower barrel shrieking to life as she brought it up, already ripping matter from the surroundings in preparation to fire.

One shot, fired at a space that Celtis somehow knew would be occupied by the Lightning Bullet, even though at the moment he had been going in the completely opposite direction.

And sure enough, it struck home.

Now she stood there, Hades pointed at a bewildered and enraged Pseudoroid, and was wondering just how in this crazy and messed up world she had ended up in this situation.

"So…Now I get why a mere Hunter like you would have such a price on your head…"

Celtis started at the sound of the murderous voice. Gallidin whirled, stunned as a figure loomed behind Omega, rearing up to its full sinuous height.

"What?! You're still in one piece?!"

The half-serpentine figure of Syrene slid out of the shadows, steam rising from the wounds on her body as they healed.

"Have you forgotten, Gallidin dear? Many reptiles can regenerate their injuries, so why should I be any different?"

With that, she lunged down at Omega, who still had yet to move.

"I'll just get you out of the way first…!"

The God of Destruction sighed. Hitting the Zweihander a kick to dislodge it, he grabbed the hilt and stepped sideways, easily dodging Syrene's attack. Then, bringing it around, he knocked her flying with the flat of the blade.

"Honestly, you're never going to learn, are you?"

With a mocking glance back at Celtis, he grinned.

"Alright, Servant Number One! I'm leaving you to deal with him!"

Both Gallidin and Celtis gaped at him in shock.

"You…you can't be serious! He's a freaking Pseudoroid! He almost killed YOU for Christ's sake!"

Omega snapped his fingers. An array of swords appeared, all of them pointing at Celtis in a decidedly threatening manner.

"I'm sorry, did you say something, Servant Number One?" Omega asked, an innocent smile on his face.

Celtis swallowed, one of the sword-tips tickling her throat.

"U-um, no, nothing!" she squeaked.

"Excellent!" He clapped his hands together, and the swords disappeared again. Turning, he started moving towards where Syrene had landed.

"Now, I'm off to deal with Snakegirl here, so have fun! Oh and if you lose, I'll kill you. Bye!"

All of this was said in the most carefree and light-hearted of tones. And yet Celtis couldn't help but feel as if her death warrant had just been written. Then a thought occurred to her.

"HEY! Since when have I been 'Servant Number One'?!"

Omega raised a hand in response. Celtis heard the telltale whistling noise, and dove for the floor, a massive battle-axe burying itself in the wall where her head had been moments before.

She looked up to see Gallidin still standing in the same spot, a mildly shell-shocked expression on his face.

"Um…hi."

Gallidin stared blankly back at her.

A tumbleweed rolled past.

"What the FUCK just happened?" The Lightning Bullet asked finally.

"Uh, I think I'm supposed to fight you now…"

Gallidin stared at her for another moment. Then, he turned around for a moment, counting on his fingers. After making sure that yes, two plus two did, in fact, still equal four, and all of reality had _not_ suddenly gone batshit crazy, he turned around again.

"I really, _really_ am not getting paid enough for this." He groaned, and settled into a fighting crouch.

Celtis stared at him.

"So, uh, now what?"

Gallidin stared at her. "Well, for starters, you could try to attack me now, so I can kick your ass, go home, and get totally wasted. That sounds pretty good to me."

"Oh, okay then." With that, Celtis pointed the Hades muzzle directly at the ground and pulled the trigger.

BOOM!

Gallidin staggered back as a shockwave of dust and debris rocketed past him. When he finally opened his eyes again, it was only to see a vaguely Celtis-shaped hole in the air, and a green-haired dot dwindling into the distance.

"Wait, what?! _**FUCK!**_" Gallidin yelled, suddenly realizing that three hundred and fifty thousand EC was currently running away from him at high speed. Belatedly he launched himself forward, arrowing across the ground after his fleeing prize.

"Get back here, bitch!"

* * *

A/N: And we're off again! Well, you've finally seen the secrets of the mysterious Demon's Eye. Yeah, it's actually pretty lame, isn't it…

For those of you who have any issues with the Gate of Babylon thus far, just wait till the next chapter. It might certainly seem invincible, but it does have it's flaws. Remember, the Factor decided to only lend a fraction of its power for the time being!

Well, that's it for now! Don't worry, the next chapter'll be up really soon! Remember the Granz battle chapters? Yeah, think speed like that!

And finally, the next chapter is the one you've all been waiting for, ever since The Omega Chronicles first began! I'll leave it up to your imaginations to guess what I mean.

But I'll warn you from now, things may not turn out quite the way you'd anticipate…Expect some more of my trademark 'inventiveness' to strike again!

Later! Don't forget to Read and Review!

DarkShift Out!


	13. Chapter 12: Advent of the Final Biometal

**Chapter 12: Advent of the Final Biometal**

And here it is! What are you still here for, get reading!

Oh yeah, I don't own Megaman.

* * *

A series of explosions shook the Legion cityscape, two figures crashing through wall after wall, locked in mortal combat. There were the sounds of wild laughter from the man, and angry hisses from the woman, both of them constantly grappling, trying to get into a more advantageous position. Finally, with a triumphant yell, the man managed to grab his opponent in a headlock and, whirling in midair, launched her flailing body straight through the wall.

Landing hard, Omega (as if it could be anyone else) straightened up and grinned. Then, as he caught a glint of green light, he swore and leapt forward, narrowly avoiding a brilliant green blast of energy from Syrene's gauntlets. Apparently she'd realized that simply fighting by charging in and slashing madly was not going to work on this opponent, so she had opted for throwing in some distance attacks as well, blasting beams of energy from the palms of her armored gauntlets. He'd already been on the receiving end of several of those attacks, and knew from experience that they definitely hurt.

"All right, you want to play long-range again? Fine by me, baby!" With a cocky laugh, he lifted one hand, and the Gate of Babylon leapt to the attack. Omega matched her shot for shot, returning every single one of her energy blasts with an array of blades or a rain of bullets. Not just that, but he switched it up a bit, alternately launching attacks from his Factor arsenal, or blasting fully charged Buster shots in her general direction in a strafing barrage to keep her off balance. The Buster shots didn't even need to hit, the colossal explosions from their impacts more than enough to pressure her. There were problems with this strategy from time to time though, like-

-now, really. Omega bared his teeth as Syrene suddenly appeared in front of him, her long tail launching her forward in the blink of an eye, closing in for up close and personal combat as she took advantage of a lull in his attacks.

"Bring it on!" he laughed madly, his Zweihander appearing in his hand almost faster than he thought.

Switching to Red Ripper mode, he spun the dual sided saber easily, the violet blades clashing against each of her slashing attacks. Up, down, left, right…Blow after blow was traded, neither combatant willing to back off.

"You're pretty good for a no-name bodyguard!" Syrene gritted, her claws pushing against his Ripper with all her strength.

"Thanks!" Omega replied, pushing back with equal force. "And you're pretty damn sexy, even with scales!"

Catching her by surprise, he shoulder-rammed her, knocking her back. Immediately pressing his advantage, he followed it up with a shift back to the normal O-Saber, stabbing forward with lightning speed, only for her to dodge it easily, her sinuous body giving her a degree of flexibility unmatched by most of his normal opponents.

"Shit…!" He tried to pull back, only for her to snake her way up, over his arm, down, and around him, her long coils ensnaring him easily and tightening in a cruel vise.

"Damn, but she's got some strength!"

Syrene brought her face down to the same level as the struggling Reploid.

"Sorry, I'd like to play some more, but your 350-grand friend is running around with Gallidin right now, and I'd rather not let him get that prize. So I'm afraid you'll just have to die now!"

"Yeah, I'm gonna go with 'fuck you' here."

Red light flashed overhead. Syrene looked up and gasped. Releasing Omega, she flung herself out of the way as a dozen weapons slammed into the ground around him.

"Crap, I forgot about those…!"

Omega grinned as he dusted himself off. "Really? Well then, I've got some good news for you!"

He hefted the O-Saber, deactivated it, and stored it in an inside pocket of his jacket. Locking the fingers of his hands together, he stretched them out in front of him, rolling his head to work the kinks out of his neck.

Red light danced in the air around him as he lifted his hand.

"Since you seem to like this move so much, guess what?"

A snap of his fingers, and three swords shot out, aiming down towards her. Slithering out of the way, she was rewarded by the sight of two spears rocketing towards her midsection. Dodging that, she ducked out of the way as a grenade launcher materialized, launching a fusillade of shells that stitched the road with explosions.

Omega grinned demonically, as he summoned still more weapons.

"You guessed it! SPAMMING TIME!"

Syrene's eyes widened, a colossal scythe splitting the wall next to her. If she'd been just a few seconds slower…

She wasn't unable to finish that thought as another set of weapons shot towards her. Ducking under a whirling broadsword, she knocked away a double-headed battleaxe with a blow from her claws and lunged forward, only to be forced back by a hail of bullets from an array of Gatlings and machine guns that had appeared in the air behind him.

Ducking, weaving, dodging, running…No matter what she did, the white-haired Reploid's attacks were right behind her. And still he hadn't moved, just standing there with his hands in his pockets, weapon after weapon materializing from the eerie red sky behind him, flashing as they launched themselves forward under his command. Whenever she managed to get close enough to take a swing at him, or simply launch a blast at him, he'd just sidestep it with a single, easy motion and with that arrogant smirk still on his face, he'd launch another attack at her.

"God…damn it…!" She panted. "How many of those frigging things do you have?"

She had been dodging his attacks for almost ten minutes straight, and still he showed no sign of running out of ammunition. In response, he merely shrugged.

"Beats me. For all I know I've got an infinite number of these suckers waiting to go! Don't worry, there's still plenty of 'em left, so dance, baby, DANCE!"

With a wild laugh, he snapped his hand forward. Syrene braced herself for another wave of attacks, her mind racing as she desperately tried to think of a way to counter it…

And nothing happened.

Omega stood there for a moment, his expression not changing one bit. Then, he lifted his arm, and repeated the motion.

Another pause.

Still nothing.

"Um…you know that nothing's happening right…?"

"Thank you, I hadn't noticed!" Omega deadpanned, his voice dripping with sarcasm. It was then he noticed the blinking red counter in the upper right of his HUD.

0/200…please wait while Factor resets…

It was then that Omega saw the last part of Kitara's message:

_Oh yeah, for some strange reason, most of the Factor still seems to be locked off. Remember that weird shimmering thing we couldn't get past? In terms of data, that's how much of the Factor you can use. I think you're supposed to be able to use all of the weapons in there, including the ones we saw past the barrier, but for now, I think the only ones you can actually use are the ones in the area we managed to access. It's mostly made up of the weapons you bought from Vix, but there's a few there that __don't__ match any of the stuff you got from her, so I think it's a few of the Factor's own stash. All in all, you've got about two hundred of them that you can use. Each time you summon one, that's one less weapon. It goes until you've used up all two hundred. I think it recharges after that, but I don't know how long that'll take. Anyway, be careful! After all, it could suck if it happens to run out in the middle of a fight, so watch out!_

Omega's eye twitched.

"Two…freaking…hundred…? After all of the crap I saw in there, you give me a measly TWO HUNDRED to play with?"

Omega would have launched off into an insane tirade of outrage, had he not been interrupted by Syrene's long tail wrapping around his leg, and then slamming him back and forth from one building to another several times, before flinging him clear down the street with enough force for him to bounce several times, his progress finally stopping when he crashed into the side of a truck, vanishing inside an impact crater as the metal bent around him.

The Emerald Queen grinned, dusting her hands off as she surveyed her handiwork.

"Well, that was strange…That weird ability of his really caught me off guard. If he hadn't been keeping me pinned like that, I could have really used some big moves on him. Feels like a kinda lame win if all I could use was the basic stuff."

She shrugged, heading off down the street, towards where she'd left Gallidin and her prize.

"Well, a win's a win. It's his own fault for pretending to have an infinite supply of swords. Lousy faker…"

Now, as with all situations in life, there are certain times when one _should not_, _**EVER**_, say certain things. Had Syrene not opened her mouth to say that one last parting shot, chances are that things might have ended differently. She would have still lost, but just not quite as badly. When your opponent is a man who takes great pride in calling himself the _**original**_ God of Destruction, or the _**original**_ Zero, never, EVER, use the word 'fake' or 'faker' to refer to him.

As if that alone was not bad enough, there was one other person who heard that last comment. And believe me, when it's him you're talking about, don't even use the word 'faker' within twenty miles of him.

In the darkness of Cyberspace, there was the almost audible 'snap!' of someone's last nerve breaking, closely followed by the sounds of breaking glass, almost as though a glass of champagne was suddenly crushed in an iron grip.

In the brilliant daylight of the real world, there was the almost audible 'snap!' of someone's last nerve breaking, and _this_ was accompanied by the sound of groaning metal, the kind of sound made when someone effortlessly bends it out of the way and crushes it into an unrecognizable shape.

A dozen meters down the road, Syrene suddenly halted, a terrifying sensation suddenly freezing the blood in her veins. Something told her, deep inside, that behind her standing in the road, was a monster. The kind you have nightmares about and wake up screaming. Every fiber in her body told her not to look back, to instead run like hell, straight down that road and hope to God she made it around that corner.

And then the other, slightly more rational part of her brain said: no…no, we're pretty sure you're in deep shit anyway, so you might as well just turn around now and at least see what's going to kill you.

Before she could decide on either choice, however, a voice spoke up. It bore absolutely no trace of malice, rage, anger, or any emotion at all really. It was cool and calm, and somehow that only served to make it even more terrifying.

"What…did you just call me…?"

Syrene swallowed. Was it just her, or did it sound as though there were two voices saying those words…?

"Um…I didn't say anything…" She tried, vainly hoping that her bluff would hold.

"Nice try."

Now Syrene turned around, finally working up the courage to see what was standing there.

There, in the middle of the road, the truck behind him torn to shreds, stood the very same white-haired Reploid, completely unharmed. The cold, infinite fury in his eyes froze her to the spot.

"You dare…to call me, the Original, a mere…_faker_…?"

An eerie wind started to blow, Omega's dark jacket flapping in the breeze. On Omega's HUD, the display showing the number of weapons available blinked out. Lost in his unending fury, he clenched his fists, feeling the power surge through him.

Where the display had been, now the words 'Redline Mode Initialized' appeared. Just like it had the first time, a wave of violet color spread through his hair, staining it a dark purple color. His clothes changed color, the white lines fading to a blood-red crimson, the black jacket and jeans bleaching to a brilliant white color, and the white dress shirt fading to a black as dark as midnight.

Blinded with rage, he lifted both hands into the air, the world behind him vanishing in a wall of raging crimson energy, familiar ripples appearing on its surface.

"I'm going to fucking _obliterate_ you."

That line, at least, Syrene thought, with the last of rationality left to her, sounded more like the guy she'd been fighting.

"GATE…OF…"

The Emerald Queen looked up, and saw the mass of weapons emerging, far, _far_ more than a mere two hundred.

She paled, her face turning as white as a ghost.

"Oh…shi-"

* * *

Picture the sight of Legion City, as if seen from the top floor of a skyscraper. On a good day, one can see for miles around. The peaceful, bustling life of the city, the towering shape of skyscrapers in the industrial sections of the city, a brilliant blue sky overhead, white, fluffy clouds meandering easily across the blue canvas above, and the warm bright sunlight shining down without a care in the world.

Then, hear the sound of a rage filled voice, roaring with fury.

"-BABYLON!"

Now picture a giant mushroom cloud of dust and debris, cars and chunks of buildings caught up in it, exploding upwards amidst those same skyscrapers. And then watch as several of those very skyscrapers shift slowly sideways, and then, just as slowly, fall over.

* * *

As the thunderous roar of collapsing buildings finally subsided, Omega staggered out of the clouds of smoke, bits of rubble falling off of him as he coughed up dust. He looked around in amazement, his anger completely burned out by that one attack.

"Daaaaaaaaamn…!" He whistled, surprise and not a small amount of pride evident in his voice as he surveyed the devastation. "I really need to get pissed off more often!"

He looked around, impressed as he took in the damage cause by the Gate of Babylon's full power. Every visible surface had been skewered, pierced by countless swords. What hadn't been turned into a steel pincushion by the rain of swords had instead been blasted into molten slag by a furious barrage of gunfire.

As he stared out at the wasteland of steel, a thought suddenly struck him.

"Hey…waaaaaait just a damn second here! I'm pretty sure there's no way in hell that this is just two hundred!"

Checking his HUD, he was rewarded by the sight of his Factor gauge blinking innocently, reading a full 200.

"Oh, so, what? You give me two hundred swords to play with, but when you get pissed off, _you're_ allowed to throw all of them around? Just who the hell do you think you are?" Omega ranted to thin air, yelling at the Factor.

Then with a red glow, several swords appeared around him. Omega looked up, surprised.

"Hey, I didn't call any of-"

His eyes widened.

Moments later, if anyone had been watching, they would have been treated to the sight of one God of Destruction running like hell from an array of angry swords.

"Fucking fuck, fuck…FUCK!"

With a panicked yell, he scrambled up a piece of rubble and launched himself off as the swords stabbed into it right behind him. He crashed down in an ungainly heap on the floor, kicking up a fresh cloud of dust. Coughing, he hastily got back to his feet, looking around warily for any more attacks.

"…Yeah, fuck you too." He muttered, flipping a rude hand gesture in a random direction. So, in addition to being a completely unknown, undecipherable program in his system, the Factor had also imposed a limit on how much power he could use. Not only that, but apparently it had an attitude to match as well!

"Stupid program…" Omega growled.

Not too far away, Syrene watched the whole thing in disbelief. Somehow, she had no idea how, she had managed to miraculously survive. Now she lay on the ground, her arms and legs sprawled in an awkward position, blades and bullet holes all outlining her figure to within an inch of her actual body. Syrene was sure that if she was to get up and move, she'd be able to see a perfect outline of where she'd lain.

She swallowed, and managed to draw a shaky, shallow breath, as one of the massive, pendulum shaped blades had slammed into the ground next to her, its handle pinning her just above her midsection.

"Well, this is a rather enjoyable sight."

Syrene resisted the urge to jump and/or scream, as either action would probably have resulted in her slicing herself to ribbons on the forest of razor-edged steel around her.

With exaggerated care, she slowly turned her head to see the God of Destruction perched on an outcropping just above her, looking down at her still form with an amused grin.

'_When the hell did he get there?_' Syrene thought frantically, as Omega crouched down, resting his arms on his legs as he looked down at her.

"I'm surprised that you're still alive. Must be my natural preference to not kill women acting up again." He shrugged "Well, either way, I don't really care. Besides…"

His grin widened as he ran his eyes over her supple figure. "I think you've got quite a flattering pose going on right there!"

Syrene gritted her teeth flushing with embarrassment. "Believe me, if I could move, I'd kick your ass into next weekend!"

Omega threw his head back and laughed, "That's the spirit!"

With a wave of his hand, the blades surrounding her vanished, disintegrating into red sparks of light as they returned to their places within the colossal Gate of Babylon. Syrene wasted one second being surprised and then, catching herself, transformed her legs back into their serpent form and leapt at him. Omega gave a mad laugh and drew his Zweihander, lunging forward to meet her attack.

Then a tremendous blast of light lit up the city, the ruined buildings of the destroyed block suddenly painted in stark red brilliance.

Both combatants skidded to a halt, whirling to face the direction of this new threat. Omega stared past the buildings, vainly striving to find the source, every single nerve in his body tingling. He had a very bad feeling about this. Something in his gut told him that wherever she was, he would undoubtedly find Celtis at the source of that blast of blazing red light.

"What the hell is that?" Syrene yelled. Omega glanced across at her, and in a split second, made his decision.

Suddenly the Emerald Queen felt something grab her hand. As she spun around, she felt one of Omega's hands slide around to the back of her head.

"What are you-mmmph!"

The next thing she knew was that the devilishly handsome Reploid she had been fighting to the death moments before had pulled her in towards him, kissing her full on the mouth with a smoldering passion that would have melted all of the strength from her legs had she been in human form. Any thoughts of protest or resistance were blown away by the fireworks of pleasure that erupted in her mind.

Several moments later, when Syrene finally managed to dizzily recover from that breathless moment of pleasure, it was to see the God of Destruction a good twenty metres away and accelerating.

"Sorry to kiss and run, beautiful, but I've got something I need to deal with! Catch ya later!"

Omega's teasing farewell was the last thing she heard from him, as he leapt off of the remains of a collapsed building, disappearing towards the blazing red supernova at the heart of the city.

The Emerald Queen simply stood there, weaving dazedly on her serpentine tail a dreamy look on her face. Then after a few moments, that expression faded, being replaced by one of mingled shock and embarrassment.

"He just…h-he just…" Her mouth worked desperately, trying to form some coherent statement of what had just happened.

Then, realizing that Omega was escaping, her eyes widened.

"What in the…GET BACK HERE!"

She took off after him, plowing through the debris in her path. Hearing her flustered yell of rage from behind him, Omega grinned.

"Head start: GET!"

* * *

Celtis yelped and dove to the ground, Gallidin's tail making an eerie whooshing noise as it scythed past millimeters above her head. As you can imagine, her attempt at fleeing had been short-lived, failing miserably after the first few minutes. Now, she was trading blows with Gallidin, some distance away from where the fight had started.

…well, perhaps 'trading' is not the right word to use here.

She jumped up as one of Gallidin's claws swiped past at leg height.

"God damnit! Stop moving already!" Gallidin yelled in exasperation.

As Celtis dodged another blow, she looked around in desperation.

'_Dammit, this is no good! At this range, he'll get me before I have a chance to fire at him! I need to get some more distance!_'

Gallidin sneered, seeing the desperate look on her face. "So, you've realized it too! No matter how powerful those eyes of yours may be, it's useless as long as I can stop you from firing!"

It was at that very instant, however, that Celtis saw her opportunity. With the speed of the accelerated reaction time granted to her by the Demon's Eye, she snapped the crimson handgun up. Biting back a scream of pain as Gallidin's blade slashed down into her unguarded shoulder, she tightened her grip on the handle of her weapon and pulled the trigger.

The Hades roared, the force of the blast temporarily deafening the Lightning Bullet as the bullet shot past him. Recovering, he grinned.

"Nice try, but you missed!"

Despite her situation, Celtis managed a weak grin.

"Nobody ever said I was aiming for you…!"

Gallidin's eyes widened as he realized what she was saying. Then all hell broke loose around him.

Thirty meters down the road, Celtis' bullet slammed directly into the tank of the stalled fuel tanker, the powerful Hades blast detonating the combustible liquid in a colossal explosion that lit up the area. As the shockwave lifted the stunned Lightning Bullet off his feet, subsequent detonations followed, shaking the ground as other abandoned vehicles exploded, set off by the destruction of the tanker.

Gallidin was forced to his knees by the combination of shockwaves and earth tremors. His ears ringing, he looked up as a shadow fell over him.

"Oh, son of a bit-!"

He barely had time to curse, before half an apartment building crashed down on him, its supports destroyed by the chain of explosions Celtis had set off.

It was almost a full minute before he was able to smash his way free of the collapsing rubble. Pissed off now, his head swiveled from side to side as he searched angrily for his target. Too late, he saw her speeding down the road, her damaged right arm hanging uselessly at her side.

"SHIT!" Gallidin swore, and leapt forward. "If that bitch gets the distance to use that bloody cannon, I'll never be able to get in close!"

Hearing the crackling sound of Gallidin's electrically charged dash, Celtis gritted her teeth.

"It's now or never!"

Continuing her desperate run forward, Celtis suddenly spun around. Kicking off of the ground she leapt backwards, her built-up momentum keeping her going in the same direction. Gallidin's eyes widened as he saw the barrel of the Hades come to rest on him again.

"Aw hell no…!"

BOOM!

The ground in front of Gallidin exploded. Unable to stop, nor even to slow down, he tripped over the ruined crater, a simple stumble turning into an all-out, head over heels disaster as he crashed to the ground, rolling for several meters before his progress was stopped by a parked bulldozer.

After a moment, he staggered upright, one hand pressed to his throbbing head.

"…Son of a bitch…! WHO THE FUCK PARKS A FRIGGING BULLDOZER IN THE MIDDLE OF THE BLOODY ROAD?"

A colossal impact, and for the second time in as many minutes, Gallidin Voltzer found himself sprawled flat on his back. Fifty metres down the road, Celtis held the Hades tightly, the red spirals in her eyes glowing brightly.

Gallidin slowly stood up, cold fury radiating off of him.

"Why, you little…!"

Reaching over, he sank one claw into the side of the bulldozer. Getting a firm grip on it with both hands, there was the sound of creaking metal, and with a savage snarl, he lifted the entire thing over his head.

"Eat this!" Lightning flashed, and suddenly the bulldozer crackled with energy, Gallidin super-charging it with countless volts of power.

"STATIC…BOMB!"

Before Celtis could react, he had launched the whole thing into the air, sending it rocketing towards her. She took one look at the crackling meteor, and fled. The massive projectile slammed into the ground where she'd been standing, and the whole bulldozer exploded, releasing its charge in a dome shaped shockwave of cascading electrical current.

Ignoring the flickering arcs of electricity, the menacing figure of the Lightning Bullet stormed through the destruction, his eyes blazing green fury as he sought out his prey.

"Where are you…?" He muttered, his emerald eyes scanning the surroundings. A flash of light, and then another bullet slammed into him. He staggered for a moment, and cursed. If this kept up, the shields and armor plating that had let him survive the previous shots would be whittled away to nothing!

He spotted Celtis crouched down again, looking considerably worse for wear after his attacks, and leapt sideways as the Hades fired again. And this time, he made it.

He felt a slight tug as the bullet nicked his armor, and then it was gone, blasting off down the street behind him. He skidded to a halt, stunned.

"Did I just…dodge that?" He gasped. Looking up at Celtis' horrified expression, he realized what he'd just done was no mere illusion. A smile slowly slid across his face as he realized the truth.

"…Of course! Your Eye can keep up with me, but you can't…! So long as I can move faster than your bullets, I can dodge it!"

The Lightning Bullet grinned savagely. If godlike speed was the only thing that could let him dodge those bullets…

Then he knew just the move to use!

He crouched down onto all fours, channeling all of his power into his legs. Celtis' eyes widened, and she readied the Hades, only to flinch as a burst of pain from her wounded shoulder cut her off. Seizing his chance, Voltzer launched himself forward, the speed of his passage leaving a sonic boom in his wake. Before Celtis could even register his disappearance, she felt a searing pain as his blades bit into her side. She spun around, swinging wildly, but Gallidin was gone again, vanishing, and then reappearing on her right, his blades slicing along her shoulder. Again and again, he struck her, moving almost too fast to be seen, until Celtis was covered in shallow wounds. If it hadn't been for her Demon's Eye, she would never have been able to avoid taking a fatal wound. But, as the winds around her slowly began to accelerate, her hair blowing out behind her, Celtis felt a sickening sensation as she realized what Gallidin was doing.

"Th-this is… the same move he used on Omega earlier…!"

Laughing at the look of horrified realization on her face, Gallidin continued accelerating.

"That's right! My signature move, Vortex of a Thousand Bolts! I'll keep attacking, whittling away at your strength while my whirlwinds remove your ability to defend yourself! Already you can barely keep yourself on the ground!"

He was right, Celtis thought. Already the tornado around her had reached the point where she was slowly being lifted off the ground. If she was pulled into the air, she'd have no possible defense. And not only that…

She dropped down to one knee, gasping. Suddenly, it felt difficult to breathe. She felt herself slowly becoming more light-headed, dizziness afflicting her as she struggled to breathe. Gallidin noticed her discomfort and smirked.

"Oh, so you've noticed that as well! I should mention that my vortex also sucks all of the air out of the area trapped inside of it. In a few moments, there won't be anything but a vacuum in there! Ahahahahaha!"

As he laughed, the numerous afterimages of Gallidin's passage did the same thing. To Celtis' fading vision, it was as though she was surrounded by countless copies of him, all laughing the same harsh laugh. Unnoticed above her, a massive ball of electrical energy continued to form, gathering power from the electrical charges of Gallidin's movement. When it had finally reached full power, Gallidin would release it in a colossal blast of energy, the finishing blow of his Thousand Bolts.

Celtis' eyes fluttered, her breathing ragged. It was taking all of her strength just to stop herself from passing out. In the end though, her efforts were futile, breathing in the last of the oxygen around her, darkness closed in on her field of vision, and Celtis collapsed to the ground.

With a laugh of triumph, Gallidin released his attack, an electrical storm of countless teravolts concentrated into a single blazing beam of light that shot down towards the unconscious Hunter.

* * *

A white void, silence broken only by the sounds of rustling chains.

"She's going to die, you know."

Model O looked up, snarling as it saw the familiar, dark form of its jailor. It made a few half-hearted attempts to break free of the chains ensnaring it, before stopping. It had already learned that there was little to be gained from such struggles.

"I'd think I'd be a bit more concerned if I were you."

Model O growled in response.

"Well, considering that your failed attempt at possessing here has instead left you here, permanently fused with her, you will quite likely suffer the same fate."

Model O looked up, its blank red eyes narrowing. The black-clad figure before it nodded.

"You're part of her now. Your Megamerge and Biomatch protocols have been severely damaged, and you don't even possess a physical shell any more. I doubt you could escape now, even if I were to release those chains. So right now…" A cold smile crossed the man's face.

"You are in just as much danger as her."

Model O's only response was another growl.

"So, does the great and feared Biometal plan on simply sitting back and waiting for death? Or is it that you are simply too much of a coward to fight back?"

This time, Model O's claws almost reached him, the Biometal snarling with rage. For his part, the target of Model O's fury remained unperturbed.

"So, what will you do now…?"

Model O clenched its hands into fists, an ominous crimson aura forming around it. The power spread along the chains binding it, flowing it the blank void around it, staining the previously pristine world with the color of blood. Its eyes burned an unholy red, its lips curling back to reveal savage, razor sharp fangs. Then, throwing its head back, the soul of the last Biometal opened its jaws and let out an inhuman roar of fury, the crimson void around it shaking with the force of it. As a massive red flare of light consumed everything around him, the black-clad man smiled and vanished.

* * *

In the stately rooms of a mansion, a familiar sword clattered to the ground.

The infamous Mega Man of Wind turned to face the direction of Legion City, a terrible, chilling sensation coming over him. In his hand, the green Biometal that had earned him his title shivered.

He stared at the city as a massive pillar of red light burst into life, towering over the surroundings.

Aeolus saw it, and for the first time in his life, he felt the cold touches of dread stealing over him.

* * *

In one of the darker areas of Legion's seedier districts, a woman stopped dead in her tracks and spun around, breathing hard.

For an instant, it had felt as though an icy hand had just taken hold of her heart and squeezed, a blood-chilling fear striking through her.

As the crimson light exploded into the air above Legion City, Atlas, the Mega Man of Fire, stared at up at it, a strange, nameless fear creeping over her.

* * *

Strolling through Legion's streets, the Mega Man of Ice skidded to a halt, looking up at the massive column of light, watching as it dyed the clouds above the color of blood.

Thetis stared at the blaze of light, and a shiver run through his body.

* * *

In a darkened room, there was an abrupt 'snip!' and piece of a branch fell to the ground. Siarnaq, Mega Man of Shadow, stared blankly at his bonsai tree, a sizable chunk of it now sheared off due to his sudden start. Setting down the kunai he'd been using to prune it, he picked up the cut piece and moved towards the door.

Opening it, he stepped out. He stayed there, staring out at the pillar of crimson light that loomed over the city.

* * *

Leading a wave of military troops towards the damaged city block, Ashe and Grey looked up in awe as a crimson blaze of light erupted with the brilliance of a supernova.

"What the hell is that?" Ashe demanded. Next to her, Grey suddenly started.

"Model A, you're shaking!"

The Biometal stared up at the red light, shivering. "I've got a bad feeling about this, guys…"

* * *

On the other side of the world, Aile crashed to her knees, her hands clutching at her chest. Next to her, her twin brother landed heavily against the wall, breathing hard. A terrible feeling had just struck them both, leaving them weakened and breathless.

Models X and Z turned, looking in the direction of the source.

"Vent, Aile, we need to get back to Legion. Now."

Vent nodded, his face drawn and pale. "Agreed."

* * *

A roar of pain shook the upper floors of Legion Citadel. In his office, Ace Phoenix crashed to the floor, clutching at his right arm, his face contorted with agony. The terrible scar that marred his chest and right arm throbbed in pain, the muscles jerking in uncontrollable spasms. It was as if his closed wounds were resonating with the terrifying power growing within Legion City. Sweat running down his face, he slammed his arm down on the desk, and held it there, gritting his teeth against the pain. Stabbing a syringe full of painkillers directly into his arm, he turned to stare out at the crimson storm, dread in his heart.

"So…you're finally here, you son of a bitch…!"

Marino and Craft stared out aghast at the storm of light. They couldn't even get any closer to it, gale force winds and bolts of crimson energy blasting into the ground around them.

"Craft, are you there?"

The commando Reploid pressed a hand to his headset. "Yeah, it's a little hard to miss this."

"What the hell is going on?"

Craft didn't reply, staring out at the column of raging energy with an unreadable expression.

* * *

Marino stared angrily at her comm.

"Answer damn it!"

Then, a strange feeling creeping over her, Ace's aide turned slowly.

There, standing atop a nearby building, was another figure.

* * *

His black jacket whipping in the wind, jet-black shades glinting in the crimson light, one man stood atop a building overlooking the chaos. His lips parted in a bitter smile, and a harsh laugh escaped him.

"That's it! Now dance, my destroyer! Show me the power that earned you the title God Of Destruction! Prove to me that you are indeed worthy of my machinations!"

His laughter was cold and harsh, matching the look in his eyes. Realising he was being watched, the man turned his head, and caught a glimpse of a pink-clad figure on a lower rooftop, staring up at him. His gaze caught that of Ace's aide, his red and gold gaze holding hers for a moment, his imperious eyes examining her dispassionately.

Then, closing his eyes, he inclined his head slightly, and vanished into the hurricane winds whipping around him, his presence disappearing as if he was never there.

* * *

Gallidin staggered back, his lightning storm blown apart by a raging hurricane of crimson energy.

"Wha…what the hell? What are you doing?"

And then he heard it.

An inhuman roar, drowning out even the howl of the hurricane winds, the air shaking with the force of the volume. All over Legion, people stopped, looking around for the source of the terrible sound.

One hand thrown up to shield his eyes, Gallidin saw a figure appear from out of the raging crimson storm. He caught a flash of green hair, and his eyes widened.

"I-impossible...!"

**[Cue music: Needless OST 2- God of Death]**

Green hair whipping in the hurricane of energy around her, Celtis Arcana stood tall, her head thrown back, roaring with a sound like all of the devils of hell unleashed upon the world. Her eyes blazed as red as the chaos around her, the ground beneath her shattering away.

Staring in shock and horror at the being before him, something in Gallidin's soul told him that despite the similar appearance, the being before him was _not_ Celtis Arcana, the 350,000 EC bounty he had come here chasing.

This was something else altogether, a consciousness ancient beyond anything he had ever faced, and composed of a sheer mindless savagery that was beyond all comprehension. This thing, whatever it was, was simply borrowing her body to use as a physical shell.

Flashes of energy dotted Celtis' body, crimson and black armor plating snapping into place. Red armor covered her forearms and legs, gold bands snapping into place on her wrists and ankles. An armored crimson jacket materialized over her torso, her old one burning away in the storm around her. The front slid halfway open, accumulating for her chest. The blue gem on the front of her head flashed defiance, the scarlet shape of Model O's sigil glowing brilliantly within it. A pair of sleek crimson fins materialized around it, pulling her hair back out of her face

Model O's boots crunched over the pulverized earth, a constant rumbling growl issuing from its throat. Its burning gaze found Gallidin, who took a step back, a wary grin crossing his face.

"Well, this is unexpected…!"

He didn't have a chance to say anything else, Model O's first attack coming in the form of a punch launched directly at his chest. It covered the intervening space, almost a dozen meters, in an instant, fingers curling into claws.

"GrrrrrrarrrrrrrRAAAAAAAAGH!"

Even Gallidin, fast as he was, could only just dodge it. Unable to get clear in time, all he could do was twist his flexible body out of the way, the attack streaking harmlessly past him to slam into the wall behind him. The Lightning Bullet lifted one hand, grinning as electricity sparked into life along his claws.

"Nice try!" he laughed, looking down at Model O. "You're a fast son of a bitch, I'll give you that, but you're not faster than me!"

He tensed his muscles to bring his claw down into Model O's unguarded back, when it lifted its head, glaring right back at him. Gallidin froze, paralyzed by the insanity in those eyes. In that instant, Model O moved again, ripping its claws out of the wall in a sideways motion meant to rend him in two. Bringing his own claw down to block the strike, Gallidin felt the ground disappear from beneath his feet.

Cursing, he snapped his body back around with the lightning-like motion that was his trademark. Landing, he realized with a jolt that in the time it had taken him to recover, he'd been thrown over twenty feet. And the crimson demon was rushing at him again, forcing all unnecessary thoughts out of his head.

It took everything Gallidin had to stay alive, trading blow after blow with the nightmare in front of him. Even with his godlike speed, he was barely able to hold his own, the sledgehammer blows raining on him pushing him back slowly and steadily.

'_Wha…what the hell is going on? I, a Pseudoroid whose name is legend among Raiders, am being forced back? Me?_'

Gallidin's eyes flashed with rage at the thought.

"I don't care who the blazes you think you are, bitch…" he gritted, digging his claws in. "But don't think you can beat me that easily!"

With a roar, he rammed Model O. Taken by surprise, the Biometal staggered back, and Gallidin saw his chance. Running in, he triggered his lightning-speed dash. Whirling his long body around twice, he brought his armored tail swinging around, whistling through the air to smash into Model O's chest with bone-crushing force.

Model O shot through the air, punching through building after building until enough of its speed bled off, finally stopping as it crashed into the front of a multi-story apartment complex. Arriving almost instantly after the impact, Gallidin didn't hesitate. Materializing no less than four of his whirling discs of energy, he hurled them forward, one after another, into the dust cloud that hid Model O's landing site. Even as one disc left his hand, he would summon another. And another, and still another after that. Model O roared with anger as it was buried beneath countless explosions, Gallidin's attacks detonating all around it. When he finally lost sight of the entirety of the building's lower floors, he finally stopped. Looking up, he channeled all of his energy into his body.

"Let's see how you like _this_!" He snarled.

With a single blindingly fast motion, he swept his tail forward, the air cracking around it from the speed. A huge, wide crescent of green energy shot out from it tracing a path across the front of the building Model O had crashed in front of. As the light of his attack faded, there was a moment's reprieve, before the entire upper half of the building slowly slid forward, groaning as it began to disintegrate.

Model O picked itself up, just in time to see an entire building hurtling down towards it, prepared to crush the Biometal under a ton of steel and stone. Its eyes widened in anger and it gave a howl of defiance as the entire thing smashed down on top of it.

Or so it seemed. Gallidin, ready to celebrate his victory, paused as the building shuddered and finally stopped, its downward descent halted. He stepped forward, his eyes narrowing.

"Something's wrong…from that height, the whole thing should have crushed itself flat against the ground…!"

Then, he caught a glimpse of a red glow coming from underneath it. As the ruined building shook again, the Lightning Bullet staggered back, shock written across his features.

"No way…! It can't be!"

**[Cue music: Needless OST 2-Fatal Wound by Gargoyle]**

Against all possible logic, the entire structure began to rise, lit from beneath by a tremendous crimson glow. Defying all laws of physics, and even surpassing the limits of what should be possible in reality, Model O slowly rose up, a unending, savage growl the only sound coming from its throat as it stood back up, the massive wreckage above it supported by its upraised hands. The ground beneath it cracked under the incredible pressure, but still Model O stood, ignoring everything but the sight of its enemy.

Gallidin felt a chill race through his body as the demon's eyes finally found his perch atop another building.

"RrrrrrrrrrrrrAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGH!"

With a roar that shook the surroundings, Model O leaned back and, putting all of its impossible strength behind it, launched the entire building straight at Gallidin.

The Raider gaped as it hurtled toward him, flipping end over end through the air.

"Oh, you have GOT to be kidding me!" He yelled in a panic. Already realizing that there was no other way to escape, he gritted his teeth and charged forward to meet it. Pushing his acceleration to its limits, he leapt up. Landing on one of the sides as it struck his former perch, he started running, racing for his life along the surface as the entire structure disintegrated behind him.

"Seriously, WHO THE FUCK THROWS A GODDAMN BUILDING AT AN OPPONENT?" Gallidin hollered, a note of obvious hysteria in his voice as he shot along, dodging windows, shattering blocks of concrete and jutting support beams in his way.

Finally, just as he felt his claws beginning to slip on the rapidly disintegrating floor behind him, he gave a wild yell, and leapt forward, his jump managing to get him barely clear as the two buildings dissolved in a cloud of dust and collapsing rubble. Gallidin turned his head backward, trying to come to grips with the insane attack he'd just barely escaped.

"What the hell kind of crazy power am I up against here? Even the Chosen Ones never did anything that insane before!"

Then, as a familiar growl sounded from in front of him, Gallidin suddenly came to the bone chilling realization that he had just committed a terrible mistake. By turning his head to look back, he had left his front wide open.

Although, considering the fact that he was about fifty feet in the air, having just leapt off of a building that had just been thrown into another building, one could say that it was perfectly reasonable to assume that nobody's going to immediately attack you when you're, again, FIFTY FEET IN THE FREAKING AIR.

However, Gallidin was quickly beginning to learn the one thing that all who had ever faced the God of Destruction before him had:

When your opponent is the God of Destruction, things like 'common sense' and 'logic' go straight out the nearest airlock.

He turned, and his mechanical blood chilled as he saw the red-armored form of Model O in front of him, both arms wrapped around what looked like a ten-meter long steel support beam, the metal making an eerie howling noise as it swung through the air on a direct collision course with the Lightning Bullet.

Gallidin swallowed.

"Oh, SHI-"

* * *

KRAAAAAAANGGGG!

Omega skidded to a halt, just in time to see a gold-tinted figure smash through an entire row of office buildings. He winced.

"Oh, that had to hurt."

And then he heard the roar again. He whirled around, baring his teeth in a fierce snarl. It had been that unmistakable roar, and the accompanying explosion of red light, that had interrupted his fight with Syrene. The storm surge of wild, uncontrolled energy that had been released afterwards, however, was what had truly set him on edge. He'd felt that once before.

It had been when he had first crossed paths with Model O. And for something like this to happen now, could only mean one thing: The Biometal had gone active again. And if that was the case, then Omega knew he would keep the vow he'd sworn after their first encounter.

Whether Celtis was dead or alive, he was going to rip her to pieces until he could crush that abomination in his own two hands!

As if answering his silent challenge, the ground exploded, a crimson blur landing in front of him. Rearing back up to its full height, Model O cast aside the now-bent shape of the support beam and leapt forward. Caught by surprise, Omega could only bring the Zweihander up to a defensive position, already calling up an attack from the Gilgamesh Factor.

"-Tch! For a fake, you move pretty fast, don'tcha?" he grinned. Then, with a wild laugh, he tossed aside the Zweihander, and cancelled the Gates. Barreling forward, he caught Model O's fist as it threw a punch at him. The force behind would have been enough to decapitate a man with ease, but to Omega it was a walk in the park. Bringing up his other hand, he caught Model O's second punch with it.

"See, that's the problem with being berserk. All power, no sense." Omega chuckled. "Me, on the other hand…"

He reared back, a savage smile on his face.

"I get BOTH!"

Before Model O could react, Omega had brought his head forward in a devastating headbutt. The sound of their two skulls slamming together was like a gunshot, and would have instantly caved in the head of anyone who wasn't a God of Destruction, armor or not.

Model O staggered backwards, both hands pressed to the gem on its helmet. It had already been cracked to begin with, and having Omega's steel skull slammed into it hadn't helped matters very much.

"Come here, bitch!"

Snarling, Omega leapt forward at the still-reeling Biometal. Seizing the front of its jacket in one hand, he spun around and threw it over-arm into the wall. Demolishing it easily, Model O was catapulted onwards, bouncing along the ground twice before it managed to right itself, its armored boots throwing off sparks as the grated along the ground.

It winced, clutching at its head again as it perceived Omega barreling towards it again. With an angry growl it shook off the irritating feeling inside its head. Reaching out with one hand as it started forward, it tore out another support beam without even slowing down. It turned the motion into a single fluid swing, the hardened steel beam catching Omega by surprise and knocking him through a wall and back into the street. As the God of Destruction picked himself back up, ears still ringing from the blow, to see Model O charging at him again.

Then suddenly, Model O halted, staggering as it clutched at its head again. It stumbled backwards, an angry roar of pain escaping it. Every time it tried to move towards Omega, the pain worsened. It clawed feebly at its skull, as if trying to somehow tear out the cause of the pain with its own hands.

Omega slowly straightened up, staring at it in amazement. Then he took a step forward. Model O all but fell back, a growl of pain escaping its clenched jaws. Omega stepped back, and the growling receded. His jaw tightened as he realized what was going on.

"Weil…" he muttered, his eyes darkening with anger.

Long ago, back when Omega had served Weil during the Elf Wars, and then later during his second uprising in Neo Arcadia, he had experienced something similar. Weil, being the paranoid, insane bastard that he was, knew that his Reploid servants could turn on him at anytime, since they were all Mavericks and thus were not constrained by the laws that governed normal robots. So in order to prevent any betrayals, and also to keep them bound to his will, he created a form of restraint to keep them in check. An obedience program, in other words.

The way it worked was simple: Depending on the Reploid's ranking within the hierarchy of Weil's army, they were implanted with a code of a similar rank. Thus, Reploids with a lower ranked code could not turn against those with a higher ranked one, as the obedience program forbade it. And so, on it went, right up to the top of the hierarchy, which was the good Doctor himself. Of course, he had no such code. After all, why would he need a restriction program for himself? No, instead what he had was the master code, the one that allowed him to command any and all of the Reploids installed with his obedience programs. It was this very system that Weil later upgraded, with the use of the Dark Elf, into the system that had allowed him to take complete control of every Reploid on the planet during his takeover of Neo Arcadia.

Now, as the results of Omega's internal system scan came in, his suspicions were confirmed. Somehow, someone had taken his own personal obedience program code and modified it. As Weil's top-ranked servant, Omega's code had been second only to Weil's, granting him dominion over all of Weil's Mavericks. It had been for this reason that he too had been used as part of the Dark Elf control system, a reliable conduit for Weil's commands. Now though, it seemed as though someone else, probably the same mysterious benefactor that had left him the Gilgamesh Factor and his various new 'gifts', had tampered with his own code. The restraining effect of the program had been removed altogether, leaving him simply with the fragment of it that allowed him to command any Weil-bots with a lower ranked one. As Model O was merely a copy of him, not even possessing a real body of its own, it meant that he outranked it by a considerable amount.

A thoroughly bitter smile crossed Omega's face. How utterly fitting…he had come here to annihilate the demon that had dared to use his title, and instead he had discovered a far, far worse punishment for it.

"I'll say this much for this mystery benefactor…he certainly has good taste in presents!"

Stomping forward, Omega seized Model O by the collar. It moved to retaliate, but was stopped by another twinge of pain. Before it could react, Omega smashed it down on its back with one hand, the concrete floor cracking underneath it. Straightening up, he lifted one armored boot and slammed it down on Model O's chest, pressing the Biometal down to the ground. Leaning forward, Omega rested one arm on his knee as he stared down at the trapped Model O.

"It hurts, doesn't it?" he said quietly. "I'm sure it does. I remember it all too well…"

His eyes hardened. "Now listen here, you worthless, piece-of-shit fake…This can go two ways. As long as I have this code, you can't do shit to me. Not to say that you possibly could even without it, but that's beside the point. Right now, I could just kill you and you wouldn't even be able to put up the slightest bit of resistance. I own you now, body and soul."

He went on. "But you know, it occurred to me, that's just an awful waste of power. So here's option number two…"

Omega's features darkened. "Serve me or die."

Model O growled, struggling again, despite the pain that came from that action. The God of Destruction smiled sadistically.

"Yeah, I could just order you to do that, but then I'd be no better than the sonofabitch who created us. In exchange for your service, I'll grant you your life, and the promise of the bloodshed we both crave. I'm afraid I can't let you rampage _too_ freely now, since that would cause too much of an annoyance for me, but I'm fairly sure it'll be enough for you."

He leaned forward further, savoring Model O's discomfort.

"So, what'll it be, fake?"

Inside its chaotic mind, the consciousness of the Biometal raged in impotent fury. Every nerve in its body screamed for this man's destruction, to tear him apart for the sheer arrogance of his actions. And yet, it knew it could not. Its long forgotten master, who had first designed the restrictions for the God of Destruction had done his work well. Now, trapped by those same shackles, with the threat of imminent termination looming before it, Model O's core programming flickered again. At the heart of it, the reason why it constantly sought new bodies to devour, the reason why it had been so desperate to devour Celtis consciousness and take over her body in the aftermath of its failed Megamerge, and the reason it had chosen to save Celtis' life from Gallidin…Greater than the unstoppable urge to destroy, was the desire that had brought Model O to this moment.

The desire to live. To live, even at the cost of sacrificing countless other lives. To forever return to life again and again, simply so that it could be allowed to continue carrying out the murderous purpose for which it had been created. That was the true reason for its host-devouring power as a Biometal, sacrificing the person it had merged with, and erasing them completely, using their body as a catalyst to manifest its own invincible body.

Now, faced with death once more, just like the moment where Celtis was about to die, that single overpowering drive rose to the surface again.

Seeing the turmoil in its eyes, Omega grinned. Reaching down, he pulled it up the front of its jacket.

"I'm still waiting for an answer…"

Model O's only response was a bitter snarl. Omega's grin widened. And just like that, he had a new servant!

"I'll take that as a yes. Now, as your first task as my minion…" He stepped back out to the street, dragging Model O behind him. Glancing towards the cloud of smoke that marked Gallidin's landing, he sized it up with a calculating eye.

"Let's see…allow for wind resistance…add the one, carry the two…" he muttered to himself under his breath for a few moments. Model O watched him suspiciously, giving a short, wary growl.

"Right!" Omega smiled widely. "As I was saying, your first job as my new servant is to go finish off that Lightning Bullet jerk! After that, well, you figure out the rest. Weapons free, minimum collateral-who am I kidding, like there's even such a thing!- and when you're done, get your lousy hide back inside wherever the hell you crawled out from. Comprende?"

Model O gave him a look of pure hatred, which only made Omega grin wider.

"Glad to see we're on the same page here. Now, there's just one thing left for me to say here…"

He drew the arm holding Model O back. The Biometal's eyes widened as it felt its feet lift off the ground. It started to struggle, realizing what was coming. Steam hissed out from Omega's jaws, his eyes blazing with demonic glee.

"**Mission**…_**START**_!"

Channeling every ounce of his colossal strength into a single, explosive burst of motion, he snapped his arm forward, taking almost a full step forward as he launched Model O towards Gallidin's last location. The ground beneath Omega's boots cracked as he released Model O, so great was the force behind his throw. In the blink of an eye, Model O disappeared into the distance, its panicked roar fading away into nothing.

Omega straightened up. Shading his eyes with one hand, he watched his newest servant's flight path critically.

"And she's going, going… Ooooh!" He winced "Shit that's gotta-oh, ouch-sting-daaamn!-a little…Watch out for that-" He winced again as the sound of a dull _boom_ reached him. "Never mind…"

He watched as several more buildings between his location and the Lightning Bullet's last position joined their comrades on the rubble strewn city streets.

"Uh…Fore?" Omega said sheepishly. A crane sagged sideways and fell over setting off a chain of explosions in the fuel depot it landed on. The God of Destruction felt a bead of sweat slide down his neck.

In the awkward silence that followed, Omega scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

"…I think I really need to work on that overarm shot a little…" he muttered.

Recovering, he shrugged. "Well, whatever. I got 'em to where Gallidin was, didn't I? Besides, it was only a couple of buildings. It's not like that's enough to kill something with my power!"

He laughed heartily for a moment, allowing his smug pride to overwhelm him for a bit. Calming down, he gave a slight frown.

"Now…I'm pretty sure there was something I was supposed to be doing right now…Something important! It's right there on the tip of my tongue, but for the life of me, I just can't remember it!"

He stood there for a moment, his arms folded as he frowned in thought. Eventually he shrugged.

"Eh, whatever. It'll probably come back to me eventually." Giving a bored shake of his head, he turned to walk off.

And that's when several kilograms of angry, Naga-type Raider landed on his head.

His voice muffled by the coils that were trying to crush him, Omega held up a triumphant finger.

"Ah-HA! I KNEW it!"

* * *

Gallidin had just picked himself up, shaking his head woozily to clear away the pretty stars when the whole east wall exploded and a crimson figure shot out of it, smashing into the wall next to him. When the smoke cleared, he was greeted with the bizarre sight of Model O spread-eagled upside down in the concrete.

After a few moments, the wall crumbled away, dropping the Biometal on its head. It stayed there for a moment, blankly staring at the ceiling and fantasizing about the oh-so-many ways in which it could kill the person responsible for this.

"Sooo…"Gallidin ventured finally. "Can we get back to killing each other now, or do you want a couple more minutes?"

Model O growled an irritated response and picked itself up, grumbling.

* * *

Twenty seconds later, the streets of the ruined district blew up, a string of explosions tracing a line of fire across the destroyed area.

Gallidin burst out of the cloud of flames, yelling bloody murder as he launched bolt after bolt of green-hued lightning back the way he had come. Like an avenging angel, Model O blew apart the flames and smoke in its path with the shockwave of its passage, dodging the bolts of lightning as they streaked past.

Gallidn bared his teeth in a grimace. "All right then, try this-!"

Digging his claws into the asphalt, he skidded, turning a full 180 degrees and ending up facing back at Model O. Before the Biometal could react, Galllidin channeled all of the power he could muster into his legs, and catapulted himself forward, shattering the ground behind him.

The Lightning Bullet slammed into Model O's unguarded chest like a cannon shot, knocking it clear off its feet and sent them both rolling for several metres. What happened next was a fury of biting, clawing, slashing and kicking, as the two foes did their level best to murder each other. Model O snapped its head sideways as Gallidin's jaws snapped shut on thin air, his and the Biometal's claws locked together in a deadly contest of strength. As he brought his jaws around for another biting attack, Model O made its move.

With a sudden burst of strength, it overpowered Gallidin and broke its arms free. Catching Gallidin by the mouth as he lunged forward, it stopped his attack, his sharpened fangs inches away from its face. The Lightning Bullet's eyes widened.

"Why you…!" Maddened now, he pressed forward, straining to get the extra force he'd need to slam his maw shut on his opponent's face. The Biometal only growled in response, its arms shaking as they struggled against Gallidin's powerful muscles.

Then, without warning, it jerked his head sideways and let go. Before Gallidin even had time to think "WTF?" his head had slammed headfirst into the concrete floor, biting off a mouthful of foul-tasting asphalt.

"Damn it…!" Instinctively, he lashed out with one of his taloned legs, attempting to slash open the Biometal's belly. Model O saw it coming, and knocked his leg out of the way with a kick of its own. Then, drawing its legs up, it snapped them out again, the armored soles of its boots slamming squarely into the center of Gallidin's armored chest. The ex-Pseudoroid's eyes bulged as all of the air was knocked out of him, his body flying backwards. Model O went with it, using the force of its kick to continue on the same arcing path of Gallidin's flight, its boots still planted firmly on his chestplate.

The Lightning Bullet crashed to earth again. As his body bounced back up, Model O drew its legs in, crouching down. At the peak of Gallidin's bounce, it slammed its legs downwards again in another kick. With another choking sound, Gallidin was sent from a distance of several centimeters above the ground, to several centimeters _into_ the ground. The presence of a solid surface underneath him meant that this time he did not have the luxury of being launched away by the attack, thus mitigating the damage done by it. Now, he took the full force of the kick, several armor plates shattering. Through the haze of warning lights, Gallidin was dimly aware of Model O leaping up and away, using the force of its kick as a springboard to escape, catapulting itself out of range.

"…I don't fucking well think so, bitch…!" Gallidin gritted. His left arm snapping out, he clamped his claws shut on the Biometal's leg. Model O's eyes widened as it felt its movement arrested. Before it knew what was happening, Gallidin had yanked it backwards, slamming it down on its back on the hard concrete floor. As it attempted to get back up, Gallidin growled, and sent several dozen teravolts of electrical power smashing into it. Model O's back arched, its head slamming back against the pavement as it yowled in pain.

"Don't like that, do ya?" Gallidin chuckled breathlessly. Whipping his arm into the air again, he slammed Model O into the floor for a second, and then a third time, before finally swinging it around in a wide arc and releasing his grip, launching it through yet another nearby wall.

"Yeah, how's that, ya bastard! Not so tough now, after a couple good blasts of my electricity!" Gallidin crowed in triumph.

In the darkness, Model O picked itself up, a snarl of fury rumbling to life in its throat. Its eyes sparked the color of blood, and leftover sparks of lightning danced over its frame.

Anyone with the remotest smidgen of sense would have taken one look at its foul mood and known immediately that 'this shit just got serious'.

Gallidin's first awareness of this change came when half a kitchen wall sailed out of the gaping hole and clocked him right in the face with a satisfying sounding 'clang!'

"OW! What the-" Gallidin's cursing stopped as he saw Model O step back out, a thoroughly pissed look on its face. He grinned.

"Oh, you wanna play now? All right then!" He lifted his claws confidently, and gave a mocking gesture. "Come on if you think you're hard enough!"

A vein pulsed in Model O's forehead. Gallidin frowned as he saw it reach down to its hip. Only now, did he notice the white holster strapped to the outside of each thigh.

In a single fluid motion, Model O drew its Buster, leveling it at a surprised Gallidin.

"Wait, you've got a Buster too…?"

Gallidin's voice trailed off as he saw its other hand move. Clamping both hands down on the grip of its Buster, Model O tightened its grip and-

-_pulled_. There was a flash of light, and data spiraled in the air around it. Model O pulled its hands apart, the O-Buster in its left hand glowing as fragments of data fit back into it, restoring it to its former condition. And in its _right_ hand…

Gallidin paled as data fit into place around the shape of light in Model O's other hand, forming a Buster identical in every way to the one in its left. With an evil grin that would have made Omega himself shed a tear of pride, it leveled both of them at Gallidin.

The Lightning Bullet saw the light building in the muzzles of the two Busters, and his shoulders slumped.

"Oh, _hell_ no…"

* * *

BA-BOOM!

Omega looked up from where he was currently grappling with an extremely flustered Syrene Nagato. She was flustered, of course, because when someone like Omega gets into an up-close and personal fight with an attractive woman like her, he tends to be a very…hands-on…kind of fighter, if you get what we're saying.

Ignoring a feminine yelp as one of his, ahem, 'punches' found a particularly sensitive spot, he stared as not one, not two but _four_ fully charged O-Buster shots blew apart an entire apartment block.

"Eeek! W-watch where you're touching, you pervert!"

Absent-mindedly dodging the slap that was aimed at him, he continued to watch in amazement as the unmistakable figure of the Lightning Bullet emerged from the clouds of smoke, running for his life.

"OI, WHAT THE HELL? SINCE WHEN THE FUCK DO YOU HAVE FUCKING GUNS TOO?" he yelled back, panicking as he ducked under a fresh wave of blasts.

Omega gaped as Model O emerged, both Busters spitting a fusillade of deadly energy shells at the fleeing Gallidin.

"That thing's got frigging dual-wield? Come on!" Omega complained. "I'm the original, dammit! _I_'m supposed to be the one with all the cool stuff!"

"Hyaa! N-not th-there…! Ah!"

Gallidin cursed as he raced along. "Dammit, I can't shake this bastard…!"

Then, spotting a building still standing up ahead, his eyes lit up. "Alright, you son of a bitch, let's see how ya like this…!"

Putting on an additional burst of speed, he leapt into the air. Whirling his body around in mid-flight, he whipped his tail around, sending a crescent shockwave slamming into the structure ahead.

"Hate to use the same move twice," he grinned, " but for you, I'll make an exception! Have fun getting past this, you monster!"

Laughing wildly, he shot forward, darting just below the edge of the collapsing structure. For its part, Model O looked up at it with an even glare. The Biometal of the God of Destruction wasn't through yet, not by a long shot. It stopped firing, and flipped the Busters forward so that they were angled downwards. From where he was pinning down Syrene's writhing form, Omega's eyes widened as he saw the Biometal's stance.

"Oh, no fucking way…!" he breathed.

Just as he had suspected, Model O did the exact thing Omega had predicted. It flicked the Busters' hilts upwards, a long white cylindrical form ejecting from them and fipping end over end into the air. Even from this distance, the shape was unmistakable to Omega.

"There's just no _fucking_ way…!"

But there was. Spinning the two Busters, Model O holstered them at its sides. Crossing its arms in front of it, the Biometal caught a cylinder in each hand, and flicked the release button.

Standing a safe distance way on the other side, Gallidin watched expectantly as the building continued its crumbling collapse.

"Any second now…An-n-n-ny second now…!" He muttered, his claws twitching impatiently.

Light flashed. Two blazing, violet-hued lines flashed across the building in a cross-shaped scar. Then as quickly as it appeared, the mark disappeared, leaving Gallidin wondering if he'd imagined it.

What happened next, however, was all too real.

With an earsplitting groan of bending metal and crumbling stone, the entire building split apart, cleaved into four pieces along two straight cuts that looked as clean as though the entire thing had been cut with a hot butter knife.

And there, bursting through the clear space at the center of the X-shaped scar, was Model O, the brilliant violet glory of an O-Saber clasped firmly in either hand, the blade blazing with life.

Gallidin stepped back, his face paling in shock.

"Oh you can_not_ be fucking _SERIOUS_!" he yelled, disbelief and outrage written all over his face.

Straddling Syrene's panting body, Omega's jaw almost hit the floor.

"Oh, you have got to be fucking KIDDING ME!" He yelled in outrage. "That-that's not even fricking _fair_, man! Who the fuck built that thing? Frigging HAX!"

Seeing Omega's obvious distraction, Syrene saw her chance. Whipping her tail up, she caught the God of Destruction a blow across the head, knocking him sideways. As he rolled, the Emerald Queen came up fast, her long serpentine body wrapping itself around him in the blink of an eye. They came to a stop with their positions reversed: Omega lying flat on his back, and Syrene glaring down at him, her cheeks an attractive shade of red, and her shoulders shaking as she panted, trying to recover.

"You…you…Argh!" She yelled, too flustered to even think of an appropriate insult. "Just what the hell did you think you were doing?"

Omega smirked. "Fighting you, what'd you think I was doing?"

"Fighting, my ass!" Syrene snapped, the color in her cheeks darkening. "More like feeling me up, is what it was!"

The God of Destruction grinned cockily up at her. " So? You can't honestly tell me you weren't enjoying it, not with the noises you were making."

"Wha-" Syrene stopped, blushing a deep shade of pink. Despite herself, she had to admit, he had a point there. It had felt _very_ good, actually, even considering the gravity of the situation. He'd been getting her in all of her most sensitive spots, thoroughly disrupting any attempt on her part to formulate some kind of counterattack. Every time she tried to attack back, he'd slip around her defenses and find some new target for his skilled hands, moving with almost surgical precision, and her entire mind would be thrown into disarray again, unconsciously making another one of her shameful little yelps as he struck home again.

Her brain reeling from these thoughts, she didn't notice Omega's alarmed expression until it was too late.

"Move it, woman!"

A shadow fell over them. Syrene looked up, only to see part of the building that Model O had cut apart plummeting towards them. Unable to free her coils from Omega in time, she and the God of Destruction could only look up and swear as the entire thing crashed down on top of them with an earthshaking impact.

Gallidin himself had no time to notice this, as he was far too busy trying to keep his neck and other assorted limbs attached to his body. Dodging slash after stab, he fired a charge of lightning directly at the ground in front of him. The explosion was enough to knock them both backwards, giving Gallidin the breathing room he needed to shift into maximum speed. Raw electrical energy crackling in the air around him, he shot forward, his eyes blazing.

"Let's DO this!"

Model O roared its agreement, and met him halfway. Its first array of strikes caught him by surprise, forcing him to block multiple times before he was finally able to counterattack.

"UrrrrrrAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

His voice rising to a wordless roar, Gallidin started raining strike after strike onto the foe before him, his claws barely visible as more than a crackling blur in the air.

"GrrrrrrrrrrRRAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

Model O's roar matched his, its swords alternately blocking and lashing back at Gallidin, nothing more than a violet afterimage left to mark their passage.

And so it went on, both sides exchanging a furious blitzkrieg of attacks, lightning charged claws versus energy saber, neither one willing to back down, their attacks only increasing in speed. Alternately blocking and counterattacking, it was a duel of skill that defied all logic, a superhuman contest of godlike speed where one slip would mean instant death. The ground around them started to crumble and break apart, disintegrating under the concentrated power.

Suddenly, they vanished, flashes of crackling lightning and brilliant violet arcs the only thing visible, multiple streaks clashing against each other, hundreds of collisions occurring in mere microseconds, the time interval between each so infinitesimally small that successive collisions could barely be distinguished from one another.

"UUUUOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHH!"

With a final earthshaking battle howl, both of them lunged forward for their final strikes.

A tremendous, thundering blast of noise, a colossal sonic boom ripping the very air in two, and suddenly they were past each other, a deafening silence settling around them.

Gallidin grinned. "You're fast all right, but it seems I still hold all the cards when it comes to a duel of speed!"

Model O stopped and half-turned towards him, looking over its shoulder, a mocking sneer on its face.

At that instant, there was the sound of energy blades carving into metal, and countless scars sliced themselves into Gallidin's body. The Lightning Bullet gave a choked-off yell of pain, staggering forward as fragments of his armor fell to the ground around him.

"Wha…what the hell? I…lost? How?" He turned, wincing with the motion. "I know I hit you! You should be dead!"

Model O finished turning around. At that moment, there was the sound like ripping fabric, and its suit disintegrated, slash after slash appearing in its skintight black armor. Pieces of its red jacket floated away, the edges tattered and torn. Despite that, Model O grinned darkly. Underneath it all, its skin was completely undamaged. Gallidin's eyes widened as he caught sight of several cuts closing themselves up, vanishing before his shocked stare.

"It can't be…! You can regenerate even that much damage? What are you…?"

His voice rose to a scream, "Just what the _hell_ are you?"

Model O made to move towards him, but staggered. Its vision blurred for a minute, glitching. Recovering, it glared angrily at Gallidin. It seemed as though the amount of energy required to repair that much damage had been too much for this body. Its temporary Megamerge, ridiculously unstable to begin with, was deteriorating rapidly. It had only been its unending fury and rage that had even allowed it to hold together this long, sheer determination to kill the threat before it the only thing still keeping it active.

Now it seemed as though its time was running out. It needed to end this quickly. It was about to advance again, when a telltale glint of crimson metal caught its eye. Something within its corrupted data banks resonated, and a savage smile crossed its face.

Yes, this would do nicely.

All of the blood drained from Gallidin's features as he saw Model O pick up the familiar form of the Hades.

"Oh, FUCK." Uttering a single swear word, he threw himself sideways as the world exploded with the unmistakable roar of the Hades firing. He felt a tremendous impact on his shoulder, and felt something tear away the armor protecting it. Skidding to a halt, he flexed the fingers of that arm experimentally. Satisfied that everything was in working order, minus the missing shoulder armor, Gallidin turned back to Model O, grinning.

"Nice try, but remember, I can dodge those now! Plus, even when you hit me before, it didn't matter-"

Gallidin stopped as a sudden crumbling noise caught his attention. Very, very slowly, he turned his head to look behind him.

Ten seconds ago, there had been a very big, very thick wall behind him. Now, Gallidin stared blankly at a thirty-foot wide hole that had blasted clean through it, and from the looks of things, through several more walls behind it.

Gallidin turned back to face Model O, cold sweat breaking out all over his body.

"Um. Okay, that's, uh, new…"

As he saw Model O's finger tightening on the trigger again, Gallidin made his choice.

A flash of light, and a roar as the Hades fired, followed by the sound of metal shattering. When the smoke cleared, Gallidin's right arm crashed to the ground, separated from its owner by a shattered shoulder joint.

On a nearby rooftop, the Lightning Bullet crashed down in an ungraceful landing. Panting, he looked over the edge of the roof, back at where Model O was angrily smashing aside debris in an attempt to find him. He looked down at the sparking stump of his right arm and grimaced.

"The hell with this! Three hundred and fifty grand, my ass! That ain't worth fighting something like that over!"

With that said, the Lightning Bullet turned and loped off, cutting his losses as he leapt from roof to roof on a course out of Legion City. He hadn't gotten this far as a solo Raider by being stupid, and something in his gut was telling him that leaving now and getting as far away as was fucking possible from that crazed demon was a very, _very _smart idea.

Model O staggered forward, dropping to its knees. It stared down at its hands, snarling angrily as it saw them slowly disintegrating, its own image fading, to be replaced by that of its host. Growling, it fought as hard as it could, trying to maintain its form, but it was no good. Its unstable, forced Megamerge had been a temporary measure at best, and the blinding rage that had allowed it to temporarily break free of its chains was fading.

It managed to give one last, desperate snarl of defiance, its voice corrupted by static noise, and collapsed forward into blackness.

* * *

Somewhere under a mountain of rubble…

"I can still crush you, you know."

Omega grinned, his trusty O-Saber glinting in the narrow space between him and Syrene.

"Oh yeah, I dare you to try it. I'm pretty sure I can regenerate a few broken bones a hell of a lot quicker than you can regenerate from a sword in the face."

To make a quick summary of the situation: Omega and his opponent, Syrene Nagato were both still very much alive. When the building had landed on them, through some form of ridiculous luck, they had managed to be trapped in a single small, cramped space. As neither of them was human, a lack of air was of little concern. Of more pressing attention was the matter of dealing with one another. Syrene, still in serpentine form, had her long tail wrapped around Omega, her powerful muscles poised to crush him at a moment's notice. The only problem with this plan, was A) that his strength was almost equal to or maybe even greater than her own, and B) He had managed to wedge his O-Saber in between them.

Which returns us to our present conversation.

Omega groaned. "Look, lady, we're probably going to be stuck down her for while, so we might as well get comfortable. I'll switch off the sword, and promise not to kill you, if you could somehow manage to get some of these damn coils of yours outta my face."

"Oh really? As if I could be expected to believe that pathetic lie!"

Omega gave her a withering look. "Do you honestly think I have the slightest interest in being stuck down here with a corpse until they dig us out? Because if one of us kills the other, then that's what the survivor's going to have to deal with."

Syrene looked mortified. "Oh. Er…I hadn't thought of that…"

"No shit," Omega's voice dripped sarcasm.

Several minutes later, Omega had deactivated his saber and Syrene had loosened her coils. After a few moments of silence…

"Dammit, would you quit moving around so much?" Omega snapped finally.

"Well, maybe I wouldn't if _someone_'s hands didn't keep roaming!" Syrene shot back. Omega gave an irritated groan.

"Lady, in a space this size, I can't even put my hands behind my head, much less move them to grab your ass. What the hell do you expect me to do?"

"Tch…Fine then…" Syrene grumbled. She shifted again, then shot upright with a yelp.

"Th-that one was deliberate!" She yelled.

"Well, you sit on my hand, and what'd you expect?"

"What? Why you-!"

She started to twist around angrily, her coils taking up the motion.

"Dammit, watch where you're going with those things!"

"Ah, bite me you perv!"

Then Syrene ran out of room, and she dropped, startled, to land on Omega's chest. She looked up, found herself less than an inch away from his face, and froze in embarrassment. Then a thought occurred to her.

"Wait…why exactly did you tell _me _to watch where I was going?" she questioned. Omega scratched his cheek, trying to think of the best way to explain it.

It was right about then that Syrene felt something poking her in the thigh. She looked down.

And blushed.

"Oh." She said finally. "Um…wow."

Omega groaned and banged his head back on the wall.

"I should've just kept the damn crotch armor…"

* * *

In Ace's office, the phone rang. Collapsed in his chair, the Security Commander managed to open his eyes, staring hazily at the ceiling above him. It took all the strength he could muster to reach out and hit the speaker button.

"Report." He rasped, his voice ragged.

"Wha-Ace? Is that you? What happened? You sound terrible-"

"I'll live…Marino…" Ace coughed. "Just an old injury acting up a bit. Now report, so I know who to kill after this."

Marino hesitated for a bit, then looked across at Craft. The big commando shrugged, looking around at the activity going on in their surroundings. Ashe, Grey and their forces had finally made it, various squads splitting up to search the area for trouble and/or anyone who hadn't been evacuated. Ashe was looking especially pissed that she'd missed the whole fight, too.

"Well, there's good news…and then there's bad news." Ignoring the groan on the other end of the connection, she went on, " The good news is that preliminary reports show that we successfully managed to evacuate everyone in time, so there's a minimum of casualties. There are lots of people injured, though."

"That's fine." Ace sighed in relief. His warning had made it in time, then. "Injured people, I can deal with. Not dead ones. So what's the bad news?"

"Um, well…" Marino hesitated. "You remember that business and residential district you were planning to have reconstructed?"

"…Yeah, why?"

"Well…" The ex-thief stared sheepishly out at the blasted landscape. Skyscrapers lay toppled and broken. Apartment buildings lay crushed, parts of their structure crumbled to rubble, or in other cases, rubble was all that was left. The entire area was strewn with blast craters, and a thick pall of smoke covered the area. From here, she could see the faint glow of fires burning out of control.

"…Let's just say you'll have a much easier time convincing Master Thomas to let you do that now…"

There was a long pause.

"You do realize that that's an area made up of something close to six entire city blocks that you're talking about, right?"

"Um, yes?"

Another long pause.

"I'll call you back." The phone went dead. Marino stared at it and sighed. She had a feeling she knew what that meant.

* * *

A hundred floors up the side of Legion Headquarters, there was the sound of shattering glass, and a massive, mahogany business desk was launched out into the evening sky.

"SON…OF…A…_**BITCH**_!"

* * *

The phone rang again.

"Feel better now?"

"Much." Ace replied dryly. "Any sign of Celtis or Saber yet?"

"No, and we haven't found any traces of Voltzer or Nagato either. It was almost impossible to keep up with their fights. If we'd gotten any closer, I probably wouldn't be talking to you right now."

"That bad, huh?"

Marino shivered, remembering the sight of an entire building being thrown through the air.

"Worse."

Ace grunted. "I figured as much. My sensors tracked Voltzer heading out of the city a few moments ago. There was only one signature, so it seems as though he simply retreated."

"I don't blame him…" Marino muttered.

"…but I still don't have any records of Syrene. That means she's still in there somewhere. Probably dead, but just to be on the safe side, be careful."

"Um, there was something else, Ace…"

"What is it?"

Marino hesitated. For a moment, an image of that black-clad figure flashed through her mind again.

"…No, never mind. It's probably nothing."

"…I see. Very well then, I'll leave things up to you and Craft. Make sure Ashe doesn't go ballistic and start blowing stuff up."

BOOM!

A bead of sweat ran down the back of Marino's neck.

"Yeeeeah, uh, we're working on that…"

"Phoenix out." The communicator went dead.

Marino put it away, staring out at the destruction around her. In less than an hour, six entire city blocks had been reduced to a hellish nightmare of twisted steel and broken concrete. She remembered the glimpses she had caught of the raging battle, Gallidin's lightning flashing through the city, and the bone-chilling roars of the corrupted Biometal.

There had been one strange part, though. She had seen Gallidin get swatted through an entire row of buildings by Model O, and yet it had been almost a full six minutes before Model O had reappeared, smashing through an equal number of structures before crashing to earth next to Gallidin. Something about its flight had seemed slightly…erratic, for lack of a better word, almost as if it had been catapulted somehow, instead of a normal jump.

Why had Model O taken so long? And why, when it reappeared, did it look as though it had been thrown?

Craft, on the other hand, had several theories regarding that particular problem. And almost all of them came down to one white-haired Reploid.

'_Omega…Just what are you up to…?_'

* * *

Celtis stared up at the dull orange sky overhead. Moments ago, she'd woken up to find herself lying flat on her back, surrounded by the abandoned shells of destroyed buildings. Now she lay there, her mind racing as she tried to figure out what was going on. She remembered being trapped in Gallidin's Thousand Bolts, and passing out, but then…

After that, her memory grew foggy. Tiny fragments reappeared now and then, her mind recalling unfamiliar images. A blinding rage, an infinite urge to destroy, a terrible roar that was almost unrecognizable as her own voice…She remembered these things, but with a strange sense of detachment, as if it had been somebody else's memories.

"I am beginning to get sick of waking up with memory loss…"she growled, picking herself up. Dusting herself off, part of her jacket came off in her hand.

"Wha-Oh you've got to be kidding me!" she yelled in outrage. Her clothes were a mess. Tattered and torn, and covered with far too many openings to be decent, Celtis could clearly see the remnants of Gallidin's handiwork.

"God dammit! This is the second set I've ruined in less than two days! I'm not made of freaking money, dammit! This stuff is expensive!"

A sparking sound caught her attention. Turning, she was rewarded with the sight of a familiar Pseudoroid arm, still sparking on the ground nearby.

"Hey, that's…" Celtis' eyes widened and she stepped forward. Gallidin's arm lay on the floor, the shoulder joint blown apart by some kind of colossal force.

"But how'd this get here?" She looked around in confusion. Then another memory presented itself to her of the Hades roaring in her grip, firing a super-accelerated blast that dwarfed her normal shots.

"I…did this…?" she whispered, stunned. Then, her eyes narrowed.

"No…it was you, wasn't it?" she said darkly. Reaching up she pressed one hand against her chest, as if she could feel the dark Biometal there, just beneath her skin. That was the true person responsible for defeating Gallidin. Her body had just been the shell it used to get the job done.

She reached out towards the severed arm.

"Well, might as well see if I can't claim this as a prize." she sighed. "Maybe it'll be worth something."

As her hands closed on the cool metal surface, Celtis froze. Her mind went blank, as a strange surge of power raced up her arms. It felt as if an entire lightning storm had been released into her nervous system. It moved up her arms, then her neck, and into her head. The gem on her forehead blazed to life, the Omega Sigil burning a brilliant red.

'_**MEMORIZED.**_'

That one word flashed across Celtis mind, even though she herself didn't think it. An image of Gallidin's lightning enhanced speed dash flickered into life, and then disappeared.

Suddenly, Celtis found that she had control over her body once more. She threw herself backwards, dropping the metallic arm in the process. She landed on her rear, staring at the arm in fear, as if it might suddenly attack her.

"Wh-wha…what the hell…was that?" she gasped, her chest heaving as she sucked in air. She had only touched it, and suddenly it was as though gigabytes of raw data had been poured directly into her brain. She had no idea what any of it meant either.

After several moments, she finally worked up the nerve to reach one hand out towards the Pseudoroid arm again. She took one finger, and poked it cautiously.

Nothing happened. She breathed out a sigh of relief.

Then, sparking furiously, the entire thing started twitching and jerking around, flailing about wildly as its servos accidentally reactivated.

"GAAAAAAAAH!" Celtis leapt about a foot into the air. Grabbing a nearby iron rod, she bashed it repeatedly in a mad panic. Eventually, it stopped moving again, its motors thoroughly dented.

"Congratulations, you just killed a severed arm. I'm sure that was _such_ a hard fight."

Celtis stopped, a vein twitching in her forehead. That mocking, sarcastic voice could only come from one man. She turned around, and almost dropped the bar in disbelief.

Omega was standing there, none the worse for wear, his trademark devilish smile on his face. As she watched, he turned his head back and hollered at a squad of approaching people.

"Yeah, we found her! And she's sane too, so there's no need to be frightened, babe!"

The outraged outburst of extremely inventive profanity that followed his taunt confirmed that Ashe was one of those people heading towards them.

None of this, however, was what had shocked her so much.

Syrene Nagato, the Emerald Queen Cobra, and one of the most feared of all Raiders, was next to him, one arm linked with Omega's, and a distinctly non-hostile look on her face. Actually, it looked positively dreamy.

"Whw-wha-wha-" Celtis pointed a shaking finger at her.

"WHAT THE HELL IS SHE DOING HERE?"

Omega looked back, surprised. "Oh. Her? Yeah, we sort of came to an agreement. She works for me now."

Syrene nodded. "Yep! Sorry about earlier. That was just business."

Celtis gaped at them. "And this isn't? You're a Raider, for God's sake! Who's to say you won't turn on us the minute somebody else pays you a higher price?"

Omega and Syrene both gave matching grins.

"Oh, I don't think that'll be much of a problem here."

Syrene pressed closer to Omega, rubbing her head against his chest, her frills rustling contentedly.

"See, my new master is very, _very_ good at negotiation…"she purred, the sound of a thoroughly satisfied woman in her voice.

Celtis took one look at the dreamy look on Syrene's face and the cocky smirk on Omega's, and her jaw dropped.

"Oh you have _got _to be kidding me. Don't tell me, you two…" She stopped, her face turning red.

"Hey, I need somebody who has connections to the underworld, so why not?" Omega shrugged. Then, with an amused grin, he added. "Of course, there's also the fact that she can wrap that long tongue of hers completely around-"

"THANK YOU I GET THE POINT!" Celtis yelped frantically, desperately squeezing her hands over her ears in a vain effort to shut out the perverted-ness.

"Oh, belieeeve me, darling, not like _I_ did." Syrene purred, licking her lips as she shifted closer to Omega.

Celtis' eye twitched as she stared at them.

"I hate you both. So very much."

Omega snickered. "Don't hate the player, baby, hate the game. Now…" he reached down for Gallidin's severed arm.

"Let's see what we've got here-" Picking it up, Omega's voice cut off as he stiffened.

Electricity crackled at the point of contact for a moment, then disappeared. Celtis saw the look in his eyes and had a feeling that the same thing that had happened to her, had just happened again, only this time to Omega.

Omega stood stock still for a moment. Then, slowly, an evil smile began to form on his face.

"Oi, servant. Hold this for a second." He tossed Gallidin's arm to Celtis, who frantically juggled it for a second before finally managing to get a hold of it. With his free hand, Omega reached into his jacket and withdrew the Zweihander, its handle splitting into the familiar three-pronged hilt they were familiar with. As the massive blade materialized, it suddenly flared with new life. Familiar green arcs of electricity began to dance along it, the blade sparking with the power of countless volts of lightning running through it.

Celtis and Syrene stared in awe.

"That's…Gallidin's ability…!" Syrene gasped.

"A lightning element!" Celtis breathed. "But how…?"

Omega stared silently down at the crackling blade, a demonic smile on his face.

"Oh, fun times are a-coming..." he murmured, breaking out into a chuckle of malicious glee.

* * *

A/N: Finally! Damn, you have no idea how hard it was to write that bit between Model O and Omega. At any rate, it's finally up! And yes, Gallidin and Syrene are both still alive since I had altogether too much fun with them to kill them off that quickly! Gallidin's a merc, so chances are, he can appear on either side, good or evil, in any future confrontations. Syrene on the other hand is Omega's newest concub- uh, I mean, newest ally/information asset! Yeah, that's what I was going to say. Now, before I get flamed into next weekend for that (You know what I'm talking about!) I strongly recommend that you go check out the artwork for this story on my DeviantArt account!

Anywho, a lot of familiar faces appeared in this chapter. That should tell you that things will be heating up in the near future, so look forward to it!

I hope I did the corrupted insanity of Model O justice! After all, it is THE most powerful of all the Biometals and as such, deserved a thoroughly epic entrance.

Reviews will be rewarded with…um…pizza?

Whatever, read and review, people! I'll see you all next chapter!

Later!

DarkShift Out!


	14. Chapter 13: Shadows of Strategy

**Chapter 13: Shadows of Strategies**

**Disclaimer : I. DON'T. OWN. Got it?**

* * *

Omega sighed. For the second time in less than a week, he stared at the inside of the elevator that led to the top floors of Legion HQ. Next to him, Celtis fidgeted uneasily, nervous about what lay ahead.

Less than a day after Ace had arranged things in the aftermath of the Model O mission, his scheme had been practically blown out of the water. No sooner had he let them out of his sight than a bounty had been posted for Celtis, and two of the world's most dangerous Raiders had attacked. As luck would have it, said Raiders hated each other almost as much as they did losing the bounty. Celtis' 'bodyguard', who was Omega of course, had not appreciated being left out of the equation, and took steps to rectify this grievous error, mostly by beating seven different kinds of crap out of them.

With a slight fraction of help from Servant Number Four, i.e. Celtis. Yes, she had been demoted.

During the chaos, somehow, Model O had managed to reactivate itself, saving Celtis from certain death, and then using her body as the tool to bring about the downfall of anyone foolish enough to stand before it, annihilating six city blocks and lighting up the sky for miles around in the process.

Only one man had faced it down and only he could claim to have bested it.

The ghost of a smile crossed his face as he remembered his newest servant. How fitting, that the thing that had claimed to be him was now a mere underling to the very same being it had tried to usurp. He was pretty sure that was going to leave him with a warm fuzzy feeling of superiority that'd last all week.

And then on top of that, he'd managed to score with the _totally_ hot piece of Raider tail called Syrene Nagato. Sure, she had been trying to kill him right before, but that just made the turnaround that much sweeter. She now worked for him, the first of the many contacts he was planning to obtain within the different areas of the city. Using her connections as an infamous Raider, her role was to pass along any interesting information or mentions of high paying jobs to him, the sort of information you couldn't get through normal channels. In the chaotic aftermath of the battle, she had slipped away, escaping from Legion before Ace's iron fist could close around her. She had gotten her unofficial 'bonus' before leaving, courtesy of their, ahem, 'negotiations' and the first of her actual payments (in EC) was already being sent off.

Of course, none of the money was Omega's. He'd long since hacked over a dozen different banks throughout Legion's network and was playing merry hell with their bookkeeping. He mentally thanked his old buddy Flizard for that trick. Whatever his faults had been, the first of the Numbers had been the one man he'd trust to watch his back.

The God of Destruction shook his head, dispelling his nostalgic thoughts. Now wasn't the time or place for it.

Ace had contacted both him and Celtis immediately after the incident, which served to explain why they were both standing in the elevator heading up to his office. They weren't alone, though. Omega raised an eyebrow, glancing across at where two deliverymen stood patiently with what looked like a brand new office desk slung between them. A classy, mahogany-looking one too, Omega noted.

'_Niiice…_'

Celtis on the other hand, seemed a lot less nervous than the last time. Instead, she bore a troubled look on her face, gazing into the far-off distance outside the windows of the elevator. She had appeared all right when Omega had first found her after the fight, but it was soon obvious that she had been affected by the destruction Model O had wreaked using her body.

She reached up to her forehead, feeling the warm, glassy surface of Model O's gem. Running her fingers along the single, jagged crack that marred its surface, she sighed.

'_I know it's not my fault, but still…I can't help but feel responsible for all of it. I'm lucky no-one was killed, but still, a lot of people don't have homes to go back to anymore because of what Model O did…What should I-_'

WHAP!

Celtis gave yelp of pain as Omega whacked the top of her head, his hand turned sideways in a chopping motion.

"Wh-what was that for?"

"Quit thinking unnecessary thoughts," he replied, without looking at her. " If you want to blame someone, blame whoever sicced Gallidin and Syrene on you. You start going down the whole 'oh-I'm-so-emo' path and I'll kick your ass myself."

Celtis stared at him, a distressed look on her face, "But what happened out there…if I hadn't found this thing, then none of it would have happened!"

"And I'd still be in cold sleep." Omega said coolly.

That stopped Celtis. "I-I'm sorry…I didn't mean…"

"No, you didn't. But understand this: whether or not you had gone down in there, whoever set those goons on you back then would have simply found another person to use. And they might not have been lucky enough to have me save their ass. If you want to go on beating yourself up over everything that happened, even when none of it was your fault, suit yourself. But simply moping about it won't change a thing."

His piece said, Omega turned back to the glass wall, staring silently out over Legion as they continued to ascend. Celtis stared at him, grappling with his words.

It was true. Model O was the one who had caused the destruction, not her. And even if she hadn't gone into that cave, setting this whole thing in motion, Model O would simply have found a new host. It would not have been an incomplete one like herself, either. She was unique, in that she had been granted with both the terrible curse of Model O's godlike power, as well as the gift of surviving that curse. Omega was right. Whether it was her or Model O's fault was irrelevant. All that mattered now was finding a way to prevent such a thing from happening again. And that meant there was only one choice for her.

Celtis swallowed as she realized the magnitude of the task she would have to accomplish. In order to prevent such a rampage from occurring again, she, a mere human, would have to learn to control Model O. The Biometal that housed the insane demonic nature of the God of Destruction, the lost Model, whose infinite power and limitless savagery knew no bounds.

'_Well…_' she thought nervously, '_Nothing like a good challenge to make life exciting, huh?_'

* * *

Stepping out of the elevator, they were rewarded with their first sight of the office of the infamous Scarlet Phoenix.

"…The hell?" Omega muttered.

While one would expect the office of such a high-ranked person to have important things like printouts, paperwork, and other such assorted types of official business-like stuff lying around, and in large amounts too. Despite the high rank, however, Ace's office had some…unorthodox décor as well.

There were anime posters all over the wall, crammed into every bit of free space that was available. Here and there, plasma screens were visible in between them, data streaming across their surfaces as they monitored Legion channels for the first sign of trouble. Omega almost tripped over a gaming console when he wasn't looking, a pile of CD cases next to it indicating that it was well used. Over in one corner, there was a full-size, poseable figure of some kind of mech, no doubt from one of Ace's numerous anime series. In one corner of the room was what looked a big cylindrical bin, stuffed with the carefully rolled up forms of still more posters. Boxes of DVDs, CDs and assorted games were all over the place as well. If it hadn't been for the occasional messy piles of paperwork bearing the official Legion seal, Omega would never have been able to guess that this was the office of a man ranked as highly as Legion's Security Commander. He stepped over to a towering pile of manga volumes and idly flipped through some of them. After a few moments, he tossed it carelessly back on the pile, inadvertently half-burying a hapless Celtis in the resulting avalanche.

The God of Destruction raised a skeptical eyebrow as he looked around the room

"Well, this definitely wasn't what I was expecting…"

"Yeah, that's what most people say when they come here for the first time," a new voice drawled. Both Celtis and Omega looked up as a second door, half hidden behind another pile of debris slid closed behind the newcomer.

Clad in a pink and white suit with an open, mini-sized version of Ace's scarlet business suit reaching down to just above her hips, the green-haired stranger stuck out her hand.

"Hi. I'm Marin, Ace's second in command. I've heard a lot about you two."

'_Seen it too…_' she thought silently, remembering the disaster that they had just come from.

Celtis hastily dug herself out of the pile of mangas and DVDs and caught Marino's hand, shaking it.

"H-hi there. I'm Celtis Arcana and this is Saber."

"Yo," Omega gave a casual wave. Celtis looked back at the disheveled mess she'd had to climb out of and winced.

"Sorry about the mess…"

Marino simply shrugged. "Don't worry about it. I'll get Ace to clean it up after. Besides, he should know by now to stop sticking his extra crap in my office!"

Omega and Celtis stared at her.

"This isn't his office…?"

"Nah, that's back there." She jerked a thumb over her shoulder at the door she had come through. "All of this is just the excess junk he couldn't fit in his office, so it just sort of spreads out until it starts building up in here too. Oh, hold on a moment-"

She stopped and waved the deliverymen in.

"Yeah, just take it right in to the usual spot! All right, thanks!"

The three of them watched the deliverymen struggle through the mess, finally making it to the second door. As they disappeared through it, Marino turned back to them.

"Don't worry about that. Ace's last desk suffered a bit of a…failure."

Omega gave her a skeptical look. "And I take it this happens on a regular basis?"

"What makes you say that?" Marino asked innocently.

"Considering the fact that they delivery company knows where this 'usual spot' is, I'm assuming that they're used to dealing with this kind of thing."

Marino laughed. "Yeah, sadly you're right. Heck, by now I probably know everybody in that company by heart-"

She stopped suddenly.

"Wait…those two that carried the desk through…You didn't happen to see their nametags, did you?"

"Uh, yeah…I think it was Leroy and Wallis, or something…"

Marino didn't wait to hear the rest of it. Her blood freezing in her veins, she turned and raced towards the door of Ace's office. She knew the faces of the two workers named Leroy and Wallis, and the two who had just gone through here had _not_ been them. Omega, sensing that something was wrong, started after her.

As Marino's hand reached for the door handle, there was the sound of several loud blasts from the other side. Celtis whirled around, a shocked look on her face.

"Those were…!"

"Gunshots." Omega finished grimly, already moving towards the door.

"NO!" Marino's anguished yell rang out. With a tremendous crash, the door fell to the floor, knocked off its frame by the force of her kick. The three of them piled into the room, only to screech to a halt at the sight before them.

His new desk in place, Ace was sitting slumped in the chair behind it. The entire front of his trademark suit was smoking, multiple bullets having been pumped into it. The two 'deliverymen' were standing in the middle of the room, one of them lowering the handgun he'd just used to assassinate the Security Commander. From here, Celtis could see the telltale tattoo on their necks that marked them as part of Raven's Wing, an elite Raider group specializing in assassination.

"You bastards…!" she yelled, the Hades leaping into her hand.

A gunshot, and the crimson handgun clattered to the floor, Celtis clutching at her wounded hand. One of the Raiders grinned.

"Sorry, but I don't think we'll be having any of that today!"

His partner stared at Celtis intently for a moment, and then his eyes widened.

"Hey isn't that…?"

He muttered something under his breath. The second Raider's eyes widened in recognition.

"Well, I'll be damned!" He whistled, "It _is_ her!"

Grinning, he leveled his handgun at Celtis. "You'll have to forgive me for the rough treatment, Miss Arcana. I had no idea it was someone as famous as you. To make up for it, we'll be escorting you safely back to our boss!"

Omega was about to cut in, when he caught sight of Marino. Her shoulders were shaking, possibly with anger, but something was off…She leaned forward, her bangs falling forward to hide her eyes.

"Tell me…"she said, her voice deceptively calm. "When you killed Ace, did you shoot him in the head?"

Celtis and Omega both stared at her, taken aback at the bluntness of the question.

"Wow, that was kinda harsh…" Omega muttered.

One of the Raiders raised an eyebrow at her.

"…No. Why should we? My buddy here just put a dozen armor-piercing rounds in him! That's more than enough to take care of any target, whether they hit vitals or not!"

What happened next surprised everyone in the room.

Marino threw her head back and laughed.

"Ha ha ha! Oh, you poor dumb bastards! Ha ha!"

She pressed a hand to her face, stifling her chuckles. Omega and Celtis both exchanged confused looks behind her.

"Her boss just got killed and she's…laughing…?"

"Uh, did I, y'know…miss something here?" Omega asked sarcastically.

Marino finally recovered her composure. Clearing her throat, she fixed the two bewildered Raiders with a mocking smile.

"You really had no idea who you came here to kill, do you?"

A low, blood-chilling laugh rose into the air. Both Raiders froze in their tracks. Omega looked past them, his eyes widening in disbelief. Celtis took a step back, shock written all over her face.

"No way…!"

The two assassins knew exactly who was laughing, as they'd heard that same voice moments ago, right before they had killed the owner. Marino grinned at their expressions.

"That's right, boys. You missed the only chance you had."

At her words, they spun around. Whatever plan they might have had went straight out the window at the sight before them.

His eyes burning a brilliant blue, the legendary Scarlet Phoenix lifted his head and stared at them, his demonic gaze piercing them to the core. Steam hissed from his jaws, mingling with the smoke rising from his coat. As he slowly got to his feet, there was a metallic tinkling noise as several misshapen objects fell to the floor. The gun-wielding Raider looked down as one of them rolled near his feet. Instantly recognizing the half melted shape, he looked up, shock and disbelief in his eyes.

"It can't be…! My bullets…!"

But it was. As the last of the steam faded away, they could see clearly the points where each of his shots had slammed into the Scarlet Phoenix's body. Aside from a faint scorch mark, there was no sign of any penetration at all.

"He stopped them? But how…?"

The last of the bullets clattered to the floor, before Ace's boot landed on it, crushing it. The Security Commander gave a dark smile.

"What, you thought I wore this coat for kicks? You know, all these years and it never occurred to a single one of you assholes that there might be a reason for that?"

"But, those were armor-piercing!"

Ace flipped a spent shell casing through his fingers idly.

"Armor piercing? What a fucking joke. Don't even think about putting my Scarlet Skin on the same level as that military grade bullshit.

Desperate, the Raider lifted his gun and fired again, this time aiming for Ace's unprotected head. Before any of them could react, Ace's right arm had come up, the bullet striking his forearm and ricocheting harmlessly away. At the point of impact, Omega could just barely make out the flicker of light that danced over the suit's surface, revealing a matrix of interlocking hexagonal plates, each no bigger than a thumbnail.

"Ah-ah-ah…!"Ace waved an admonishing finger in the air. "You had your chance already…"

A crimson helmet appeared, the parts locking together around his head as a familiar, triangular black visor slid over his face.

"Now it's my turn," He said, his voice as cold as ice.

Planting one hand firmly on the desk, he vaulted across it, launching himself feet-first into one of the assassin's chests. As the Raider flew backwards, Ace dropped to the ground and swept his legs around in a flawless sweep that knocked the other Raider's feet out, dropping him heavily on his back.

Landing back on his feet, Ace snapped his fingers.

"Oh right, I almost forgot!" Lifting his hand, he snapped his fingers again. "Music please!"

As the opening theme for the Devil May Cry anime, a personal favorite of Ace's, suddenly started playing over the speakers hidden around the room, the Scarlet Phoenix grinned.

"Perfect."

As the assassin leapt back to his feet, he drew a concealed energy blade, light dancing along the shimmering edge as it whistled towards Ace's face. Blocking it, Ace knocked the blade away with a quick move of his left arm. Whirling around, he followed it up with a devastating right, his fist slamming into his opponent's gut with a sound like a gunshot.

In that split second, Omega caught a glimpse of a smirk behind the jet-black visor.

"See ya."

BOOM!

There was a spark of light, and suddenly a tremendous explosion blossomed from his clenched fist. The blast knocked everything within ten feet of the combatants flying. Omega shut one eye as he stared intently at the fight, absent-mindedly reaching out one hand to grab Celtis' collar as she sailed past.

The Raider assassin was launched the full length of the room, slamming into the far wall with enough force to crack the concrete. The energy weapon clattered harmlessly to the floor, the blade winking out of existence.

"Guh…aagghh…!" He coughed up blood, feeling bones creaking under the terrible pressure. "What…the hell…?"

Ace grinned as he drew back his fist, smoke and tattered cloth trailing from it.

"Thank you Makoto Shishio, for the idea of an exploding gauntlet…!"

Reaching back behind him with his other hand, Ace seized the edge of his new desk. The hardened wood cracked under his grip, his fingers digging into the surface. With a wild whoop, he swept the entire thing up over his head, bringing his free hand up to grab it as well.

"Sorry, but I'm afraid my new desk was damaged in transit! Therefore, I think I'll be returning it…"

He reared back, cracks spreading out from his iron grip.

"RIGHT NOW!"

With that explosive yell, Ace brought both hands down, launching the entire, massive desk at the recovering assassin.

There was what sounded like a cut off swearword, and the whole thing smashed into the Raider, breaking through the wall behind him and knocking his senseless body clear into the next room.

Amidst the settling dust, the scarlet Commander straightened back up. He looked across at Marino, who was standing with her arms folded and an annoyed look on her face.

"Please tell me that wasn't the outer office."

Marino sighed. "No, that was the office next door. Nothing important, save for several hundred thousand EC worth of valuables. Don't worry, you didn't throw him into my office where you could have, you know, damaged any of your useless rubbish."

The sarcasm sailed straight over Ace's head as he grinned. "Oh good! I'd hate to think I damaged something important. But yeah, I'm probably gonna need a new desk now-"

He was cut off by Celtis' warning shout. Alerted by a glint from behind, he spun to the side as the first Raider, the one he had double-kicked in the chest at the start, lunged past him, a brilliant streak of fire trailing behind his fist. Ace grunted as he felt it sear a burning trail across his chest and glancing off of his right hand.

As the assassin skidded to a halt, Ace took a moment to struggle with the flames that had sprung up where the attack had hit him. After several attempts however, he suddenly realized that the flames weren't dying down at all.

"Wait…this is…!" His eyes widened as realization struck him. He snapped his head up to stare at the assassin, who was standing with a triumphant smirk on his face.

"That's right, Phoenix!" He hefted his right arm, a strange looking device mounted over his knuckles. A single tube was attached to it, snaking its way up his arm and disappearing into his sleeve. Inside his clenched fist, Ace could see a cylindrical shape, the man's thumb pressing down hard on a glowing red button at the end of it.

"That's promethium fire! Unless I release the ignition switch, that stuff'll never stop burning, no matter what you do!"

Promethium is a special type of fire. When a fire burns, it consumes everything it can touch for fuel. However, if the substance requires a greater amount of energy to ignite than the energy that can be provided by the fire itself, it cannot burn. Promethium fire on the other hand, has no such limitations. A special radiation generator allows an almost limitless supply of energy to be provided, meaning that as long as that generator is switched on and providing energy, Promethium fire will never go out, continually burning everything it touches. Without the generator, it simply becomes normal fire and can be extinguished as such. The only other way to stop it would be to somehow trap it in a vacuum. Without oxygen, it would die like any other fire.

This generator switch was the device that was clenched within the Raider's hand, the strange armor over his knuckles acting as the vents to release the promethium.

Promethium weapons are extremely dangerous, as there is no possible way to extinguish a promethium fire, other than to shut off its generator. One promethium fire could theoretically destroy an entire city, burning through steel, stone, metal, wood, rubber, glass…If the generator is not shut off, there is no limit to the damage a promethium fire could do.

As such, promethium weapons are one of the highest ranked contraband items in all of Legion. Anyone stupid or suicidal enough to be caught with one of them anywhere within the city limits is immediately qualified for a whole new universe of pain, courtesy of Ace and his Security forces.

And yet, here Ace stood now, facing one of those very weapons.

He stood there for a moment, ignoring the flames eating into his prized suit.

"So, you try to assassinate me, use a weapon that's banned in practically every square inch of Legion, and _then_ you have the gall to damage my coat." Ace's eye twitched, "Oh, you are _mine_, bitch!"

The assassin smirked. He tightened his fist on the controller and the flames suddenly leapt higher, burning anew with fresh life.

"Have you forgotten? With this Promethium Knuckle, I can incinerate you with a simple gesture!"

"Maybe." Ace shrugged. "But this Scarlet Skin of mine isn't going to go down that easily. In the meantime, I just have to beat you for the flames to stop."

The Raider's eyes narrowed, "What?"

The Legion Commander looked down at his right hand, the promethium flames burning away the last of his tattered glove and beginning to work on the skin. Slowly, he clenched it into a fist, the brilliant glow of the flames surrounding it.

And he grinned.

"I suppose I should thank you. I always wanted to try doing this move, and now I've finally got the chance!"

"Say what?" Before the Raider could even finish his question, Ace was racing towards him, his flaming fist drawn back, and a savage smile on his face.

"Take this! The ultimate fist of fire!"

* * *

From the outside, Legion HQ seemed peaceful enough. Then, several dozen stories up, there was a flash of orange light.

"LITTLE BOY!"

A massive window exploded outwards in a wave of fire, a flailing figure catapulted ahead of it.

* * *

Ace rested one foot on the edge of his broken window, watching the path of the falling Raider with a critical eye.

"And he's going…going…" He snapped his fingers triumphantly, "GONE!"

The flames left by the Raider's promethium weapon diminished immediately, extinguishing themselves as his suit repaired the damage. Stepping back from the window, he spun around, brushing specks of dust off of himself as he turned his attention back to his visitors as his helmet disassembled itself again.

"Right! That was easy enough, now, onto the real business!"

Marino groaned and shook her head. "We just got this place fixed and you wrecked it again, Ace! Why can't you ever keep your office in one piece for more than a week?"

Ace made an indignant expression. "Hey, I just fought off two guys who tried to kill me! Whatever happened to 'Oh thank goodness you're okay Ace!' or 'Are you alright?' ?"

Marino sniffed and looked away, folding her arms. "Hmph, don't confuse me with the girls in those manga you always read. You're too hard-headed and stubborn to die from being killed by low-level goons like that!"

Watching the two of them argue, Omega grinned. _'Oh, so it's like that, huh?'_

"You seemed pretty worried to me when we first heard those shots!"

Marino started guiltily, her face coloring. Ace looked across at Omega, a curious look on his face.

"Sorry, what was that? I didn't quite catch it."

"Oh, I was just saying that she seemed plenty worried when-"

WHAM! CRUNCH!

Omega was cut off by Celtis' elbow in the gut and Marino's high heel planted squarely on top of his foot, in that order.

"Like I said, why would I be worried about you?" Marino huffed, turning her back to him hastily.

Ignoring the pained curses from Omega, Celtis quickly cut in.

"But how did you survive that? If those were really armor-piercing, then-"

Ace grinned. "I said it already, didn't I? Armor-piercing or not, nothing's getting through this!"

He lifted his left arm. As the light played along his sleeve, Celtis could just make out the lines of a finely detailed pattern of tiny hexagonal plates, all fitting together perfectly. She reached out curiously and poked it, gasping as a dim wave of light moved outwards from the point of contact, traveling across the boundary between the hex plates and fading away after a short distance.

"Fully refined Ceratanium plates, over a layer of impact resistant nano-fibers. This suit could take a hit from a cannon and stay unharmed!" He paused, "Well, I don't think I'd be…I'm still working on the force suppressors. I can still break bones and stuff even with this on. Plus, thanks to the nanotek I built into it as well, it can repair itself! And all of that while looking like a perfectly normal overcoat! Pretty sweet, huh?"

Omega got back to his feet, rubbing his head.

"Yeah, so it's basically super-bulletproof armor. Great. So, what the heck was that move you punched that guy out of the window with?"

The Legion Commander chuckled. "Oh, that was just something I picked up from an anime I recently watched. Hey, the move was a flaming punch, and my hand was on fire! So I figured why the hell not?"

"Weird name, though."

"Not when you realize that that was the codename for a nuclear bomb that was used to blow up a city in ages past."

"Oh." Omega thought about that for a minute. "Nice!"

"Ahem." Marino cleared her throat, recovering her composure. "About that right arm of yours…"

Ace blinked. "Huh?"

He lifted his right arm up, looking curiously at his right hand.

"…Oh." He said finally.

The effects of the promethium flame were easy to see. It had scorched most of the sleeve cuff black, and had eaten away his entire glove. And it still hadn't stopped there, either. His entire right hand had been burned, the skin blackened and dried. As he flexed it, parts of it cracked and fell away, revealing bones and sinew underneath.

"Huh. That should probably hurt, shouldn't it?" He said eventually.

"Well, obviously!" Celtis sputtered. "You need to get that treated immediately! How are you still conscious?"

Ace raised a speculative eyebrow as he observed his scorched hand.

"Hey Marin."

"Yeah?"

"Add to the notes that I finally confirmed the last of the damage Model O left me with. Seems like the bastard actually did something useful."

That stopped Celtis. "What?"

"Yeah. Remember the scar it left me with? That covers my whole right arm and most of my torso? I had suspected it earlier, but this little fight confirmed it. It seems that somewhere in the process of screwing with my nerves, it managed to thoroughly tear up my sense of pain for everywhere that got scarred. When they shot me, I felt the impacts, but that was it. As for this…" he held up his damaged right arm and shrugged. "It just feels a bit stiff, but that's it. This mostly seems to have kicked in after Model O activated in the earlier fight with Gallidin. So I suppose I should thank you for that."

Celtis just stared at him in disbelief. Omega took this opportunity to step back into the conversation.

"So yeah, about that…Why'd you call us up here again? I'm assuming it had something to do with that." He gestured outside the window, where the smoke from the ruined city blocks could still be seen. Ace nodded in response.

"Yeah, but I figure we might be better off talking about this somewhere less, er…"

"Destroyed?" Marino grumbled.

"Oh, what now? Come on, it's not like this is the worst I've ever done! Look, I barely demolished one wall, and I broke the window! Remember when I blew out all four walls and part of the ceiling?"

"Yes, because you dropped most of it on me!"

"Oh." Ace stopped for a moment. "Well, anyway you get the point."

Marino sighed, pulling out her comm., "I'll just get on the line to the Repairs section." She rolled her eyes sarcastically. "With any luck the window guys won't have had time to leave the building yet…"

"Hehe, thanks!" Ace grinned like a little kid as he started towards the hole left by his desk.

Omega glanced across at Celtis.

"So if that window's broken, why aren't we in the middle of a mini-hurricane right now?"

"Standard safety precaution in all high-rise buildings. There's a forcefield that acts as a barrier when the window or outer wall is breached. But as you saw just now, it doesn't really work all that well on solid objects…"

Omega remembered the sight of the Raider cartwheeling through the air and snickered. That image was definitely going into the permanent storage section of his memory banks!

"True."

Ace meanwhile had gone through the hole in the wall and was now in the next room. The office staff on that side simply acknowledged him and went on with their business. After a few years of being near Ace's office, they had gotten used to random occurrences like that. You know, little things, like the occasional screaming person being thrown through the wall, followed by one or two objects of office furniture, or a rocket launcher or several other kinds of explosive device of Ace's or Marino's choice.

Yep, nothing out of the ordinary here.

Anyway, after a few moments of examination, Ace gave a relieved grin.

"Oh good, I'm glad you're still in one piece."

This statement, of course, was directed at his new desk, which had miraculously managed to land upright, and not the Raider whose head he was currently standing on. Ignoring the groans he kicked the downed assassin a couple times for good measure and turned back to his office.

"Hey, the desk's still good, so you can just get a couple guys to bring it back!"

Walking back towards Marino and the others, he flipped out his personal comm. and dialed another number.

"Is the Colonel back yet?"

"No sir. He and his second-in-command are still on the way."

"Good. Contact them and mention that I have a little detour for them. Two idiots from Raven's Wing just tried to knock me off. I'd like to reward them for the trouble."

"Roger that."

Ace clicked off the phone and smiled grimly. His enemies the world over knew the rules. You were welcome to take a shot at him, but if it missed, you'd better start running, because the wrath of God was a piece of cake compared to a Phoenix's revenge.

"Now then, I think I need to go get this dealt with," he held up his charred right hand " and since this hardly seems like an appropriate place for conversation, considering my recent, ah…'redecorating'…I might as well kill two birds with one stone. So if you'd all just follow me, I'll take you to the heart of my operations!"

Strolling over to the wall, he shifted aside a strategically placed pile of manga and pressed a button concealed in the full-size poster behind it. A section of the wall slid away to reveal a spacious rectangular area behind it, a strange metal rail running around the other three walls. He gave a mock bow, gesturing to the dim interior.

"Ladies first and all that!"

When the other three had stepped inside, he followed them. With his remaining hand, Ace turned around and punched in a sequence on the keypad next to the door they had come in by. The door hissed shut on the now empty office, sliding back behind its camouflaged exterior.

* * *

On a train somewhere in the world…

The travel attendant stepped nervously into the private car.

"Um…hello? Mr…Colonel, sir?"

There was movement further back in the cabin. The attendant caught a glimpse of a figure clad in a regal black and white coat, the peaked military cap of a ranking colonel on his head.

"Yes?" The voice was as cool as ice, a hint of a British accent in it.

"Er, we've received a message from Legion Headquarters…It's addressed to you from a Mr. Phoenix.

The Colonel held out one hand for the envelope. As she handed it to him, the attendant caught a gleam of light from the left side of his chest. On a closer look, it seemed to be coming from a decoration on his suit. She couldn't be sure, but from here it looked a little bit like a stylized letter R…

"Can I help you?" The ironic question made her look up, only to find the Colonel giving her a rather pointed look.

"Er, no, sorry…That's all…"

As the attendant beat a hasty retreat, the Colonel looked down at the dataslate in his hand, reading through the information on it. At that moment, there was a loud bang, and the door leading to the shower slammed open. Another figure walked out of it humming a jazzy rock tune under his breath as he toweled his hair dry. Half-dressed, he was clad only in a pair of rugged, rusty-red jeans and muttered a few curses under his breath as he started looking around for his shirt.

"Don't bother." The Colonel said, without taking his eyes off of the dataslate. "The bloodstains on it were starting to smell, so I had them take it away for cleaning. And from the stench, I'm beginning to think I should have sent you along with those jeans too."

"Ah, go dive off a bridge." his second in command grumbled. "So what if I like getting up close and personal in my fights? It's not like a little dirt and blood is going to kill me!"

So saying, he drew a pack of cigarettes from the pocket of his jeans. With a snap of his fingers, a spark of light appeared, igniting the tip of it. It illuminated his features, showing a single red eye that matched his jeans. The other was hidden behind a thick, triangular eyepatch. His spiky, dirty-blonde hair was a mess from his toweling, and two jagged red lines ran down from the corners of his eyes, the tattoos showing up easily against his dark skin. He carelessly tossed the towel across his shoulders and dropped down into a chair opposite the Colonel. Sprawling out languidly, he blew out a cloud of smoke with a satisfied air.

It was then that he noticed the pad in the Colonel's hand. "So what'cha readin'?"

In response, the Colonel tossed it to him. "Orders. We're to make a quick stop before we reach back to Legion. Apparently some Raiders took offense to the Commander."

"Ha ha!" His second in command laughed aloud as he read the data. "They tried to bump him off? In person? Oh man, and they call themselves an elite assassination group? What a load of crap!"

"Indeed. I assume you know the plan, then?"

His second in command grinned evilly. Holding his two arms up, there was a flash of light and a massive Knuckle Buster appeared over each forearm, their jaws opening to reveal the massive cannon at the center of each.

"Oh yeah…Besides, my girls Sodom and Gomorrah here didn't get enough of a workout on that last job, since you wiped out everybody yourself. Lucky for me there was somebody stupid enough to try to assassinate Phoenix-boy, so I get a chance to make up for it!"

There was a moment's pause.

"By the way, I _totally_ call dibs on blowing up their command center."

The Colonel sighed and covered his eyes with one hand. Not for the first time, he wondered just what the _hell_ Ace had been high on when he had thought of assigning this loose cannon to be his second in command.

* * *

As the door hissed shut behind them, Omega looked around at the small room Ace had shepherded them into.

"So, mind explaining to me why we're standing in your closet again?"

Ace held up one mocking finger, a grin on his face.

"It's not a closet, actually…"

Then there was a clang of metal, and suddenly the walls and floor around them flickered into life, bright fluorescent lights clicking on. There was a sudden jerk, and the entire floor started moving downwards, the polished metal gleaming in the light.

"You've got a hidden elevator?" Omega demanded incredulously. "What next, the Batcave?"

Ace merely gave a mysterious smile.

"In a manner of speaking."

While Omega simply gaped at him, Celtis was looking all around her.

"How the heck did you manage to build something like this? What about the other floors below your office?"

"Well, it's amazing the kind of renovations you can get done when you've got the title of Security Commander backing you up…To be honest, though, I was simply improving on the original design."

He was interrupted by the sound of Marino snapping her comm closed again.

"Everything's in order. She's ready and waiting to deal with those injuries of yours when we get down. Also, I had them start pulling up the files you requested on Model O."

Ace gave a theatrical sigh. "Ahh, ever my reliable second-in-command…! What ever would I do without you?"

Marino sniffed in response. "Knowing you, you'd probably survive for a week, and then die in an avalanche when that disaster zone of an office finally collapses on you."

Ace winced. "Ouch. Low blow, my friend, low blow!"

Celtis looked from one to the other, before she finally decided to give up and forget it had just happened.

"So, anyway…Where exactly are we going?"

Ace glanced across at her, an amused smirk playing across his features.

"Have you ever heard the rumors of there being an unknown, outside corporation backing the Legion government before?"

Celtis stared at him blankly. "No…no, I don't think so…"

Ace grinned, "That's what I thought. There are those rumors floating around, but for our part we try to keep it to a minimum."

" 'We' being who, exactly?" Omega asked suspiciously.

In the days following the fall of Neo Arcadia, chaos was the order of the day. With the self-proclaimed emperor gone, along with the legendary hero Zero, it was more or less every man for himself. The Resistance, led by Ciel, were the first to begin the long task of reconstruction, aided by those few Neo Arcadian allies that they still possessed. Along with the help of the humans who had fled to Area Zero, they gradually unified the other factions that had been formed in the wake of Ragnarok's fall.

It was then, that the mysterious corporation known as A.C.E. had made its first appearance.

A powerful conglomerate, A.C.E. had quickly established itself as a leader in the efforts to rebuild the shattered wasteland Earth had become. With brilliant innovations in the field of science and technology, A.C.E. soon stood at the forefront of the new era that was slowly dawning. The founder of this mighty organization, the enigmatic CEO of A.C.E. was a mystery. Shrouded in anonymity, no-one had ever seen him face to face, his true identity and appearance remaining an enigma to this day. Nor was he always tied down to any one place. Sometimes, he would simply vanish without a trace, reappearing weeks, months, or maybe even years later. Even during his absences, the company continued to thrive, his unseen guidance steering it ever onwards.

All over the world, this corporation's power continued to expand. Wherever people sought to rebuild their lives, or to do good for the sake of others, A.C.E would be there, providing support, whether it was scientific, technological or monetary, to assist them in achieving their goal. And wherever there were those who sought only to destroy, or who craved nothing more than to create chaos and strife, then the corporation would be there too, its iron-fisted might descending on them like the wrath of God, meting out swift, harsh judgment on those who were guilty.

It wasn't long before people slowly began to think of this corporation as the new government, so great was the power it possessed. And when the ruins of Neo Arcadia vanished beneath the sprawling glory of a new, beautiful city, it was that same corporation that gave birth to what was now called Legion. The day the world government known as Legion was born was the very last moment when history has any record of the mysterious CEO. He vanished shortly after the opening ceremony, leaving behind only the ghosts of his achievements to puzzle and thrill historians for decades afterwards.

Over time, the once mighty corporation faded into rumors and legends as its legacy, the Legion Government, continued onwards, carrying on the work A.C.E had left behind. Generations passed and people moved on, the flow of time continuing slowly onward.

And yet, the legendary corporation lives on. Resurrected from the ashes by the Scarlet Phoenix, a new A.C.E. is born.

Deep underground Legion Headquarters, far below anything shown on the blueprints, Ace Phoenix, CEO of the A.C.E. Corporation, turned towards Omega and Celtis, a cocky grin on his face. Sweeping his hand out to the side dramatically, he faced the two of them as the wall of metal behind him vanished, replaced by a brilliant light.

"Welcome, my friends…to Advanced Core Enterprises!"

Omega narrowed his eyes against the sudden glare. When he could see what lay beyond it, though, they widened again in disbelief.

A massive, sprawling metal cavern spread out before him. There was no sign of rock or dirt anywhere around. The armored steel ceiling overhead was supported by riveted ceratanium beams, a network of girders criss-crossing underneath it. Steel structures towered before him, all of them hangars for an incredible array of machinery. A single, massive cylindrical area lay in front of him, surrounded on all sides by multiple floors, all with railing-lined walkways facing in towards the central atrium. Looking around, he saw several other elevator shafts, all spaced out around the circumference

"Let me guess…" he glanced at Ace with a quirked eyebrow, "You've got hidden entrances all over the city."

"But of course." Ace grinned. "And you'd never guess where even half of them were, either!"

Looking more closely around at the numerous levels, Omega could make out the shapes of people, scurrying around as they sought to carry out their numerous tasks. On further inspection, he realized that the structures making up the atrium walls were actually hangars and storage units. Some of them were open, revealing a wide array of machines and devices, white-coated technicians crawling over their half disassembled frames as they continued working on their individual projects. Aside from that, when Omega leaned over to look at the floor of the atrium (which was clearly their destination), he saw a single red carpet running down the center of it, leading from the base of their elevator shaft to what looked like a massive armored door on the opposite wall. Smaller doors were dotted here and there around the circumference, allowing personnel to move freely to and from the elevator area and the rest of the facility.

"Unbelievable…" he breathed. "I guess calling it the Batcave wasn't too far off…"

Ace shrugged. "Meh. I think calling it Kaiba Corp would have been closer. That, or Stark Industries."

Marino shook her head in despair.

"You read waaaaaay too many comic books Ace…"

Celtis was practically hanging over the railing as she tried to take in everything around her.

"This is…this is incredible! You're telling me that this place has been around since Legion was first formed? How?"

Ace chuckled with satisfaction "To be honest, once Legion was created, A.C.E vanished, existing only on paper and through the datastreams of Cyberspace. In a sense, it became a ghost. Then, when I took over as Security Commander thirty years ago, a…" he hesitated for the briefest second, " trusted friend of mine, left me with the access codes for all of A.C.E's files. Its projects, its resources, its contacts…everything that made up the ghost known as A.C.E. One might call it the keys to the kingdom."

He held up one hand and clenched it before his face.

"It was at that moment, I decided that A.C.E had been a ghost for long enough. It was time for it to return to the real world, to keep this society moving towards the brighter future its founder had seen. And so I poured my heart and soul into doing exactly that!"

He swept a hand out towards the panorama before them, fierce pride in his eyes.

"What you see before you is merely the massive laboratory I created to serve as the core, the heart of A.C.E. itself. From here, I can access and control any of the countless sub-corporations that are part of A.C.E."

There was the sound of an explosion off in a further section of the facility. The Security Commander winced.

"Er…it also serves as my personal laboratory, where I create and design all kinds of new, high-tech gadgets and tech…" He continued, a sheepish look on his face. "Actually, I think that was one of them just now…"

Omega recalled the number of wrecked vehicles in Kitara's machine shop bearing Ace's markings, and he grinned.

"Anyway, every new advancement or innovation in technology, military or otherwise, comes from A.C.E. Of course, since it's _my_ bloody corporation, I figure I can use all of this stuff for projects of my own."

He hefted his left arm, the hex plating of his Scarlet Skin overcoat shimmering in the light.

"So I always save a couple of the best tricks for myself." He smirked, "After all, what's the use of a Security Commander who can't step out on the battlefield to personally kick some ass once in a while?"

"Y'know, considering that Model O completely schooled you back on the train mission, I wouldn't talk too much if I were you…"

"Hey, I said this suit was invulnerable, not that _I_ was! You get your arm wrapped backwards around a steel pillar in this and you'll get your bones broken just as easily as you normally would!"

"Huh, come to think of it, I was wondering how you managed to take so much damage and still have that coat in relatively decent shape…"

"Yeah, well, let's just say Model O kicks reason and common sense to the curb when it comes to this sort of thing…"

By the time Ace and Omega had finished bickering, the elevator had finally reached the ground floor. Stepping off of it, they were rewarded by a cry of "Ace! Marino! I'm over here!"

Omega swung around, his well-trained hearing immediately detecting a feminine ring to the voice. On seeing the owner running towards them, he gave a whistle of appreciation.

"Hellooooo, nurse!"

The newcomer was clad in a blue and white outfit, the slender armor designed to look like that of a nurse, right down to the headpiece with a red cross on it. She had blonde hair reaching halfway down her back, the edges of it flaring up around her shoulders to resemble what looked like angel wings when seen from the front. She came to a stop before them, bending over to catch her breath. When she had recovered, the medic finally straightened back up and looked towards Ace, a warm look in her green eyes.

"Welcome back, Ace! Big sis told me you got yourself into trouble again."

Omega gave Marino a questioning look at that. '_Big sis_'?

The look Marino shot him needed absolutely no translation, as it was the universal expression of '_Ask, and I'll kick your ass into next weekend._'

Ace held up his charred right hand. "Eh, some noob with a promethium knuckle. I've probably got some bruises from the bullets, but that should be about it."

The girl examined it for a moment. "Wow, you're lucky the nerve damage from earlier was to your pain receptors, otherwise you'd really be in trouble."

Marino rolled her eyes.

"That's exactly what I told him, Cin, but does he listen? Nooo, he just charges on in without even waiting to see if that's really the case! I swear, one of these days that hot blood of yours is going to get you in serious trouble."

Ace flashed a winning smile.

"Well, at least I won't have a single regret about the actions that led me there! Right?" he looked across at the nurse for support.

She gave a happy smile "Of course!"

Jackpot reels went off inside Omega's head. New target: LOCKED ON!

He swept forward, his trademark ladykiller smile on his face.

"Well, hello there, beautiful! Would you care to bestow upon this humble traveler the honor of knowing your name?"

The nurse giggled at his over-the-top theatrics, which was exactly the reason he used them.

"I'm Cinnamon! I work here as the head of Medical."

"Cinnamon, huh? A sweet name for an equally sweet girl! I-"

BEAM CHAKRAM!

Omega stared blankly out at the world from his new position upside down in a nearby wall.

"Okay, what the HELL just happened?" he demanded.

"Ha ha, don't mind him Cinnamon! He's just a wandering troublemaker that Ace happened to hire." Marino smiled cheerfully, her sleeves rustling as they settled back down over her still-cooling concealed blades.

'_Note to self: Avoid flirting with nurse when the ninja older sister is around…_' Omega thought bleakly as he started pulling himself out of the impact crater.

Cinnamon turned towards Celtis, who was still looking a bit lost as she gazed around at the technological wonderland surrounding her.

"Hello there! You must be the Celtis Arcana we've all been hearing about! It's nice to finally get to meet you in person!"

Celtis blinked, taken aback by the girl's bright personality, "Um, thanks…I think?"

"Uh, Cinnamon, not trying to rush you or anything, but…" Marino jerked a thumb across at Ace.

"Oh, right! Sorry…"

"Nah, don't worry about it." Ace shrugged. "I've had worse."

Marino loomed over him, an ominous look on her face. The Security Commander quailed under the fierce gaze.

"…On second thought, let's get right to it, shall we…?" He laughed nervously. He started to move off, but he was stopped by Cinnamon.

"No, no, it's fine. It wasn't caused too long ago, so I should probably be able to take care of that by myself."

Omega's ears pricked up at that. To treat a burn as serious as that on the spot, without any kind of medical equipment on hand? He smelled something interesting coming…

Cinnamon gently took his hand in her own, carefully tilting it so that it rested palm upwards. Then, pressing her other hand over Ace's, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Please try not to move too much."

Ace scratched the back of his neck. "I have done this before, you know, so you don't have to keep telling me that…"

She smiled slightly. "Yes, but you are pretty stubborn, after all."

"Yeah, yeah, okay. I get it, so let's just get it over with." Ace grumbled half-heartedly.

As Cinnamon closed her eyes again in concentration, Omega suddenly felt a change in the air. A green glow formed around her hands, encasing Ace's damaged right in a luminous embrace. Fragments of data appeared, spiraling around their joined hands as the light grew brighter. Celtis felt her hair tingling with the charge of static electricity as a strange wind kicked up around Cinnamon, rustling as it blew through her clothes. Marino watched the entire spectacle, a pensive look on her face as she remembered the first time she had seen this mysterious power of Cinnamon's at work. Unconsciously, her hand drifted towards the upper part of her chest, recalling the pain of bullets slamming into her body. It was Cinnamon who had saved her then, with this same power, and Marino had never forgotten it.

Then, as suddenly as it had begun, the light began to fade away. As it finally vanished, Cinnamon lifted her hand off of Ace's, to reveal the Commander's right hand, fully healed, and appearing as though it had never encountered a promethium flame before. As Cinnamon stepped back, Ace lifted his hand up. Flexing his fingers experimentally, he gave it a speculative look.

"Hmm…well, I can't honestly say it feels all that different, aside from the fact that it's easier to move. Guess I can blame Model O for that, huh?"

Omega sneezed, unnoticed by the others.

"What…who…How'd you do that?" Celtis demanded, grabbing Ace's hand away and poking at it as she examined it in disbelief. "It looks like a whole new hand!"

Ace tugged his hand free and inspected it one last time. Apparently satisfied, he reached inside his coat for a spare glove before answering.

"Well, it's a bit of a long story, but suffice to say for now, that's Cinnamon's special ability. She can channel raw Force Metal energy into a form of healing energy. The science behind it is unbelievably complex, but basically the new energy is capable of super-accelerating any regenerative system that comes into contact with it. Be it a Reploid's nanomachines, or a human's natural healing, this FM energy can boost it to the point where the repair is almost instantaneous."

Omega raised an eyebrow. Force Metal? This innocent, carefree looking girl was capable of freely manipulating that insane amount of energy to such an extent? Bloody hell, it was a good thing she could only use it for healing! If that kind of power could be switched to an offensive form…

Omega zoned out for a moment as he fantasized briefly about what he could do with that level of energy, before he shook himself out of it.

The amount of energy in Force Metal was something that even he, the legendary God of Destruction, could respect. Normal Reploids couldn't handle even one FM without going Maverick and/or insane. Even the most powerful of combat Reploids, like X and Zero, could hardly handle more than three or four without suffering some kind of damage. Omega recalled some of Weil's earlier experiments using FM and winced. Yeah, those hadn't gone too well…

And yet the innocently smiling nurse before him was capable of channeling the raw, unrefined, unrestrained power of that same type of energy as easily as if it were nothing more than a few volts of static electricity. Omega's eyes narrowed. It seemed as though there was far more to her than one would first think…

Ace shifted away from the others, turning so that only Cinnamon could see him. Recognizing the tell-tale look in his eye, she gave him a questioning glance. The Commander gave her an apologetic smile and nodded. Cinnamon's eyes widened briefly, and she glanced down at his chest, a worried look crossing her features as she looked back up at him.

"All right." She said quietly, her voice slightly above a whisper. "I'll get it ready for you as soon as I can."

Ace gave her a weak nod. "Thanks, Cinnamon."

And then, as he turned back towards the others again, it was gone. The momentary expression of weakness that Cinnamon had seen was erased, his features smoothly settling back into the casual, carefree façade he always maintained. Neither Omega or Celtis noticed, as they were too busy gaping at the surroundings or, in Omega's case, taking in the delectable sights of the attractive females who happened to pass by. Marino on the other hand, caught it and saw the worry in the nurse Reploid's eyes.

She gave a troubled frown. "That moron's doing it again…trying to hide his problems to keep me from worrying about him…"

"Anyway!" Both female Reploids jumped as Ace's bright voice suddenly rang out.

"Now that I've gotten that taken care of, I can move on to the second part of our visit!"

Omega turned, realizing instantly what he was speaking of.

'_Model O…_' The God of Destruction's eyes narrowed grimly.

"Yeah…let's get to that part now, shall we…?"

With that thought, he strode after the Security Commander as he started off into the facility. After several moments, he stomped back and grabbed Celtis, who was still gawking at the sights of the facility around her.

"I'm not getting paid enough to be a friggin' babysitter…" he grumbled.

* * *

Finally, after about fifteen minutes of walking, Ace came to a stop in front of another door. Hitting the console on the side of it, he stepped back as the sounds of numerous locks disengaging filled the air. He turned back to face Omega and Celtis, smirking.

"And now, I give you the core of A.C.E, the Phoenix's Command and Control!"

As the armored doors slid smoothly open, the Commander of Legion's Security Division turned and swept through them, his scarlet coat billowing up behind him.

"All right ladies! I'm back and rocking at full power! Let's get this show on the road!"

There was a chorus of "Welcome back, Commander!"

Omega stepped through after him and his jaw promptly dropped in disbelief.

They were standing on a raised balcony at the back of the room, a staircase running down the two side walls to the front of the room, a considerable distance down. Below the balcony, the room was designed like an auditorium, the floor composed of exactly fifteen horizontal rows of consoles that descended down towards the front of the room with numerous computerized workstations installed every couple of feet. Then, as Omega's gaze continued onwards, it came to rest on the opposite wall, where an absolutely _colossal_ plasma screen occupied almost ninety percent of it. It was split up into several smaller displays, each with different sets of information scrolling across their surface. From the layout, Omega suspected that the monitor could be configured to show multiple screens, or could be simply used as one single massive screen.

This, however was not what had really caught Omega's attention. As he turned his eyes back towards the rows of consoles, he eyed the personnel behind them. At each and every available workstation, there was an operator. All clad in the scarlet markings that indicated their position as members of Ace's Security Division, they wore the usual visor over their eyes and the headsets customary for operators the world over. It was these operators who had cheerfully welcomed Ace back to Command and Control when he had strolled in. What really got Omega was a less obvious fact.

Each and every single one of the operators was female.

"What. The. Hell."

Several of them were actually waving back at Ace, before they returned to their respective tasks. The Commander waved back cheerfully, before turning to one of the supervisors as she handed him a dataslate. He scanned it briefly before nodding and handing it back.

"Nicely done. Put a call in to Engineering and tell 'em I want everything they can dig up on those Mechaniloid remains. With any luck, we might actually be able to track down Granz's homebase."

"I rather doubt that, Commander."

Ace sighed. "Yeah, me too, but it's worth a shot anyway. Did we get any new stuff from our underground contacts in the Raiders?"

"Nothing, sir. Gallidin and Syrene have both dropped out of sight. We suspect they'll probably be laying low for a while after this."

"Right. Keep looking, though. We might get lucky and one of 'em may slip up."

Overhearing the conversation, Omega grinned to himself. Gallidin, maybe, but he rather doubted his reptilian girl would be that careless! After all, he'd chosen her himself!

Ace and the supervisor continued talking for a few more moments, as the Commander brought himself up to speed on the latest developments in the numerous situations all over the world concerning his Security forces. Finally, he nodded.

"Okay, so the Colonel and his pyromaniac lieutenant are heading out already? Good, I guess that means they got the message. Anything else I should know?"

The supervisor shook her head. "Not really. There's just a message from a Mr. V confirming that he's received the agreed upon amount of EC. He also mentioned that he'd be in the area until the end of the week in case you have any further jobs for him."

Omega caught that last statement and he smirked. So, Vile was still hanging around? That was an interesting bit of info.

Ace gave a dark smile. "Good. Let him know that something's suddenly come up, so yes, there will in fact be a job for him."

"Roger that. I'll get someone on it right away."

Ace dismissed the supervisor with a nod, before turning back to the others, having considered that he'd given them enough time to look around.

"So, what'd'ya think? Nice, ain't it?"

"It's amazing!" Celtis replied. "But how on earth did you get all this built?"

"Wasn't too hard, really. Like I told you in the elevator, it was mostly just improving on the original design. Since Legion and A.C.E used to be one and the same, this entire building, up to and including Legion HQ itself, is actually what was once the A.C.E Corporation's base. When I got the keys to A.C.E, I found that a lot of the building had simply been forgotten, left to fall into disrepair. So once I'd decided to rebuild A.C.E itself, I simply restored and upgraded the remains. I had a devil of a time hiding it from the Masters, but once it was done, all I had to do was bring in the personnel and the rest pretty much took care of itself."

"Oh, okay. But, um..." Celtis stopped, an uncertain look on her face. Ace raised an eyebrow.

"What's wrong?"

"Well, uh..." Celtis gestured out at the ranks of operators. "Why exactly are

all of your Control center personnel pretty much all women?"

There was a long pause.

"Well, to tell the truth..."

"It makes sense, actually." Marino cut in, having overheard Celtis' question. "Haven't you ever noticed? No matter where you go, the best operators are always women!"

Omega actually thought about that for a minute, running through the names in his history files, before muttering a curse. Alia, Palette, Layer, Rouge, Joan...Damn her, she was right! From the Maverick Wars, straight through to the war against Neo Arcadia, all of the operators he'd ever heard of or met had all been female!

...Then again...

Omega glanced over at the number of women inside of the Command and Control center, and grinned. To be honest, he didn't really mind it all that much!

"It's not really all that surprising when you think about it." Marino went on. "All of the hotheaded, reckless guys go charging headfirst into the battle or whatever, and when they inevitably get themselves into trouble, it's always the girl who has to go pull their ass out of the fire." She shook her head mockingly.

"By now, we should be the ones running the show here!"

"Oh yeah?" Ace shot back. "When was the last time anything like that ever happened?"

Marino smirked in response. Then she walked over to the railing.

"Hey girls!" She yelled, calling out to the other personnel below them in the Control center. "When was the last time we had to bail Ace out of trouble?"

Almost immediately, the answers started coming back.

"Last week, during that skirmish in Sector F!"

"No, no, wasn't there some ruckus two days ago?"

"Oh yeah! Wasn't that the one with the two Raider factions trying to wipe out a third?"

"Oooh! Oooh! What about the time he went out to fight that out of control Mechaniloid over in the eight District? Didn't we end up having to scramble a squad of fighters for an airstrike on it before it finally shut down?"

"Nah, that was a month ago. How about that battle over in the oceanic sector? Didn't we have to deploy two extra naval battle groups to back his own up?"

"That was what, three squadrons we had to send in?"

As the conversation/arguments went on, Marino rested one hand on the railing, and the other on her hip, staring at Ace with a satisfied smirk.

"You were saying, Ace?"

The Commander slumped over.

"Curses, foiled again...!"

Cinnamon patted him sympathetically on the head. "There there, Mr. Ace..."

Ace's eyes suddenly brightened as a thought occurred to him. "Ah-ha!"

He reared up triumphantly, fire in his eyes again. He leveled one finger at Marino, grinning.

"Don't think you're completely flawless either, miss perfect! Didn't I have to kick down the doors of that mafia headquarters to come save you when your infiltration went sour?"

"Er, well..." Marino looked embarrassed for a moment, before she recovered. "Y-yeah, well, who said I needed you to come rescue me?" She shot back hotly.

"Hey, how about a little more gratitude for somebody who got shot in the face with a rocket launcher while trying to save your ass?"

The two of them went on yelling at each other for a few more moments, before several of the operators decided to finish teasing their bosses.

"Hey, look, Mr. Ace's arguing with his girlfriend again!"

That pretty much blew the two of them out of the water. Almost immediately, they both went several shades of red and rounded on the personnel.

"HE/SHE IS NOT MY BOY/GIRLFRIEND DAMMIT!" Both of them yelled simultaneously, gesticulating wildly at each other. The offending operators fled, giggling to themselves as they returned to their workstations.

Omega and Celtis watched the whole thing with slightly glazed expressions.

"So, uh...this happen often?" Omega said finally.

Cinnamon nodded happily. "Yes, practically every other day! It's nice to see the two of them getting along so well, isn't it?"

Celtis and Omega both stared blankly at Cinnamon for a moment, then looked at each other and wordlessly decided to pretend that this had never happened.

Ace and Marino both looked in opposite directions, an awkward silence hanging in the air.

"Sooo..."

"Er..."

The Commander ran a hand through his messy hair. Marino coughed a few times to break the silence.

A few more minutes passed.

"Let's just move on, shall we?" Ace spoke up hurriedly.

"Yeah, let's!" Marino agreed hastily.

The Commander stepped forward quickly, facing the massive screen. Marino, her composure recovered, stepped back, busying herself with a convenient dataslate.

"All right, girls, I need everything we've got on Model O up on the main screen right now!"

"Roger!" Several voices replied. Almost immediately, the giant plasma screen flashed and changed, dividing itself into several smaller screens, each pulling up information on an enemy both Omega and Celtis knew all too well. As the center screen suddenly displayed a familiar crimson shape, the white mask and crimson fins of an unmistakable Biometal, Celtis felt a chill run down her spine. She pressed a hand to her chest, as if she could feel the owner of that image stirring within her.

"Model O..." she whispered.

"Correct." Ace said, all traces of humor gone from his face. Now, he was once again the ice-cold tactician, reviewing all of the facts and information they possessed regarding a dangerous threat.

"Model O. The cursed Biometal that devours any and all those foolish enough to attempt using it. Thus far, there have been only two survivors of its ravenous hunger. I was the first, escaping at the cost of a terribly damaged body." He hefted his right arm, the darkened skin stretching as he flexed his fingers."

"It was only through the quick thinking of the Chosen One, Ashe, that I was saved at all. From that experience, I learned the true nature of Model O, and of a possible way to stop it. By hitting the triangular gem with a powerful enough attack, it becomes possible to seriously disrupt Model O's overpowered Megamerge protocols, thus forcing it back into remission. With this information, I set into motion a plan to transport this dangerous Biometal to Legion HQ. Regrettably, it seems as though someone else had designs of their own on Model O."

"Celtis Arcana, a female A-class Hunter, arrived just before the day I had planned to carry out the transport operation, miraculously appearing just in time and with precisely the qualifications needed for this mission. However, this was not the only reason I had decided to add her to the team of Hunters. When news of Leos Darkclaw's defeat at her hands reached me, a quick review of her files revealed that locked in her genetics was a bioweapon long since considered lost." Ace paused here, considering what he was about to say.

"One of A.C.E's greatest creations, the Demon's Eye, with the ability to never lose sight of its target."

Both Omega and Celtis started as they realized what he was saying.

"Wait just a damn minute here!" Omega cut in. "Are you telling me that the ones who created that thing..."

"You're saying that my Demon's Eye..."

Ace gave a weary smile. "One of the lost artifacts of A.C.E. Created countless years ago, and then disappearing into history...That is the Demon's Eye. As master of A.C.E, I recognized it almost immediately. How it ended up in your genetic structure, and where it came from, those are two questions to which I still have no answer. All I knew was that you possessed it, and that it might be just the thing I needed to ensure the success of this mission."

He sighed. "Regrettably, it appears that that very decision was to be my downfall. Shortly after you left Legion HQ, you headed over to your friend Vix to see if there was anything you needed for my transport mission. Unfortunately, one of my agents tracked the Chosen One of Shadow, Siarnaq to that very place afterwards."

Celtis gasped at the mention of that name. One of the four dark Chosen Ones? He had personally gone after her?

One of the screens flickered, showing the video that Craft had managed to capture in the alley outside of Vix's Tech. A shadowy blur, with a white mask-like helm and a long tattered red scarf...

Omega lunged forward, his claws slamming shut on the metal railing before him. His eyes wide, he bared his teeth in a savage snarl.

"Play that again!"

"What?" Ace started, surprised by Omega's sudden outburst.

"Just do it!" Omega snapped in irritation. There was no way that could have been who he thought it was…!

Ace raised an eyebrow but replayed the clip anyway. Omega stared at the image, a dark look on his face. It looked different, but the God of Destruction would have bet both arms _and_ a leg that the person being shown on the screen before him was Phantom, the thrice-blasted general of Neo Arcadia's Zan'ei army and a member of the Four Guardians of X. He had crossed blades with him once before, somewhere during one of his bored explorations into Cyberspace. He hadn't been able to finish that battle to his satisfaction, though, as Phantom had retreated before the outcome could be decided.

This wasn't Phantom, that much Omega was sure of, but the similarity in appearances was too much of a coincidence for his tastes. Something strange was going on here…

He caught Ace giving him a suspicious look and realized that he was once again drawing unwanted attention to himself.

"Er, right, sorry…Just thought he looked like someone I knew for a moment there." He gave a fake laugh and gestured Ace to continue.

"Right…" Ace gave him another funny look, before resuming.

"As I was saying, we tracked Siarnaq to Vix's Tech, where we suspect he dropped off that very handgun you now hold in your hands."

Celtis looked down at the Hades nestled comfortably in its holster at her hip. It glinted innocently up at her.

"What…? That's how it ended up in the shipment?"

"Correct." Ace nodded.

"But why?" Celtis asked, bewildered. "Why give me a weapon as powerful as this when they could have just as easily kept it for themselves?"

The Commander gave a grim smile. "Well, that's an interesting question. The objective of this was to have you pick up this weapon. The Reaper Weapons were designed to have an almost irresistible pull on the minds of anyone who laid eyes on them. This effect was doubled in your case, since your Demon's Eye would automatically react to the presence of such a threat. In a sense, you couldn't help but pick it up. Once you did that, a specially designed trap that was attached to the handle would activate, injecting you with the corrupted Link Serum."

Celtis remembered the sudden, sharp pain in her finger when she had held the Hades for the first time, and realization dawned on her.

"So that's what that was! That's how they got the Serum into my bloodstream!"

"Yeah. The corrupted Serum possessed the ability to turn the host into a Maverick. However, since you were human, it had no effect on you, other than the intended effect of making you more attractive as a possible choice for a Biomatch. If you'd been left in that state, you would have simply become a carrier for the Maverick Virus. You yourself would remain unaffected, but everything around you would be infected and turn Maverick, spreading into an eventual epidemic, the likes of which have not been seen since the days of the Maverick and the Elf Wars."

Ace's eyes hardened. "For simply accepting an outcome like that as a worthwhile risk…I cannot possibly forgive them for such an arrogant decision! They would risk causing a resurgence of the Wars simply for the selfish goal of obtaining Model O?"

His hands clenched into fists, and he slammed them down on the railing before him, seething with anger.

"When I find that son of a bitch, neither God nor the Devil will be enough to save his worthless hide from me…!"

Regaining control of himself, Ace straightened back up, tugging at his collar self-consciously.

"Ahem…anyway, while you yourself would remain relatively unaffected by the Serum's Maverick effect, it would nonetheless have _an_ effect. For Model O, that Maverick signature combined with the Serum's natural Biomatch-compatibility booster would be an irresistible siren song. A host that not only possesses a Maverick signature and the boosted compatibility of the Link Serum, but with an extremely powerful bioweapon system built into its genome as well? There isn't a chance in hell that Model O would have gone after anyone else once you crossed its sensors."

"After that, it was able to reach out to you through your implants, which were corrupted by the Maverick effects of the Link Serum. That was how you heard it the first time. I had thought you were simply feeling the effects of it, much like I had when I first encountered it. It was only afterward that I realized that for you alone to feel that effect and no-one else, even with the Biometal locked away behind countless layers of shielding, something was wrong."

"So what about when it took her over completely?" Omega interrupted. "If it could have done that from the beginning, why the hell didn't it just do that and save us a whole lot of trouble?"

"And you still didn't answer my question of why they gave me this gun!" Celtis spoke up. The Phoenix lifted one finger, giving a knowing smile.

"I'm getting to that now. This is where you really begin to understand the magnitude of our foe's machinations…"

"Model O only needs a body to manifest itself. Ordinarily, a living one. However, this was a special case. From the moment it first made contact with your mind on the train, it invaded your consciousness. However, since you were human, and unable to become a Maverick, it was forced to lie dormant, as it could not usurp your consciousness which was still fully active. However, if something were to destroy your consciousness, killing you, Model O would immediately surge to the forefront, possessing your body and bringing it to where its physical form, the Biometal itself, resided in order to carry out the Megamerge."

"What…?" Omega frowned. "But that makes no sense! If she was killed by something like an explosion or some other kind of damaging attack like that, what good would she be to Model O if her body was, say, blown to pieces?"

Celtis looked unnerved. "Uh…could you stop talking about me dying so easily…?"

"What was that, Servant Number Four…?"

"…Shutting up now…" Celtis muttered. Then she blinked. "Wait…Number FOUR?"

Ace gave them an unreadable look, before he spoke again, his voice heavy.

"…No. There is _one_ way to kill her for certain, and to ensure that her body is left in near perfect condition for Model O to take over."

It struck Omega like a slap in the face.

"…Son of a bitch…!" he breathed, a stunned look on his face as he realized what Ace was talking about.

"What? What is it?" Celtis looked from one to the other in confusion.

"It's that very same gun you now claim as your own." Ace said coolly, leveling a finger at the crimson handgun resting at Celtis' hip. She looked down at it, and then looked up again, paling as realization dawned on her.

"The Reaper's Final Bolt." Omega said grimly, distaste evident on his features.

"Correct." Ace said flatly, his expression darkening.

"As you recall, the Reaper Weapons' Final Bolt was an attack that despite being incredibly powerful, would immediately result in the death of the user. If Miss Arcana used that it would kill her while at the same time leaving her body relatively intact. Perfect for Model O's use. And since you had no idea what the weapon you were using really was, there was a good chance that you would use the Final Bolt without hesitating, much like what you actually did."

"But still…you'd need her to use the Bolt at all, wouldn't you?" Omega argued. "What're the chances of a noob like her ending up in a situation that would allow it to activate at all-"

Omega stopped abruptly, his eyes widening incredulously as he finally understood the depths of their opponent's strategy.

"That magnificent BASTARD…!" He whistled, a note of admiration in his voice. Ace nodded grimly.

"Exactly. By attacking us with such a massive wave of Raiders and Mavericks, whoever this mastermind was _knew_ that you six Hunters and specialists would be separated, stretched thin in order to defend against an attack of that magnitude, and would therefore be unable to come to one another's assistance. And by hiring the Firestorm Tiger, whose brother was killed by Miss Arcana, he made one hundred per cent _certain_ that she would be forced into a life-threatening situation, enabling the Final Bolt to be activated."

He took a deep breath.

"Do you get it now? Do you see the level of planning and thought that went into this one attack? All for the sake of obtaining one Biometal on a transport mission that should have been a complete secret! Whoever this was, they knew everything. Who the specialists I hired were, the route we would take, the time we would take it, how our forces would move…they had all of the intel." He shook his head.

"Well, now I know why you want to keep the rest of Legion out of this as much as possible." Omega commented.

"Damned straight!" Ace growled. "Somewhere in the Legion power structure is a security leak of catastrophic proportions. Until I find it, and kick sixteen different kinds of crap out of the person leaking that intel, I want Legion kept a mile and a half away from anything to do with this!"

He lifted an arm and gestured to the elaborate steel walls of the concealed facility all around them.

"Fortunately, I happen to be adequately equipped for just that sort of situation!"

Marino whacked him upside the head. "Yes, yes, we all know you're really proud of your secret laboratory. Now shut up and get on with it."

"Ow!" Ace rubbed his head and glared at her. "…Fine, fine…"

Muttering something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like "…spoilsport…" he went on.

"I'll admit it, whoever this guy is, he is _good_. DAMNED good, in fact. But…"

He held one hand up and clenched it in triumph.

"He's not perfect!"

Gesturing to the screens ahead of them, the images flickered and changed again.

"Fortunately for us, our boy here made two _fatal_ mistakes in his planning! Firstly, while he could easily predict a method to deal with Ashe and Grey, and had strategies in place to manipulate Celtis into the position he needed her to be in for his plan to succeed, he couldn't predict the actions, or power of the other three specialists. Namely, Unit V and from what I hear, you too, Saber."

Omega preened at the comment.

"Well, what can I say? When you kick this much ass, it's hard NOT to be as awesome as I am!"

Ace stared at him for a moment, then turned to Marino, grinning.

"I think I'm gonna get along just fine with this guy!"

Marino covered her eyes and gave a groan of despair as Omega and Ace high-fived each other.

"Oh god, now there's two of them…"

"Anyway," Ace coughed, returning to normal. "Like I said, because of the three unknowns of Saber and the two members of Unit V, our opponent's calculations were thrown completely off. It had been specifically for reasons like this why I decided to hire those three, but I had no idea it would work out so spectacularly."

Celtis sighed.

"All right, fine but what about the second mistake he made?"

Ace smirked. "It's the Hades."

"What?"

"Whoever this guy is, he screwed up major with the Hades. He believed that it was nothing more than a normal Reaper Weapon. A Reaper Weapon alone is a valuable and rare enough find on its own, to be sure, but what he failed to realize was that the weapon he possessed was far more valuable and powerful than he could have possibly guessed. When compared to a Reaper, however, the Hades possesses one flaw that seriously interfered with his plan."

"The Hades alone, is the only one whose Final Bolt will not kill its wielder. It alone possesses the advanced technology that will stop the reaction before it reaches a fatal level. An automatic safety limit, in other words. Using it repeatedly, within a short space of time will probably kill you anyway, due to the massive strain caused by the use of it, but since this was a one-shot use, we don't need to worry about that."

"But if it didn't kill her, how'd Model O take over anyway?" Omega demanded.

Ace shook his head. "I said that the Hades' Final Bolt wouldn't kill her, but I never said it wouldn't have an effect of its own."

"What do you mean?"

"The shock of firing it was too much of a strain on her weakened body. As a result, the safety lock kept her from being killed, but it wasn't able to stop her from going unconscious. With the dominant personality being temporarily knocked out of commission…"

"Model O could step in and take over." Omega finished.

"Correct. Of course, you may be asking yourself: If simply rendering her unconscious was enough, then why not just aim for that?"

"Well, you remember what I told you about the Link Serum also having a slightly retarding effect on the speed of the Megamerge? It seems as though that my previous conjecture about our opponent not knowing about that effect was wrong. He knew, all right, and that's why he was aiming for the Final Bolt to kill you."

Another gesture, and the screens changed again, this time showing some complex looking graphs.

"In the simulations I ran afterwards, I discovered that if your consciousness was erased altogether, for example, if you were killed, there would be nothing to resist Model O's control, and the Megamerge speed would have accelerated to a point where it would have more than made up for the resistance of the Link Serum. Actually, it might have been even faster, but I'm still uncertain about that."

"For now, all I know is that the Link Serum wasn't the only contributing factor. Because you were knocked out instead of killed, the Megamerge efficiency was not boosted up, as they expected. Instead, it was dropped considerably, which is why it took so long."

"Once I had found out that you had gotten the Hades, I was able to guess the gist of his plan. Having already learned that the Biometal could be forced back into dormancy by attacking the core gem, I sent one of my agents on ahead to shadow the train. When Model O finally made its appearance on the battlefield…"

"Let me guess…" Omega interrupted, his eyes narrowing. "The mysterious sniper, right?"

Ace laughed nervously.

"Aheheh…yeah…uh, sorry about that…" He apologized to Celtis. "I'd introduce you to him, only he's out on another job at the moment."

He cleared his throat, and signaled the screens again. This time, the images that came up were all too familiar. The battle against Gallidin and Syrene played out again, Legion's security network having managed to capture considerable footage of it.

"And now for the good stuff." Ace said, a wry smile crossing his face.

"When you returned from the transport mission, you were out cold for quite some time. This was due in part to the fact that during that time, the trapped Model O was desperately trying to carry out its goal of destroying you and taking control of your body, Megamerging to resurrect its true form. We tried everything to stop it, but nothing seemed to even slow it down in the slightest."

"Wait a minute…!" Celtis held up her hands. "Hold up just one moment here!"

She gave Ace a worried look.

"What do you mean, nothing was working? If nothing worked, then how am I still alive?"

Ace's face was grim.

"Nothing _we_ did had any effect. Something else did."

She stared at him, confused. "What do you mean?"

Ace gave her a searching look. After a few moments, he explained.

"Eight hours after we brought you into the hospital, and of the best medical and technical personnel in all of Legion hacking away at Model O, something else stopped Model O. The coding was unlike anything anyone had ever seen and it came out of nowhere. Up to now, we still don't even know how it got there in the first place. Whatever it was, it shut Model O down in less than ten seconds, locking all of its corruption protocols up and sealing it away in the depths of your consciousness. If I hadn't known better, I'd say the level of that seal was something straight out of A.C.E itself."

Celtis had a feeling she knew exactly what it was that had had sealed Model O. An image of ebony steel chains, and a pair of crimson and gold eyes flashed through her mind, and she shuddered.

Without a doubt, it could only have been that man!

Seeing that Celtis was just at a loss to explain it as he was, Ace sighed.

"Well, I've got a squad of Ace's best techs working on deciphering the code now, so the moment I have anything, I'll let you know. From the fight with Gallidin, though, we were able to guess at some of its functions. It didn't only seal Model O apparently, but created a conduit, if you will, that allows its power to flow into you. It was this very same conduit that allowed it to manifest itself in the battle. However, from the readings we managed to obtain, it seems as though that Megamerge was created by Model O forcing itself into that activated state. As such, though its power was tremendous, it seems as though the lock placed on it causes the Megamerge to destabilize after some time, which is why it reverted back to you. I suspect that the lock simply keeps Model O from permanently taking over. Theoretically, this could mean that if you can reach some kind of middle ground with Model O, you may in fact be able to Megamerge like a true Chosen One."

Celtis stared at him for several seconds.

"And how, exactly, am I supposed to do that?"

Ace shrugged. "Beats the hell out of me."

Celtis slumped in disappointment. "Gee, thanks a lot!"

The Commander only grinned. "I try."

Then his face turned solemn again.

"In all seriousness, though, that's all the information I've managed to gather up to this point. For now, it seems as though Model O's been put on a leash, and the key to releasing it has been placed in your hands. All that's left now, is for you to figure out how to use that key."

Omega glanced across at Celtis as she looked down, a worried look on her face.

'_So…that's how that bastard was able to get out, huh?_' he mused. '_And you say that she may be able to control it as well? I wonder…_'

He recalled the code that now granted him a limited control over Model O.

'_Well now, fake, it seems like the net's slowly closing in around you, isn't it?_' Omega gave a sinister smile.

'_I look forward to our next meeting…!_'

Marino caught his dark smile and shivered, feeling a sudden chill come over her.

'_Something about that guy just scares the hell out of me…_'

* * *

As they were heading back to the elevator, Omega finally decided to ask the question that had been bugging him ever since he had walked into that operations room. He sidled over to Ace.

"So…mind telling me the reason why a lot of the girls I'm seeing around here have no recognizable ID signatures?"

Ace gave a dry smile. "I'd been wondering if you'd notice that…"

Omega gave a humorless chuckle. "Yeah. And I also couldn't notice the fact that they're all Reploids as well. Now see, as far as I know, there's only two reasons why a Reploid would have no ID signature."

"If they were dead, or if they were never registered, right?" Ace said quietly.

"Yeah."

There was a moment's silence, broken only by the sounds of their footsteps, and the voices of Celtis, Cinnamon and Marino ahead of them.

Then Ace gave a sigh.

"That's how it is. Some of them are Reploids I've repaired from death, and some of them are Reploids I created myself."

Omega gave him a look of disbelief. "_You_ built them? I can understand the repair part, but for you to actually _create_ a Reploid…"

Ace gave brief smile. "Surprising, isn't it?"

"That depends. What do you do it for? Just to have more members of the harem you seem to be building down here?"

There was silence again for a few moments. When Ace spoke again, his voice could have frozen lava.

"_You even __**think**__ that again, and I will personally eviscerate you._"

"Then why do it?" Omega demanded, his tone serious now.

Ace stared ahead for a moment before answering.

"Call it…an act of whimsy…"

Omega raised an eyebrow.

" I'm not sure why I do it myself." The Commander went on. "Once I've resurrected them, they stay here in A.C.E for a while, to come to terms with things around them. Some of them leave, returning to their old lives, to finish the things they couldn't before they died…Some of them go off to explore the world, setting off to create a new life for themselves…And some of them…"

His gaze fell on Marino and Cinnamon, and his expression softened slightly.

"…Some of them come back, to stay here as members of A.C.E."

Omega followed his gaze, and gave a smile of his own. "I should have guessed."

"Yeah," Ace nodded. "But no matter where they go, they always keep in touch, and I always watch over them." He looked down at his hands.

"An old friend did the same for me a long time ago. Maybe this is my way of repaying the debt…"

"Could be." Omega shrugged non-committally, "I take it your sniper is another one of those who decided to stay on?"

"Of course." Ace grinned. "After all, I never said I only brought back girls! Some of my best combat agents are guys!"

"Right, right…" Omega nodded, looking around. He scratched his nose for a second, then leaned in again, throwing a conspiratorial arm over Ace's shoulders.

"So then, there really is only one main question left to be asked…"

Ace gave him a wary look.

"And what's that?"

Omega gave a smile of pure evil.

"Why, exactly, is it that the majority of those who decide to return are all girls?"

And with a wicked grin on his face, Omega swept off towards the elevator, leaving behind a completely flabbergasted Scarlet Phoenix, standing in the middle of the corridor.

"EEEEEEEHHHHHHH?"

* * *

A/N: Jesus this was a long chapter! At least, long for one that's supposed to be an explanation chapter. Aren't my battle chapters supposed to be the long ones?

Jeez…Anyway, updates might get a little irregular for a while, so just bear with it.

And so you've finally gotten a glimpse of the full extent of the schemes of our heroes' enemy! Hmm, for something I hadn't even planned to begin with, it turned out pretty good! And yes, I did bring Cinnamon back too! What, did you honestly expect me to bring back Marino and NOT her adorable little sidekick? And yes, I am aware that they are not related. I just figured Marino would fit nicely into the niche of 'big sister figure' in Cinnamon's charmingly innocent world-view. After all, who's going to protect her from the big bad pervs like Omega?

Bwehehehe…Beam Chakram'd…! Oh, I kill me.

Anyway, you also get to see a fraction of the power and resources that Ace controls as well! And hey, if Seto Kaiba can have a whole room of operators and intel personnel at his command (female too, I might add!), then why can't he? And on an entirely unrelated note, Tony Stark and Seto Kaiba TOTALLY PWN!

And on yet another unrelated note, for those of you who didn't get the 'Little Boy' attack, there's a show called NeedLess...

WATCH IT! IT IS EPIC INCARNATE!

*Ahem*And now, as a teaser, a whoooole lot of you are going to love the next chapter. It will focus on a certain gun-wielding, Ride-Armor wearing enforcer, and will also be the chapter where I SERIOUSLY start in on the resurrection of old characters who should NOT have been killed off so easily! Oh man I can't wait…!

Hint: She's from the ZX games!

Finally, who here thinks they can recognize Ace's two newest agents? Come on, is that a kickass team or what?

Anywho, until next time!

DarkShift Out!


	15. Chapter 14: Fated Meeting

**Chapter 14: Fated Meeting**

Disclaimer: Capcom owns Megaman characters, but I own everything else! MUAHAHAHAHA!

On a side note, though, this chapter is considerably darker and/or weirder than any of the ones you've read so far. I thought I'd try something different, which may explain why this and my previous chapter seemed a little…I don't know, odd, I suppose. For those of you who've read my other fic, Archon War, you may see some slight parallels between one of the pairings from there and the one beginning in this chapter.

Or maybe that's just me.

Anyway, this was just a heads-up in case you start wondering "WTF is this?"

And believe me, before the chapter's over, I'm pretty sure several of you will be wondering exactly that.

Now, on with teh reading of the fic!

* * *

_**One year ago…**_

The ocean floor was normally a dark, silent place.

Not anymore.

Now, massive tremors shook the ground, the sounds of rock shifting and breaking filling the heavy surroundings with a cacophony of groans and rumbles. In the distance, a huge undersea volcano roared, its glowing maw spitting out chunks of molten magma and raw lava. Even the pressure and chill of trillions of tones of seawater was not enough to quench the awakening disaster, the temperature of the surroundings slowly increasing with each successive tremor. The seafloor around it, barren and dead to begin with, shook and cracked, huge crevasses opening up, and spreading at ridiculous speed. Some glowed as freed lava began to seep up through them, while others remained cold and dark.

All the normal sea life that had populated this area had fled, all of them realizing the disaster that was to come.

And yet, through all of this chaos, something still moved.

A jet-black boot landed on the seafloor, the silt around it stirring up from the impact. The owner took another step forward, and then another, leaving nothing but cloudy footsteps in his wake, not even bubbles of air to show his breathing. His black jacket wafted up behind him, flaring out as he moved forward. Ebony black hair floated freely around his face, another effect of his aquatic surroundings. His red and gold eyes staring straight ahead with cold determination, the man continued walking, ignoring everything around him. In an environment that would have killed any normal being a dozen times over, the raven specter still walked, as easily as if he was on dry land, walking down the streets of Legion. Even with the ground shaking around him, he never stumbled. A huge stream of lava burst to life in front of him, the water boiling almost instantly. He never stopped.

Not even hesitating, he walked onwards, into and through the red-hot river of molten rock. It didn't even slow him down.

The black-clad man emerged from the other side, his face a dead mask. Cold and uncaring, he moved onwards. On his body, where the magma had touched him, a strange red energy surged from him, crackling free from breaches in the clothes he wore. After a few moments, even that stopped, the rips and tears sealing themselves back up.

And still he continued walking, lava crackling and falling away from him as it cooled.

An avalanche of boulders rumbled towards him, dislodged from their position further up the slope by the increasing tremors. He didn't even spare them a glance.

A flash of red light, and a metallic shriek like the sound of one thousand steel chainsaws, and suddenly nothing but gravel drifted past him. His expression unchanging, the man continued walking, his eyes fixed firmly ahead of him, staring at his destination.

A sprawling facility. Man-made, it spread over a considerable area of the seabed, parts of it merging with the rock around it, which suggested that it extended underground as well. This facility, however, seemed to be in considerable distress. Even as he watched, parts of it shattered and broke away, the terrible pressures of the surroundings tearing into it. And inside, a sinister energy was slowly beginning to build up.

At first thought, one would assume that the erupting volcano was the cause of all of the disasters happening here. That, however, was far from the truth. It was the thing inside the dying facility, the massive structure that was slowly forming within the disintegrating shell that was the true cause. Even from this distance, the man could feel the vile power radiating from it, distorting the world around him and plunging everything into chaos. He knew what that thing was, and what it could do.

But that was not why he had come here.

A brief, harsh smile crossing his face, he continued walking towards it as the world around him spiraled downward into madness.

* * *

**Inside the facility…**

A terrible crash, and part of the roof caved in. As the terrible power of the collected Model Ws continued to grow, damning the facility that had acted as its hiding place for so long, two figures struggled onwards. One male, one female, they staggered on, amidst the chaos of crumbling steel and sparking lights. Both of them were covered in grievous wounds, their red blood appearing almost black in the dim scarlet tinge of the blaring alarms. The man desperately tried to maintain his footing, burdened as he was by the semiconscious form of the companion he was supporting. Another tremor, and he was thrown brutally towards the wall. Turning to shield his companion, the man received the full force of the blow. Fresh blood gushed from his injuries as he bit back a howl of pain. In his arms, the woman stirred, her eyes fluttering.

"B…broth…er…?"

Gritting his teeth against the pain, one eye blinded by a gash on his temple, the man forced himself to smile as he looked down at her.

"I…I'm fine. Don't worry about it…!"

Seeing his obvious lie, she tried to get to her feet, to help her brother, but gave a cry of pain and fell back, clutching at the gash in her side. Seeing her piteous condition, the man forced himself to stand again. Draping one of his companion's arms over his shoulder, he held her tightly as he staggered forward again, ignoring the screaming protests of his ruined body. His weary gaze fell on the door at the end of the corridor.

He had to reach the room on the other side. He might die here, alone and forgotten within this dying complex, but he would not allow death to claim him this easily.

If only for her sake, he needed to live, to ensure her safety…!

"Hang on sis…" he managed to smile. "Just a bit more…!"

Another tremor, and he gritted his teeth. The destruction of the facility was accelerating. At this rate, he had a few minutes at best. Setting his jaw in a determined glare, the man forced himself to move faster. As the door before him finally opened, there was a terrible crash, and part of the corridor behind him caved in, an angry torrent of water surging in through the ruptured outer hull. Gasping a curse, he half stumbled, half fell through the open door, one flailing hand hitting the emergency lock button.

Just as the tidal wave was about to reach him, the heavy steel airlock slammed shut, effectively sealing it off. There was a tremendous, booming noise as the water smashed into the other side, and then silence.

Sprawled on the floor, it took every ounce of his willpower to keep himself from losing consciousness. He knew better than to think that they were safe now. The reinforced airlock would buy him some time, but that was all.

Gathering his sister's wounded body into his arms, he stood up again and staggered forward, towards the object that was the reason he had come here.

A lone capsule stood in the center of the room, its glass front open and waiting for use. Fortunately, it seemed as though this part of the facility had yet to lose power, but as the lights flickered overhead, he knew that was a blessing that he couldn't rely on for long. Moving with as much speed as he could coax out of his protesting body, he gently lowered his sister into the cylindrical chamber inside of it.

As she felt the cool touch of the capsule's interior, the girl's eyes fluttered open again.

"Br…brother…what are…you doing…?"

He gave her a tight smile, a mixture of sorrow and pain on his face.

"Sorry…but…this is the last thing I can do for you…"

His eyes softened and he leaned in, pressing his lips gently against her forehead. Sadness in his eyes, he pulled back and looked at her one last time.

"I'm sorry sis, but this is where we part ways."

Despite her wounds, the girl came fully awake as the horror of what her brother was planning to do struck her.

"Brother, no!"

Stepping back, he hit the button to close the capsule. Trapped inside, she could only pound helplessly on the glass and scream, tears running down her face.

"Brother! Please! Don't do this! I can't leave you here!"

Then, as the capsule's programming finally began to take effect, she felt the customary drowsiness of sleep mode beginning to steal over her. Still, she struggled, hoping, despite the pain in her heart that told her that there was nothing she could do anymore, that she could reach her brother. He was still there, just out of reach beyond the unbreakable, clear wall of the capsule. Her strength fading, she stretched out one desperate hand towards his sad features, trying with all her heart to reach him.

"Bro…ther…"

As the last of her strength left her, the girl collapsed into unconsciousness, tears still streaming down her face.

The man stared down at his sleeping sister, terrible sadness etched across his features.

"I'm sorry, sis…but I can't let you die here. You've gotta live on…for both our sakes." He whispered, resting one hand on the capsule cover. She would be safe here, within the armored protection of the capsule, until it deemed the surroundings safe enough to release her. Albert had built these things to be practically indestructible, with a self-contained power supply that could last for years. Even if this entire facility was destroyed, this would be the one thing that survived.

His eyes widened suddenly.

"Ghak…!"

Red liquid splattered onto the clear cover, next to his hand. The man staggered and fell, collapsing against the capsule. He managed a rueful grin, blood trickling from his jaws.

"…Heh…So this is…as far as I can go, huh…?" He gasped. Feeling his body shutting down, he slumped, sliding down to the floor, his back coming to rest against the side of the capsule. Propping himself up with his deactivated scythe handle, he struggled to breathe, his vision fading as he stared at the slowly warping airlock door.

"I'm sorry…I couldn't…do more for ya, sis…" he spoke to the empty room. "But…this is the best I could do for now."

Prometheus, Grim Reaper of Model W, gave one last smile.

"Don't think too badly of me when you wake up…!"

At that instant, the door before him finally shattered, giving way to the pressure of the water smashing in. Prometheus' last sight was that of a wall of raging white water hurtling towards him.

He closed his eyes, a faint smile still on his lips, no regrets left to him.

'_I won't let you get the best of us, Albert!_'

* * *

And so it was that Master Albert's secret undersea base met its end, the walls imploding as the sea claimed it for its own. But all was not lost. The facility had served its purpose.

Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, a new, massive form slowly rose from the dying base. Its single red eye glaring malevolently out at the world, the colossal, ringed shape of the ultimate Biometal, Ouroboros gave a wordless roar, celebrating its ascension. Without a second thought, the true Model W turned its gaze up towards the surface far above it, and began to climb. Soon, its darkness would cover this world, and then those petty fools who stood in its way would finally be annihilated!

From the slowly collapsing facility, one man watched it go. Heedless of the chaos around him, he continued watching it until it finally disappeared, a tiny dot far above him. Finally, he turned away from it, his red and gold gaze turning to the facility around him. It was not his place to interfere in the coming battle. That fight, was reserved for the ones who would decide their own fate, and the fate of their world.

The man moved onwards, walking through the ruined facility. As it finally settled into the seabed, the tremors caused by Model W's presence slowly faded away, silence descending over the marine world. Darkness returned, broken only by the gentle glow of the cooling volcano in the distance.

Finally, he reached his destination. He barely spared the warped and twisted airlock a glance, kicking aside the ruined remnants with an uncaring boot. Coming to a stop, he stared at the capsule in the center of the room, the glass glowing a cool, healthy blue color as it continued its single-minded function of restoring and protecting its occupant.

He looked blankly at the tears drying on the girl's face, and then looked away again. He'd seen enough sorrow to last several lifetimes, and he had no desire to bear witness to more. A glint of light caught his eye from the far wall and he blinked, stepping towards it.

As he drew nearer, the man halted, an unreadable expression on his face as he gazed at the source of the light.

Clad in purple and white armor, the water around him still holding the faint, coppery taste of fresh blood, a man's body was pressed against the wall. Crucified by a dozen pieces of broken steel and fragmented metal, he had been pinned there by the explosive force of the water rushing in. Long green hair floating around him, spilling free from his shattered helm, the body of the once-mighty Prometheus hung broken and battered, a faded shadow of his past glory.

The black clad stranger lowered his head, giving a last measure of respect to the fallen warrior. He had come here expecting this, but that did not make it any less pleasant an experience. As he did so, his eyes fell on something below the body. Lying on the floor, it was a long, staff-like weapon, one end bulkier than the other. His eyes narrowing slightly, the man crouched down and picked it up.

Hefting it loosely in one hand, he gave it a speculative look as he noted the perfect balance of it before he flicked the activation switch. From the bulkier end, a long crescent-shaped blade of glowing green energy sprang to life, casting eerie shadows on the surroundings as the water around it bubbled and hissed.

The man looked silently down at the weapon in his hand, his face unreadable. There was a faraway look in his eyes as he regarded it, a long-forgotten memory springing unbidden to his mind.

He saw a desert wasteland, the terrain of it as familiar to him as the pattern of the stars in the night sky. He remembered the feel of the wind and the sand. And finally, he remembered a lone figure, a wandering mercenary he had met while traveling that very same desert with his allies. Clad in a tattered, sleeveless coat, he had been a scythe wielder too, his ambition to collect every single scythe in the world.

'_Hey there! James Crimson, mercenary for hire, at your service!_'

The man closed his eyes for a moment, his grip tightening around the scythe handle. A taut smile crossed his face as he opened his eyes again. For a moment, that voice had sounded as clearly as if he had been standing there again, at that moment, still with his old comrades as he met that mercenary again, during those days of laughter and friendly camraderie.

But no. He was still here, alone, on the path he had chosen. He had left them all behind at that moment so very long ago, to continue on alone, in the same way he always had before.

A bitter smile on his face, the black-clad stranger slowly got to his feet again, still holding the scythe. If there was one thing he had learned, it was this:

When your life was eternal, there was nothing worse than the bitch called nostalgia.

He glanced back towards the door again, and then back at Prometheus, a calculating look on his face. For him to have ended up on the wall here, he would have needed to be directly in front of the capsule, facing the door ahead of him. He would have seen the tidal wave coming straight at him, and yet there was no trace of any fear or anger on his face. He had simply accepted it, using his body to protect the capsule from the onrushing debris for as long as he could, until it could hold no longer.

The man looked down at the sleeping woman, and gave a rueful smile. Even at the end, with his life fading, Prometheus had given everything he had to protect his sister. That, at least, was worth respecting.

The man realized he was still holding the scythe. Looking down at it, he regarded it silently for a moment, before looking back up at Prometheus. He stayed like that for a moment, before a wry grin crossed his face.

He had come here expecting to find only one survivor, and he had. That was the way it was supposed to be, and the way he had originally planned to leave it. But now…

He shook his head slightly, a quiet chuckle escaping his lips. Supposed to be? After all these two had sacrificed, this was how they were to end? One dead, and the other one trapped in stasis, to awaken in a new world, all alone?

The black-clad man stared at up at Prometheus again, a look of amused determination on his face. No, somehow, he didn't think so…

Ten minutes later, the steel remnants of the airlock were kicked aside again and the stranger strode out again, supporting Prometheus' body with one hand. Shaking his head slightly in amusement at his own actions, the man continued walking, his new destination already in mind. There was one other place in this world that was equipped to take care of this Grim Reaper, battered though he was. He paused for a moment, then turned to look back at the capsule room.

A flash of red, a shriek of shattering metal, and the walls caved in, effectively sealing the room shut. That would ensure that nothing would disturb the slumbering witch, until the time was right.

His mission here complete and satisfied that all was as he had planned it to be, the man disappeared back into the dark waters. In his wake, he left one mark, a trace to show that he had been here.

Back in the capsule's room, pale green light still burned. Inside, a familiar scythe rested, its blade sunk deep into the floor before the capsule, continuing its master's vigil over the sleeping occupant.

That was one year ago.

* * *

And so it was that the witch was cast out, sealed in slumber far beneath the waves, hidden away from the light of the world above. As time passed, she was believed to be dead, killed alongside her brother during the rise of Ouroboros.

Yet she still remained sleeping, her mind lost in her dreams and memories.

* * *

Now, a full year later, Ace stood on the main deck of A.C.E.'s Command and Control, watching the images on the massive screen.

"As you've seen, we've recently located the remains of ex-Master Albert's lab. According to reports from Ashe and Grey, this was the base he was using to create and store the Model Ws he had collected during the Game of Destiny. Through some method, he was able to activate them, causing them to merge together and thereby forming his 'Ultimate' Biometal, Ouroboros. I'm sure I don't have to remind you of the capability of that thing."

The person on the other end of the line chuckled. "I've seen worse."

"That, I can believe." Ace replied dryly. "At any rate, I'd like you to get in there and see if there's anything left to salvage. Considering that it was Albert's home base, there were probably tons of useful intel stored there before the whole thing blew up. Anything you can bring back would be a huge benefit. In addition to that, there's the chance that some Model Ws, or fragments of them may have been left back, and could have survived."

"Let me guess. Search and destroy?"

"Bingo. It cost us a lot to take down that oversized bastard once, and I don't want to have to do it a second time. Make sure there's nothing left of it."

The unseen caller nodded.

"I can do that."

"Good. Unfortunately, it seems some Raiders have also discovered this place. I'm not sure how, but I suspect the same mastermind from the transport mission."

"So I'll need to deal with them too, I take it?"

"Knock yourself out." Ace waved dismissively. "I could care less about those bastards."

"Now, normally, this job would be a complete mess, considering that the target site is, y'know, three kajillion metres underwater. Fortunately, our Raider buddies seem to have made life much easier for us by setting up a massive field-dome over the whole thing, which pretty much means that they've pumped all of the water out and have set up a comfortable little area of dry land around the wreckage. Once you get inside, it should be pretty much the same as walking around on land."

"Sounds like a piece of cake. And my fee?"

"Double your usual rates, and with a bonus for anything you manage to bring back." Ace paused for a moment, then grinned.

"Okay, _and_ a bonus for every kill, same as always."

"That's more like it." The caller said, a satisfied tone in his voice. "Is that it?"

"Pretty much." Ace nodded.

"All right then. I'll do it."

"Excellent!" Ace beamed, glad that the contract had been accepted. "So, how long until you get there?"

"I'm already there." The simple statement was enough to render the Commander speechless with disbelief. After several moments of gaping blankly at the screen, he managed to pull himself back together

"What? How?" Ace demanded, stunned. "We just found it! How'd you get there before I even gave you the co-ordinates?"

The caller smiled.

"Well now, that's why they pay me the big bucks, isn't it?"

And with that, the connection cut out. Ace stared at the dead screen, his eye twitching.

"I _hate_ it when he does that!"

Then one of the supervisors handed him Marino's latest expense sheet and the Scarlet Phoenix was suddenly too busy having a heart attack to worry about his mercenary's mysterious ability to be everywhere at once.

* * *

**The witch lay dreaming…**

_ A frozen world…_

_ A barren wasteland of snow and ice, terrible blizzards raging as far as the eye could see. A bone chilling wind, slicing to the very core, carrying sheets of hail and snow. In this dim world of twilight and frost, only the eerie howl of the wind can be heard, its never ending wail like the keening cry of a dying beast._

_ And yet, there is movement. A lone figure, struggling desperately onwards through the blistering cold._

_ She runs, not caring what lies in her path. Treacherous rocks, hidden by the knee deep snow cut and slice at her bare feet, sprinkling the pristine white snow, with drops of brilliant red. She stumbles, as a deep snowdrift sends her tumbling forward. She crashes down on her face, but scrambles back upright, not even feeling the temperature around her._

_ Her body became numb a long time ago._

_ She dare not stop now. She cannot. If she does, it will be the end of her._

_ A terrible roar shakes the air. She looks back over her shoulder, a frightened look on her face. IT is coming. The beast that has haunted her nightmares since she was first created, all those years ago._

_ Another roar, closer this time. From which direction, she cannot tell. The blizzard around her warps and misdirects sound. She begins to run now, the icy touch of fear far colder than the wasteland of her surroundings. A third roar, this time sounding as though it is mere meters away from her. She struggles to move faster, forcing her way through the knee high snow. Her panicked eyes search the blank landscape desperately, looking for something, anything, that will hide her._

_ Now even the snow seems to be turning against her, clinging to her with each step she takes, growing heavier and heavier. She falls, again, and as she feels herself land on the cold surface beneath her, she knows she will not be getting up._

_ Not this time._

_ A tremendous, earth-shaking crash, a howl of titanic proportions, and the world around her shakes again. As a huge, ominous shadow falls over her, staining the ground with darkness, and she feels the last of her fear leave her, only a sad acceptance left in its place. Forcing her body to move, she slowly turns around, sitting up as she finally comes face to face with the beast that has hounded her all her life._

_ Towering before her, the massive serpent rears up, its single red eye blazing. Its body is made of silver-white armor, golden bronze trimmings running along the surface. Darkness spews from the joints between each segment, strange, terrifying shadows visible inside of them. Its jaws open, and the beast cuts loose with a roar that sounds like the end of the world, black steam seeping from its jaws, and hissing around its terrible fangs. The sole red eye on the right side of its face fixes her with a malevolent glare, a demonic, savage intelligence burning within its depths. On the left side of its head, there is nothing, not even an empty eye socket. The steel skin is smooth and unbroken, with no trace to indicate that this serpent ever possessed a second eye._

_ She stares up at it, despairing acceptance the only emotion left to her. The form may appear different, but the sickening miasma of death and chaos surrounding the creature is all too familiar._

_ Ouroboros. The World Serpent, the snake that devours its own tail in an infinite cycle. The incarnation of infinity itself, reborn as Albert's greatest creation, the ultimate Biometal, and the form of the completed Model W._

_ Her legs and feet, battered and bloodied as they are from the long chase, will carry her no further. There will be no escape, not this time._

_ As the monstrous beast rears its head, plunging its razor-sharpened fangs down towards her, she closed her eyes. This was a nightmare, one that had constantly plagued her from the time a fragment of Model W was implanted into her body. And always, no matter how she struggled, they ended the same way. Her body, torn apart and devoured by the serpent, her mind screaming in agony. Always, always, she would lose, alone in this frozen nightmare._

_ Not this time._

_ Her body tensed, bracing for the feeling of the fangs piercing her frail body, she started as a flash of light seared her closed eyelids, an explosive blast shaking the world. As the serpent shrieked in rage and pain, she opened her eyes, just in time to see it reeling backwards, smoke and flames rising from its face, the metal scarred by an ugly black scorch mark. Even as she wondered what had happened, she heard the sounds of heavy, steel footsteps coming closer, and a figure strode past her._

_ Clad in purple armor, he resembled no-one she had ever seen before, in real life, or in her dreams. Steam still rising from the long-barreled buster that was his right arm, it retracted, the barrel being replaced by a normal steel hand. Ignoring the roaring and thrashing of the great snake, he continued fearlessly forward. Light flashed from his right shoulder, and fresh explosions burst into life over the creature's body._

_ Finally, spotting its tormentor through a gap in the smoke, the snake screamed in outrage, and sent its tail whipping towards him. The massive armored body cut through the air, the wind howling in its wake as it hurtled to crush the tiny pest that dared to harm it._

_ The armored knight simply raised his left arm. Ouroboros's tail slammed into it, the force great enough to destroy the ground around the knight, and yet he remained standing, not even yielding an inch against the terrible pressure. The ground shook with the snake's rage, and it sent one coil looping around the knight, attempting to crush him with its superior size and strength._

_ Again, the knight did not move. Raising his right arm in a block that was a mirror image of the left, he didn't even flinch. Holding his arms like that, he held the snake at bay, its colossal power not enough to tighten in completely. Sparks flew up, flashing as the knight's steel greaves grated against the serpent's armor._

_ Finally, with a burst of energy, the knight snapped his arms outward, breaking the grip of the beast and sending it reeling backward. Hissing, it recovered, snaking around in a tight arc until it was facing the knight again._

_ Maddened now, and seeing that the knight stood between it and its prize, the monstrous serpent gave a shriek of rage, and lunged forward, intent on destroying the intruder once and for all._

_ As if in answer to the snake's roar, the knight started to run, his armored boots pounding the ground into ruin as he charged ahead, his entire body leaning forward to the attack._

_ Golden light flashed, spiraling around his right arm, building with each passing moment. As the two combatants drew in for the final clash, the knight leapt into the air, drawing his glowing fist back as he hurtled towards his massive opponent._

_ Finally, there was a burst of light as the power reached its peak, his entire arm glowing a brilliant gold. As the very air around it shook, the winds being disrupted by the insane power, the armored knight gave a wordless roar that matched any made by the serpent, and brough his golden fist shrieking forward. With a roar of its own, the darkness spilled out of the serpent's body, erupting in a tidal wave of darkness that threatened to engulf the light._

_ A white hot blast, blazing golden light, and the world erupted as the blizzard was torn apart by a mammoth explosion._

_ Slowly, as the light faded, leaving behind the dim, scarred battlefield, she opened her eyes again and gasped._

_ The unstoppable knight still stood, steam and smoke rising from his scarred and pitted armor. His still-clenched right hand glowed red, the metal cooling in the gentle snow that had replaced the blizzard. On the ground before him, the massive serpent lay defeated, the damage left by the knight's attack a terrible sight to behold._

_ Slowly, she rose to her feet, her legs shaking with the strain. With a cry of pain, she stumbled, her legs buckling._

_ And suddenly, he was there before her, his strong arms gently holding her upright, supporting her with his body. She looked up, and for the first time, she saw her savior's face clearly._

_ A blank steel helm, the same purple color as the rest of his armor, covered his face. A T-shaped visor, as dark as midnight, hid his features, a red glint the only sign of his eyes as he looked down at her._

_ "_Who…are you…?_" she whispered, feeling her consciousness beginning to fade._

_ The knight did not answer._

_ His silent visage was the last thing she saw, the crystal white snow falling around him, as she slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

_

For the first time in a year, Pandora opened her eyes.

Brilliant lights shone down at her, warped and distorted by the thick glass before her eyes. She bolted awake, her heart racing as her mind struggled to pull itself together. The dream still stood fresh in her mind, puzzling her greatly, but this was not the time.

'_Prometheus!_' She thought desperately, searching frantically for the release switch. As she finally found it, she triggered it and impatiently waited for the cover to open. It did so, unsteadily, and with a considerable amount of creaking and groaning, before she was finally able to step out.

Almost immediately, she felt herself begin to topple over. Grabbing onto the side of the capsule for support, she steadied herself, being assailed by a sudden sense of weakness.

'_What's going on…?_' she wondered, pressing a hand to her head in pain.

"Well, whaddya know…Looks like Sleeping Beauty finally woke up, boys!"

Pandora lifted her head slowly as she came to the realization that she was not alone.

Four figures stood before her. She recognized the strange emblems on their uniforms that marked them as Raiders. She had very little personal experience with such people in her time as Albert's servant, other than what she had seen from their actions when one of the other participants in the Game of Destiny came across them.

And that had not given them a very favorable image in her eyes.

Her staff, which had been placed into the capsule with her, was still in her hand. As her grip tightened around it, one of the Raiders caught the movement, and four rifles were instantly trained on her.

"Don't even think about, girlie!" the most senior one grinned. "Yeah, we know who you are, and you've gotta be crazy to think we'll give you a chance to start throwing lightning around!"

Pandora's face hardened into the cold, blank expression she normally wore. Trash like this, she could handle on her own. The rest, would have to wait.

Before any of them could react, she had snapped her free hand up and out towards them, bolts of lightning shooting out towards the Raiders. They staggered back, caught by surprise as the electricity struck them, yelling in pain.

Pandora felt a slight tinge of satisfaction at the sound.

And then, just as suddenly, she realized that something was wrong.

"AAAAAAAaaaaaaahhh…huh?"

The Raiders' yells petered out, their shock fading to surprise as they realized that nothing was happening to them. The four of them exchanged bewildered looks, looking down at themselves, and then across at each other, sparks still dancing over them.

"What the hell?" One of them demanded.

"Shouldn't we be, you know, dead, right now?" Another one queried, looking at the electricity still crackling across his rifle's muzzle.

"This barely even tickles!"

Pandora stepped back, shock written all over her face. This wasn't supposed to happen! This had never happened!

Desperately, she tried again, but this time, little less than sparks emerged from her fingertips. Frantic now, she tried her ice abilities.

Five seconds later, one of the Raiders ran screaming into the nearest wall, his face covered in a sheet of ice. Fortunately for him, most of it broke off in the collision. Unfortunately, that included several teeth as well.

His companions watched him stagger back upright. Their leader raised one eyebrow.

"Oooookay…Last time I checked, wasn't she supposed to have a bit more bite to her than that?"

They turned back to Pandora, who was frantically trying to cast a proper ice attack, but was now succeeding in producing little more than cold vapor from her hands.

"Wh-what's going on…?" She whispered, her icy composure slipping. "My powers, they're…gone!"

And then it hit her. If she, and all of these other people were here now, it meant that Albert's grand 'reset' had failed. And the only thing that could have cause it to fail was the power of Model A, wielded by Ashe and Grey. With the main body of the Model W destroyed, so too was the source of her power! The fragment that had been implanted within her was merely a conduit, a means by which she could tap into and thereby gain access to the power of the full Model W, stored here in Albert's secret facility.

If Ouroboros had been destroyed, that meant that there was no longer any power _to_ be channeled! Without it, she was no better than an ordinary human or Reploid!

The same realization had also occurred to the Raiders, all four of whom were now watching her with decidedly interested expressions.

"Well, looks like the tables have turned, huh, guys?"

Pandora backed away, raising her staff hesitantly. One of the Raiders elbowed the injured one, who was still trying to rub some life back into his chilled features.

"Hey, you could probably get a little payback now! Without those powers of hers, she's nothing but an ordinary girl!"

They sized her up for a moment, before one gave an admiring wolf whistle.

"And she's a damn fine lookin' one too!"

One of the others grinned. "And you know what we do with fine lookin' girls around here!"

The others laughed aloud at the joke, before the leader slapped the injured one on the back.

"Tell you what, buddy. Since you were the only one out of us who got hit, you get to go first! How's that sound?"

The Raider in question grinned, a cruel light in his eyes.

"That sounds just fine to me!"

Tossing his rifle to one of his comrades, he started towards Pandora, cracking his knuckles menacingly. Behind him, his superior officer turned to look over his shoulder.

"Hey, newbie! We got us a sweet piece of ass back here! Normally I wouldn't bother askin', but since you only transferred in a couple days ago, I'll make an exception!" He jerked a thumb over his shoulder towards Pandora.

"You want us to save you a piece?"

That was when Pandora realized there was actually a fifth Raider in the room. He was sitting further back, leaning against one of the walls. The angle of the lights cast a dark shadow across him, so she couldn't see him clearly.

He looked up, and they could just make out an unpleasant smirk on his face.

"Sorry, but I'm not really into that kind of thing. I'll pass."

As the fifth Raider went back to fiddling with the device in his hands, the leader shrugged expressively.

"Suit yourself, buddy. It's not every day you get a chance to bang a celebrity this famous!"

With that, the Raider officer turned back to the entertainment, his two other subordinates whooping and making catcalls as things unfolded.

The Raider had managed to wrestle Pandora's staff away from her, effectively removing her last desperate attempt at a defense. Physical combat was most definitely _not_ her forte, as she had mostly relied on her destructive elemental attacks and her teleportation ability to stay out of harm's way. Now, without either of those things to come to her aid, she was little more than an average human. She didn't even have her regenerative ability, and now it felt as though the slightest attack hurt as much as a hit from one of the Chosen Ones when she had fought them during the Game of Destiny! How ironic that the moment where she finally found herself free of Model W was the very same moment where she needed its power.

A second of distraction cost her, as the Raider caught her a ringing blow across the face. She crashed to the floor, wincing.

"Hey, try not to rough her up too much, will ya?" The officer yelled, annoyed. "If we keep her in good condition, we can rent her out for a bigger price tag!"

Ignoring him, the Raider pinned Pandora down, his hands seizing her by the wrists to stop her from attacking him. Licking his lips, he leered down at her, a malicious smile on his face.

"Oh, I'm gonna enjoy this…!"

As the repulsiveness of what they were planning to do to her finally struck Pandora, a surge of panic rose within her, and somehow, she found the strength to break one hand free. Channeling as much of her electrical power as she could into her hand, she lashed out, slicing four deep scratches across her opponent's face, delivering a slight shock as well.

The Raider reeled backwards, howling in pain as he clutched at his face. Pandora pulled herself back, desperate just to get away from him. Finally stopping against a pile of junk that the excavators had piled up against the back wall, she realized with a jolt that there was nowhere else to go.

The Raider staggered to his feet, one hand pressed to his mangled features, glaring at her with one hate-filled eye.

"That's right, bitch…you've got nowhere left to run!" He stepped forward, and then lunged at her.

"I'll make you pay for that!" He screamed, blood trailing behind him as he charged forward.

Desperate to defend herself, Pandora grabbed a random piece from the pile behind her and swung it up at the onrushing Raider, shutting her eyes as she did so.

There was a flash of green light.

Something warm and wet splashed against Pandora's face, and the Raider was suddenly much heavier. Hesitantly, she pried open one eye.

The officer and his two subordinates were standing silent, shocked looks on their faces. As she followed their gazes, she discovered why.

The Raider that had been charging at her now lay dead atop her, a familiar crescent blade of green energy erupting from his spine. She recognized it immediately, and felt a rush of elation as she realized just what it was she had grabbed to defend herself.

Her brother's scythe came free with a sickening hiss as the corpse rolled aside, leaving her clutching the bloodstained weapon. She realized with a start that she was shaking, her body recovering from the rush of adrenaline. Was this how her brother had fought _all the time?_

She wondered if maybe that was the reason why he always seemed so crazy…

The sound of rifles being chambered suddenly alerted her to the fact that things weren't finished yet. Pandora looked up to find the remaining three Raiders with their rifles back up, and pointed at her.

"Now see, we could've cared less about you messing up his face, 'cause to be honest, he wasn't much of a looker to begin with. But killing him?"

He shook his head. "You just crossed the line."

The officer's voice was cold as he stared down his rifle sights.

"Sir, didn't the boss say he wanted her in one piece?"

The officer shrugged carelessly. "I figure I can think of some good excuse to give 'im. We opened the capsule, and Jerry here went to help her out, being the gentleman he is and all, and in return, she scratched his eyes out and stabbed him in the gut. She'd've done the same to us if we hadn't shot her down. Right boys?"

"Right-o! Can't trust those damned Mega Men an inch, right boss?"

"Bingo." The officer smiled coldly.

Unnoticed by any of them, the fifth Raider by the door, who was still whistling unconcernedly, screwed the last piece into place and gave a nod. Tapping the concealed earpiece, he listened to the female voice on the other end. Glancing back up at the other Raiders, he noted that their attention was finally diverted completely away from him.

Satisfied, he got to his feet. Turning, he drew the silenced handgun he'd spent the last few minutes assembling and fired three shots, aiming with one hand.

The three Raiders died instantly, all three bullets scoring headshots. Without even hesitating, the mystery Raider tossed the weapon aside. It would be useless from here on out, anyway. Not even bothering to see where it had landed, the Raider peeled off the thin layer of latex covering his fingers, the fragile material crumbling to dust almost immediately. With them went the false fingerprints that matched the ones on the grip of the discarded gun. Even if someone retrieved them from the grip, they'd find no match anywhere in the world.

Not that it mattered, though. The mystery man had no fingerprints to begin with, his body having been designed before such things were necessary.

He stepped towards Pandora, who was still trying to understand what had just happened. She looked up at him, bewildered, still clutching her brother's scythe.

The man stepped forward, almost into the light, before he came to a stop. She caught a glimpse of slate-gray hair, so dark it was almost black, before the man reached up and tapped a button at his collar. There was a mechanical whirr, and suddenly three segments of metal unfolded from the back of his neck. From the top and the two sides, they moved together, locking into place around his head. That done, the man stepped forward again, crouching down before Pandora.

The breath froze in her throat. The legendary witch of ice and lightning found herself rendered completely speechless as she stared wide-eyed at the man before her. The glare of the fluorescent lights overhead glinted off of violet-tinged steel, as a familiar red glow, almost hidden within the depths of the dark, T-shaped visor, stared coolly back at her.

Finally, as if to further shake her sense of reality off balance, she saw the unmistakable crimson V on the forehead of the helmet before her.

She knew she was staring, but she couldn't help it. The memory of her dream playing through her mind again. The armored knight who had saved her then, and the man who had saved her now…They were one and the same!

Hesitantly, she reached out towards him, her fingers gently brushing the cool metal of his helmet.

"You're…real." She whispered. He remained silent, his eyes scanning her face. Behind his helmet, he felt a strange flicker of puzzlement cross his features. _What is she talking about?_

"Who…are you…?" Pandora whispered.

Again, she asked the same question she had at the end of that long, cold, slumber.

And this time, she got a response.

"Vile." The knight replied. "Nice to meet you, Pandora."

Pandora looked up at him, and for the first time in a long, long, time, the witch felt a smile come to her face.

"Thank you." She whispered quietly, resting her forehead against his chest.

Vile looked down at her and blinked. He was completely at a loss to understand any of this, but somehow, as he looked down at the still-shivering form of the woman once feared as the Witch of Storm and Frost…

He decided it didn't really bother him all that much…

* * *

**A/N:** D'aaaaaaawwwwwwwww, aren't they adorable?

Anyway, this is quite possibly one of the craziest pairings I've ever thought up. And considering some of the pairings I had in mind when I first started writing this, that's saying something.

…Of course, there was that one time I wanted to do CraftxLumine, but then I found out that Lumine was a guy, and I was forced to run outside screaming to take a flying leap into oncoming traffic.

*Shudder* Yeah, that was pretty f*cked up…

Fortunately, the concussion was enough to cancel out the scarring, so I'm fine now!

…Except for a burning hatred for anything yaoi, of course, but that's perfectly reasonable.

O-kay that's probably a little more info than you needed to know. Steering back on course now…

Right, well, like I said, I really wanted to write this chapter, so most of it was already planned out in my head, unlike my normal make-stuff-up-as-I-go-along method. That's probably why I got this one done so fast. It was actually finished less than two days after the previous chapter, but I wanted all of my readers to have enough time to go through the last chapter (and post reviews, of course!)(Wait, no! Bad DarkShift! No plugging for reviews!)(Shut up, conscience! Get back in the tic-tac bottle!)(No! YOU'LL NEVAH TAKE ME ALIIIIVE!)

* cough * Um…YOU SAW NOTHING!

…anyway, as I was saying, I wanted you all to have enough time before I dropped another chapter on you!

Now, I'm pretty sure half of you want to kill me for nerfing Pandora, but rest assured, this is only temporary. And I don't mean temporary, as in 'oh, she'll get it back twenty chapters down the road' either. I mean, two, maybe three chapters at most.

And don't worry about Prometheus either, but that's all I'm saying about that!

Returning to the usual kickass, beat-the-crap-out-of-dozens-of-Raiders action in the next chapter, so see ya then!


	16. Chapter 15: Undersea Rumble!

**Chapter 15: Undersea Rumble!**

Disclaimer: It's mine, all miiiiiine! BWAHAHAHA! *gets pwned by legion of Capcom's attack lawyers* …Fine, it's not miiiiine…

Now, back to your regularly scheduled program of demolition and ass-kicking!

* * *

Still inside the capsule chamber, Vile tapped into the link again, listening to the report from his partner, Rika.

_**"I'm in position, Nii-san."**_

_**"Good. Wait five minutes, and then start the next phase of the plan. I have the girl, so we'll be heading out now."**_

_**"Roger."**_

Vile cut the link, and looked down at the woman in his arms again.

"Can you move?"

Pandora nodded.

"Good. We're getting out of here."

Standing up, he helped her to her feet. Watching him turn and start walking away, a terrible realization struck her.

"Wait, I can't leave!" She looked up at him, near-panic in her eyes. "My brother! I need to find him!"

"Your brother's not here." The cold, abrupt response was enough to stop Pandora in her tracks.

"Wh…what?"

Vile's helm tilted as he turned to look over his shoulder at her.

"To find this room, they had to dig through almost two meters of collapsed rock and steel. Inside, all they found was a mysterious woman, sleeping alone inside a capsule, and that very same scythe in your hands buried in the ground before it. There was nothing else."

Pandora stared blankly at him, her mind struggling to understand his words. "What…are you saying…?"

"I'm saying that he escaped, or was taken from here long before any of us arrived. If he was dead, his body would have been here, and nowhere else."

For the first time she had awoken from the capsule, Pandora felt a glimmer of hope in her chest. Prometheus was alive! She pressed his scythe to her chest, a slight smile crossing her face.

He might not be here now, but he had left his scythe to stand guard over her and managed to make it out of this doomed facility. She would find him, but for now, simply knowing that there was a chance he had survived and escaped was enough for her.

Vile looked at her for a moment, standing there clutching her brother's scythe, and for the first time, he was struck by how much she looked like…

…_her_…

For an instant, he saw it again, her golden hair the same color of the fields around her, the sunset illuminating her warm smile…

And then the vision was gone, replaced by the memory he would never forget. Vile closed his eyes, and stood there for a moment, before shaking his head. A glance at the timer in his HUD told him that he had less than a minute to get moving. He looked at Pandora, only to find her suddenly in front of him, a curious look on her face as she examined his helmet.

"Is something wrong?" he asked dryly.

Pandora started, unaware that he had noticed her. For a moment, his eyes had seemed strangely distant, as if he was looking at something else. Curious, she had unconsciously wandered closer to him, only to have him ask that question. Before she could formulate a reply, he had turned away again.

"If you still want to stay here to search for him, then go ahead. Other than that, I'm willing to take you out of here myself." He paused for a moment.

"But you have to be the one to make the choice."

Pandora considered that for a moment, a troubled look on her face. If she stayed here, she would be a sitting duck for any Raiders who came across her, as she had seen during her rude awakening. She remembered that vile, horrible memory, and she shuddered.

Plus, as her rescuer had said, if Prometheus wasn't here, there was a good chance he had escaped to the surface somehow. Which meant that if she wanted to find him again, she would have to go there as well.

And finally, there was a small, unfamiliar part of her mind that was telling her that she could trust this mysterious man. For some reason, she found herself feeling the same sense of security that she had with her brother…

She lifted her head, her hands tightening around Prometheus' scythe.

"I'll…come with you." She answered finally, an uncharacteristically determined look in her eyes. With a nod, Vile turned and started walking towards the door. Picking up her staff from where it had fallen earlier, Pandora followed him.

As they stepped out into the corridor, there was a yell, and suddenly the air was filled with energy bursts. Pandora flinched as one flashed towards her, only to be stopped by another target first. She looked up, startled, to see her knight standing before her, one hand outstretched in front of her, smoke rising from where the shot had struck his forearm, burning through the stolen Raider uniform.

Vile's eyes narrowed.

"Not good enough." He smirked.

There was the sound of metal shifting, and then the right shoulder of his uniform tore open. The long, cylindrical form of his trusty shoulder cannon emerged, and spat three deadly blasts.

Silence descended as the opposition crumpled to the ground. Vile looked down at his still smoking forearm and flexed his fingers a few times.

"So much for stealth…" he muttered. "Looks like I was right to stash 'that' somewhere nearby."

He stopped as he felt a light touch on his arm. He looked back to find Pandora's hands tugging faintly on his sleeve, her head bowed as she looked at the wound he had taken.

"I'm sorry…" she whispered. "If I…still had my powers…I could help you…"

Vile looked down at her for a moment, before he finally spoke again.

"Don't worry about it." He said calmly. "I was the one who wanted to bring you along, even though I knew this sort of thing would happen."

Pandora looked up at him, confusion in her eyes. "Then why…?"

For the first time since he had come on this mission, Vile actually smiled.

"Because it was something I wanted to do."

She looked up at him for a moment, then ducked her head, tears coming to her eyes.

"…Thank you…Vi…" Her voice caught for a minute, a strange flutter in her stomach as she tried to say it. Swallowing, she tried again.

"…Vile…"

Sigma's legendary enforcer stopped and looked back at her suddenly, feeling a strange tug in his chest at the sound of his name. He stared down at her, her shoulders trembling as she tried to regain control of herself, and for a moment, he wondered how she must be feeling.

Her last memories before being placed in stasis were nothing more than pain and defeat, and now upon waking up, she had discovered that her brother was missing, whether alive or dead she didn't know, and after that, she had been almost raped and killed. For someone who had once been feared as a Mega Man of Model W, to have her world turned upside down like this…

Considering that, Vile couldn't help but feel sorry for her. He had been telling the truth about the reason he had decided to protect her, but for the life of him, he still couldn't figure out _why_ he had made that decision.

Watching as she rubbed a hand across her eyes, regaining her self-control, Vile decided that the reason didn't matter. For now, he was glad he had done it. After all…

He closed his eyes, a wry smile crossing his face as he remembered his old, blue-clad rival.

_'…It's what you would have done, wasn't it?'_

When Pandora had recovered, he started walking again, tapping into the link again. A grim smile on his face, he contacted his partner.

**"Rika?"**

**"Yes, nii-san?"**

**"I think it's time for a change of plans…"**

* * *

In the Raiders' Command Center…

"Sir, we're receiving reports of some kind of a disturbance near Sector 3-A!"

The watch officer's eyes widened. "3-A? Isn't that where we found that capsule?"

"Yes it is! We have three different eyewitness reports that the occupant of the capsule, Pandora herself is active, and is one of the perpetrators of the disturbance!"

"One? You mean there's more than one?" The officer stopped, his going pale. "Oh no…please don't tell me it's the _other_ psychopath!"

"No sir! There's only one other person, and from what we can tell he's using some extremely high-powered ranged weapons. It is _not_, I repeat, it is _not _Prometheus!"

There was an audible sigh of relief from everyone in the command center. Sure, Pandora herself was by no means a small threat, but if it had been both of them…

Or more specifically, if it had been _Prometheus_ on the loose, then they would have all been thoroughly and irretrievably _screwed_. Yeah, either one of them would kill you without even breaking a sweat, but at least Pandora didn't laugh like a maniac when butchering legions of troops, nor did she go out of her way to find new and inventive ways to show her victims their insides. No, all of that was the M.O. of her brother who, as far as everybody except her was concerned, was _clearly_ batshit crazy.

The watch officer slumped back down, exhaling.

"Thank God for that, at least. Get me a line to Commander Krakatoa."

"Roger."

There was a moment's silence, before the speakers suddenly hummed with the voice of the Raider Commander.

"What is it?"

"Sir, we've reported intruders near Sector 3-A, where we found the capsule containing Pandora. One of the intruders appears to be Pandora herself, while the other seems to be a mercenary infiltrator. We've been trying to raise the squad that was assigned to guard the capsule room, but with no success."

"Obviously." The commander growled. "That's cause they're probably already _dead_, you jackass!"

The officer flinched at the force of the insult.

"My apologies, commander. What are your orders?"

"They're probably heading out to the edge of the forcefield for their extraction. Keep scanning for any incoming signatures and tell our forces to keep chasing them towards that area. I'll deal with them myself."

"Understood."

"And while you're at it- _**kkkkrzt! Skkkzrrrrit!**_"

The rest of the commander's message was lost in a burst of garbled static. The watch officer looked up warily.

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?"

The distorted static was the only response. Then suddenly, the lights overhead dimmed, the screens the command center glitching abruptly.

"Communication! What's going on?" The officer demanded.

"I…I don't know, sir! Everything's going completely nuts over here! It's like everything in the network suddenly decided to revolt all at once! I'm getting weird signals from all areas! Communication lines, data cables, electrical connections…all of it! It's like something's invaded the entire nervous system of our base!"

"What?"

"I've got more bad news! All of these signals, they're all moving in and connecting to the central mainframe!"

The Raiders looked up, sudden dread in their eyes.

"Wait…isn't _this_ the central mainframe?"

Near the door, two Raiders who had been posted as guards exchanged looks.

"Steve, I think it's time to go check the escape pods."

"Right behind you, captain!"

Both of them darted out. As they left, the doors slammed shut behind them, locking instantaneously. The junior one looked back at the sealed doors and whistled.

"Looks like we made it out just in time, huh Captain?"

"Yep." The older Raider nodded. "Like I said, Steve, stick with me, and you'll survive! After all, he who fights and runs away…"

"Lives to run away another day, right?"

"Damn straight! And we already got our advance pay, so let's get the hell out of here!"

Both of them disappeared down the corridor, running at full speed.

In the command center behind them, the watch officer watched in something close to panic as several Raiders tried to pry the door open.

"It's no good! This damn thing won't budge!"

Unnoticed in the mayhem, no-one noticed as the screen tracking the progress of the invading wave of assimilation beeped an alert, signaling that the surge had reached the mainframe. One of the other Raiders however, spotted another screen and gave a yell of alarm.

"We're losing all system control!"

"What do you mean?"

"That's what locked the door! Whatever this thing is, it's not just invading! It's hacking in and taking control of everything connected to the mainframe!"

"Well, shut it down!"

"I can't! It's hitting everything simultaneously! Even if I cut off one section, it'll just redirect and hack it through another one! It's like a living thing!"

"What the hell…" The watch officer slumped, his fingers gripping the railing in despair. "Is that even possible?"

What the officer still did not know, was that the answer to his question was a most definite 'Yes'. There was only one living being that could invade the network of electrical and communicative devices that formed the nervous system of any facility. Spreading like a virus through the hardware and software of the Raiders encampment, a tidal wave of nanomachines stormed forward, breaking through defense after defense.

Until, finally, they reached their target.

The static filled screen suddenly glitched again, the crackling white noise of the speakers being replaced by an ominous silence. Before anyone could react, a single eye snapped open on the blank screen. As gray as a tombstone, and as dead as the void of space, it regarded the panicking Raiders with neither pity nor any other emotion visible in its frozen depths.

"What the hell is that?" Someone yelled. The eye turned towards the source, and then all hell broke loose. A crackling, distorted sound filled. As the officer in charge saw what was happening to the screen, his eyes widened in shock.

"Mother of God…"

The screen warped and stretched, as if something was trying to tear itself free of it. The eye's gaze whirled around frantically as its owner punched and clawed, savagely tearing at the impenetrable barrier. Finally, as the creature settled down, the center of the screen began to bulge. A single long extension, the center of the screen slowly stretched out towards the center of the room. The eye blinked and shrank in, becoming a more normal size as a second one opened next to it. As the end of the…whatever it was that was stretching out of the screen, became more rounded, it began to take on a more recognizable shape.

The static filled surface began to peel back from the end, revealing skin as pale as death. High, arching brows gave way to raven-black hair, pulled back into a neat ponytail, framing its mistress' elven features. As her upper body emerged from the distorted material of the screen, the second member of Unit V, the raven queen of nanomachines, Rika, spread her arms out to the side, lines of data racing across their surface as she completed her takeover of the base's systems. Her lower body still melded with the screen, Rika's cold eyes regarded the clustered Raiders.

"Assimilation complete. All functions and controls of this base have been successfully compromised."

The officer stared up, aghast at the specter that had appeared before him.

"What the hell…What in God's name are you?" he whispered, panic robbing his voice of its strength.

Rika turned to look down at him, completing her report to her nii-san.

"Death." She replied flatly.

Several Raiders had drawn their weapons by this point, and took the opportunity to open fire. The bullets passed through her with little effect, her body melting and reforming as it repaired the holes that had been blasted in her. As they finally stopped, fear and disbelief written on their faces, Rika received her confirmation from Vile.

She reared back, raising her arms. A tidal wave of silver, mercury-like color spread down from her waist, travelling back down into the screen behind her. From there, it spread out, covering the whole room and everything within it in an opaque mercurial coating. Only the Raiders were left, standing in bewilderment as they looked around, trying to figure out what was happening.

And then the metallic world around them boiled to nanotech-warped life.

After that, all that could be heard was the screaming.

* * *

Vile strode unchallenged through the base. Rika's hostile takeover and subsequent shut-down of all of the indoor security systems had left the Raiders blind and deaf to his progress, so they were easy prey for his shoulder cannon.

It was only after he started coming across the heavily armored and armed Mechaniloids that also served in the Raiders' forces that he began to run into problems. Fortunately, he had been heading this way to get his hands on the solution to that very same problem.

Spotting the vent in the wall that had the tiny V scratched into one corner, he stepped over to it and wrenched the front of it off with a single, easy motion. Behind it, was the entrance to the ventilation system, but he could care less. The focus of his attention was the object sitting neatly in the center of it, awaiting his arrival.

Vile grinned. "Good girl, Rika."

Reaching in, he caught the rectangular box by the handle, and pulled it out easily. Staring at the royal purple metal of the armored briefcase, the crimson V that was his signature crest emblazoned proudly in the center of it, Vile gave a satisfied nod.

It was at that moment Pandora caught sight of another squad of Raiders coming around the corner, accompanied by several Mechaniloid soldiers as well. She quietly slipped into the room to warn Vile. Instead, what she got was a faceful of Vile's stolen uniform, as he tore it off and flung it carelessly over his shoulder. Underneath it he was clad only in the standard black jumpsuit worn by all combat Reploids, only his own actually seemed a bit bulkier than the norm, which indicated that his was probably more armored than the usual suit. It also included a movable joint in the shoulder for the cannon which he had folded down behind his back for convenience. Realising Pandora was in the room, he glanced at her, raising one eyebrow.

Pandora started, and gestured to the corridor. Hearing the sound of footsteps, the renegade enforcer only smirked.

"Piece of cake."

Turning back, he kicked the briefcase over. It opened automatically, revealing an interior that was crawling with advanced machinery. He stepped forward onto one of the open sides, his boots sliding into a pair of waiting clamps. As they locked into place, he reached down into the other half of the briefcase. His hands sliding into the waiting armored gauntlets, he gripped them tightly and pulled the entire case up and around him. The case splintered apart, separating into multiple sections as it shifted and changed around his body. Stretching his arms out to the sides, the complex maze of interwoven metal brought the front of the case to lock against his chest. The V-shaped crest at the center glinted in the light as entire thing shifted and transformed, molding itself into an armored carapace around his upper body. His shoulder cannon swiveled up to point at the ceiling as additional steel plating locked into place around it, transforming it from the covert-op model it had been moments ago into a devastating anti-vehicle weapon. Heavy armored boots tightened around his legs, and thick, steel gauntlets locked into place over his forearms. As the last of the armor finished clicking into place, Vile rolled his neck to work out the kinks, and clenched his fists.

The heavy battle armor he had worn for the fight against Granz now comfortably in place around his frame, he turned around. Striding past a stunned Pandora, he headed towards the sounds of the Raider patrol, cracking his reinforced knuckles.

"Now…time for some payback."

* * *

The Raiders had no warning. One minute, they were moving along without incident and then the next, an entire wall exploded outwards at them and an unstoppable colossus of flashing steel and roaring guns was in their midst.

As the stunned Raiders tried to recover, Vile's shoulder cannon thundered, blasting apart a mechaniloid in two shots. Whirling around, he brought his left arm up and out, the long barreled Buster sliding out as smoothly as a switchblade. It boomed, blasting a hole straight through three Raiders that had been in its path. Catching a glimpse of motion from behind, Vile pivoted on his heel, spinning around and lashing out with a devastating backhanded blow that practically _removed_ the luckless Raider's skull.

As a mechaniloid charged at him, slamming hard into his side, Vile went with the force of the blow, allowing himself to be knocked away. As he came back down towards the ground, he caught it with one hand and executed a smooth roll. Coming back up out of it, he spun around, dropping to one knee even as he continued skating backwards. Light flashed from the joint of his raised knee, and Vile grinned.

"Here's a trick I taught Craft!"

The Raiders barely had time to register the three frag grenades as they sailed into their midst, before they detonated in a fury of flames and razor sharp shrapnel fragments, instantly enveloping the corridor in smoke and wiping out the remainder of the Raider squad, mechaniloids and all.

As his knee joint slid back into place, covering the concealed grenade launcher, Vile got back to his feet. Dusting himself off, he strode forward to inspect the wreckage.

A long time ago, when he had woken up after the Jakob Elevator battle, Vile had found himself alive and in perfect condition. There was only one flaw: whoever had rebuilt him had somehow redesigned him so that his armor could be detached, leaving him with a body that resembled that of an average human or Reploid. Of course, that was just the appearance, since in actuality it still possessed all of his reflexes and skills. What that meant was that now, instead of his armor being his body, it was more like an augment to it, one that could be removed or equipped at will. Of course, with the armor equipped, his power was drastically increased, and depending on how he fine-tuned it, could customize the effects of that boost. In a sense, he was now like X, who could simply change armors as easily as changing clothes. Unlike X, however, who was able to instantly switch from one armor to the other, and who possessed countless different armors as well, Vile lacked the ability to do so. His armor could only be equipped manually, which of course meant that there wasn't a chance in hell that he would be able to switch armors in the middle of a battle. So instead, he possessed one armor, the one he was currently wearing, and had upgraded it in every possible sense, until it was one that could rival any of X's armors in a one-on-one fight. However, since such a thing still couldn't keep up with X's transformations, he would inevitably lose.

Of course, by further augmenting it with the Ride Armors and other warmachines that he was so proficient at, in addition to the wide array of different weapons he could use in his combat armor, ensured that even if X won, victory would not come cheaply.

One would think that with this new body, Vile possessed a fatal weakness, that being the fact that without his armor, his defenses were much weaker and that a skilled assassin could easily defeat him if they could keep him from his armor.

That deduction would be completely wrong on three counts.

First: Even without his armor, Vile was still a _combat_ Reploid. That needs no further explanation.

Second: The only time Vile ever left his armor was when he was safely back within the walls of his hideout, which even today no-one has been able to locate, thanks in part to its constant movement and extremely powerful stealth fields.

And also on rare occasions, during missions such as this one, which required him to use a more stealthy approach, he'd also remove it, as it was much easier to disguise himself as one of the enemy when he wasn't six feet tall and covered in tank-class armor. There was also the fact that his real face was completely unknown, meaning that no-one would possibly be able to draw any suspicions about him.

And of course, third: Unless said assassin was capable of defeating X, then they didn't have a chance in _hell _of taking down the only man in history to have fought the legendary Maverick Hunter to a standstill.

Even with all of this, stealth missions like this had always been inconvenient, as getting the armor back on had been quite the pain. It was Ace who had come up with the solution, which Vile was wearing at this very moment. He had somehow managed to minimize it into a compact form, allowing it to unfold and automatically transform back into the suit of armor. The Phoenix had then gone on about how he'd gotten the idea from some 'totally kickass movie' he'd seen recently and had wanted to try it out to see if it had worked. Vile had tuned out most of that, as he was more interested in seeing if it worked.

The rest, as they say, is history. The system worked like a dream. And as if that wasn't frightening enough, he was capable of linking this armor up to a Ride Armor, giving him an almost unprecedented level of control over it.

Vile gave the corpses a dismissive look before he signaled to Pandora.

"Stay behind me." He ordered. As she nodded, still in amazement at how quickly he had dispatched the enemies.

Turning, Vile started forward, his armored boots clanging heavily across the metal floor with each step.

**"Come in, Rika."**

* * *

The control room resembled nothing like what it had moments before. Everything in it had been warped and distorted, the metal looking as though it had been melted and drawn into countless frightening shapes before hardening again. Branches of it stretched from the ceiling, to the floor, from wall to wall, and then back again, all of them branching off further into smaller filaments of metal. It was as though the entire room had been transformed into a warped, twisted spiderweb of molten metal.

Perched at the junction between two such branches, Rika leaned back against the smooth metal surface, the effects of her nanomachines having left it with a glossy, almost liquid sheen.

**"Nii-san?"**

**"I'm heading for the main gate now. Are you finished?"**

**"Yes."**

**"Good. Meet us there. I suspect that Krakatoa already knows that we're planning to leave. He's probably got a welcoming committee all lined up for us too."**

**"Confirmed."**

**"Vile out."**

Rika stretched, and then in a flicker of molten quicksilver, darted back into the conduits of the base. Without stopping, she shot through the complex maze, heading for the main gate.

Behind her the lights flickered back on, revealing for the first time the horrific bloodstains splattered across the room.

* * *

A thunderous roar, and the colossal blast doors that formed the main gate crashed downwards.

Now out in the open, the reality of this small bubble of air became readily apparent. An open plain lying before him, interrupted by the scattered wreckage of Albert's facility, Vile could see all the way to the edge of this enclosed world. Rising upwards from the boundary, a clear, shimmering wall of energy pulsed and glowed, the ferocious pressure of the ocean outside held at bay by its power. The barrier extended upwards and over the entire area, a hemisphere of raw energy that separated this small illuminated world from the colossal darkness of the deep ocean around it.

Of course, all of this was completely lost on Vile as he thundered through the ruined gate, his attention focused solely on the numerous Raider troops arrayed across the plain, their weapons trained on him as they opened up.

A blistering wave of fire slammed into the legendary renegade, an assault that would have killed any lesser being a hundred times over.

It didn't even slow Vile down.

**[Cue Music: School of Hard Knocks-by POD ] **

His hardened steel body glowing red-hot from the storm of attacks, he burst through the clouds of smoke, the air around him howling as he barreled headlong towards enemies before him. A high-powered shell from his arm cannon, and two squads of Raiders vanished in an explosion of dirt and fire. A tower mounted turret spun towards him, opening fire. Vile smacked the oncoming projectile into another group of enemies with an armored bitch-slap as his shoulder cannon tore the turret apart in a hail of Vulcan bullets. A mechaniloid rushed at him and he buried it facefirst into the ground with a crushing double-handed overhead blow. Whirling as an artillery shell boomed past him, he slid out his other arm Buster and with laser-sighted accuracy, put a single devasting shell straight down the tank's cannon barrel. As it erupted in flames, he spun around again and, grabbing another Raider that had been sneaking up on Pandora, slammed his knee into the hapless Raider's gut. The grenade that Vile launched a second later blew the unfortunate man in two and enveloped the enforcer in a wall of flames that incinerated another mechaniloid that had tried to jump him. All the while, his shoulder cannon spat death, raining an unending stream of fire down on anything that moved. As fast as it mowed down one target, it moved to the next, never letting up. It automatically cycled through the three different kinds of ammunition it had available, launching Buster blasts, laser shots and slicer waves one after another. Vile's arm Busters roared, the thunder of each blast hitting home almost immediately followed by the sight of Raiders being thrown into the air. His shoulder cannon made sure none of them were alive by the time they hit the ground again.

A rumbling through the ground told him that yet another mechaniloid was approaching. Spotting the Crushpactor thundering towards him, Vile grinned.

"If you couldn't even kill the God of Destruction with a dozen of those, what makes you think one's going to be enough for me?"

Raising one leg, he broke the spiked roller in two with a single stamp kick, and retracted his right arm Buster. Stiffening his fingers, he leveled his rigid arm at the Crushpactor's main body and activated the machineguns concealed in his fingertips. Drawing his hand up, he tore the entire mechaniloid in two, the furious barrage of bullets chewing it in two straight down the center. The two halves fell to either side of him and exploded, illuminating his silhouette in a glowing ball of fire.

Pandora winced as a wave of hot air from the blast rolled past her. She had never been very good with high temperatures to begin with, and now, in her reduced state, it felt even worse.

Vile spotted several Raiders crouching behind a Mechaniloid carcass for cover, and he grinned.

"That won't be enough to stop my bullets, cowards!"

He clapped his hands together and drew them apart, frozen vapor suddenly dancing in the air around them. Vile reared up and brought both hands down, leveling his straightened fingers at the downed mechaniloid.

**"Distance Needler!"**

A hail of high powered ice spines punched through the carcass as easily as if it were paper, wiping out the Raiders on the other side. Finished with them, Vile looked up to see even more enemies still firing at him. He gave an annoyed grimace.

"This is taking too damn long…"

He glanced back at Pandora, who was still right behind him, even as he kept advancing through the storm of bullets and carnage. Even though it seemed like the whole world was attacking them, she still believed in his ability to protect her, to keep her safe. And to his surprise, Vile found himself wanting to keep that promise.

He closed his eyes for a moment, and smiled. Then as he lifted his gaze toward the troops that still surrounded him, his eyes hardened into a determined glare, and he made his move.

Pandora gave a startled yelp as Vile suddenly whirled towards her, sweeping her off her feet bridal-style and charging headfirst at the line of enemies ahead of them.

"Hold on!"

She nodded and gripped him tightly, once more placing her faith in the armored knight that had saved her. Feeling her body in his arms, her warmth against his chest, Vile wrapped his arms protectively around her, and gave a howl of challenge and leapt forward.

As the startled Raider line gave way before him, the ranks parting to let his charging form through, Vile waited before he was well into the middle of them before he started his attack. Dropping down onto one knee, he let his momentum carry him forward, sparks flying from where his armored boots screeched across the ground. Even as he continued skating forward, Vile was yelling, a wordless, unending roar escaping his jaws as the grenade launcher in his knee thundered, launching shell after shell into the air.

It was only after he had covered over a hundred meters of distance that his momentum finally gave out, bringing him to a slow, gradual halt near the wall of the barrier. As Vile saw the Raiders turning to bring their weapons to face him, he grinned.

"Too slow."

It was then that every single grenade Vile had launched struck the ground, over fifty explosions suddenly detonating simultaneously as the impacts set them off. Raging flames and crackling electricity roared to life, consuming all of the enemies in a storm of destruction as both napalm and thunder grenades went off.

Vile crouched down, shielding Pandora with his body and relying on his armor's inhuman toughness to protect them both as a wall of flames hurtled past them. Pandora tensed, feeling the raging maelstrom thundering around them, the tremendous heat almost making her pass out.

And then, just as suddenly as it had begun, it was over. In the ringing silence, she opened her eyes to find Vile still crouched over her, shaking his head slightly to recover from the effects of the blast.

"Are you…alright?"

Vile looked down at her and blinked. He was the one in the armor and she was asking if _he_ was alright? Despite the situation, the ex-Maverick cracked a smile.

"I should be the one asking that question, don't you think?"

Pandora blinked and tilted her head slightly.

"What do you mean?"

"Never mind." Vile sighed. Getting up, he turned back to view the effects of his handiwork.

When he had first emerged from the main gate, there had been a rough, uneven terrain, composed of a mixture of scattered metal debris, and mounds of the silt that lined the entire seabed. As Vile looked back towards the gate, so far away now, that was not what he saw.

What now lay before him was a charred and blackened wasteland, its surfaced scored with the countless blast craters left by his carpet bombing. Dead Raiders and demolished Mechaniloids littered the expanse of blasted earth, smoke rising from and around them.

He raised an eyebrow.

"I think I'll call that one 'Death from Above'."

He looked down to where he was still holding Pandora.

"I should probably put you down, huh?"

The witch averted her gaze. "N-no…I don't mind…"

Before Vile could ask just what _that_ was supposed to mean, Rika plummeted down next to him, her wings retracting as she landed. Leaping back up, she gave her mentor a warning look.

"Be careful, nii-san! He's coming…!"

Vile's eyes hardened. He set Pandora back down on her feet and stepped away from her, his gaze suddenly cold as he looked back towards the main gate.

"Pandora, find somewhere to take cover. This is going to get messy."

As Pandora hesitantly retreated, Vile growled as the first contacts began to appear on his sensors.

"Galleons…!"

And so it was. A wave of Galleon soldiers, a hundred strong, marched out of the gates, a lone figure walking at their head. Vile's eyes narrowed as he started to make out the details.

"Looks like the big fish came out to play after all…" he grinned as he finally recognized the form of Calam Krakatoa.

Krakatoa came to a stop twenty meters away, facing Vile as his troops fell in behind him. A relatively small person, Calam topped out at about five feet in height, his general appearance that of a thirteen or fourteen year old. He was surprisingly slender and with brilliant green eyes. He wore a fitted, gray bodysuit, the surface broken by several circular ports at each joint, a gold rim around each one. But it was Calam's hair that was the truly eye-catching thing about him.

For one thing, it wasn't actually hair.

Long, thin cylindrical cables covered his scalp, appearing almost like dreadlocks as they hung down behind him, reaching all the way to the floor. Here and there, silver bands wrapped around each cable, lights glinting on them. They appeared to be no more than simple cables, but Vile knew better. He'd heard the rumors of the young prodigy called Krakatoa, and knew just what those things could do.

Calam folded his arms and stared up at Vile arrogantly.

"So you're the rumored unit V?" He scoffed. "I was expecting someone a lot more impressive looking, considering that you beat Aeolus!"

Vile raised an eyebrow.

"And you're the famed Calam Krakatoa? Funny, _I_ was expecting someone whose voice had actually cracked already. Guess we were both disappointed, huh?"

Calam's face colored. "What do you mean 'someone whose voice had cracked already? I'm a _girl_ you idiot!"

Vile could have sworn that his visor cracked at that moment. He stared blankly at Calam, completely at a loss for words.

"Wait…what?"

"You heard me!" Calam yelled in indignation. "I'm a girl! Female! I don't know why you all keep assuming I'm a man!

Vile's eye twitched. "Well…considering the perverted stories that keep floating around about what you do with your female opponents, I think that might have had something to do with it…"

Calam snorted. "Hmph. That's just their punishment for mocking my youthful looks!"

_''Youthful looks'?'_ Vile thought, bleakly. _'No wonder she wears a suit that thin. If it hadn't been so form-fitted, there isn't a chance in hell that I would have believed she was actually a girl!'_

"I mean, just cause I don't have br-" Calam hesitated, blushing in embarrassment. "…Br-breasts, it doesn't mean I'm a guy!"

It does when you walk and act like one, Vile thought dryly.

Calam ranted on. "Look! I've got long hair!" She tugged at the mass of cables, emphasising her point.

"And I've even got a clingy bodysuit! What more do you people want?"

"I believe if you were to act more like an adult and less like an immature child, people might notice the difference."

Calam stopped in mid-rant, her jaw going slack with shock as she gaped at the speaker.

So did Vile.

Rika stood there, as calmly as if she hadn't just dropped the equivalent of a conversational land-mine on them a moment ago.

Calam's mouth worked frantically for a second, as she tried to come up with some kind of response.

"Wha…what…?" she managed finally.

"A recent study showed that people tend to recognize women more from the way they act instead of the way they dress or look. If you continue to act like a spoiled child, chances are that they will simply write you off as one and not look any deeper than that. And if you defeat them, or humiliate them, in the case of your female opponents, then it is more likely that they will make you sound like some terrible monster, in order to soothe their own bruised egos. After all, if you were to be beaten by someone who looked and acted as immaturely as you do, who would take you seriously anymore?"

Her point made, Rika simply nodded sagely and fell silent again.

Vile simply gaped at her, utterly and completely at a loss. It was like the world had just turned upside down and landed on his head. Finally, he managed to regain some semblance of coherency.

"Rika," he asked, his voice incredulous, "Where…no…WHY the hell do you know that?"

Rika blinked.

"I found it on something called the Internet. Mr. Saber told me about it the last time we saw him."

Vile swore to any god that was listening that the next time he saw Omega, he was going to beat his face in with a modem.

_Then_, he was going to install a bloody parental control on the network connection back at his home base.

A sudden rumbling in the air suddenly drew Vile's attention to the fact that all was not well in the United States of Calam.

The girl looked about ready to explode. The cables attached to her head suddenly began to raise up, writhing and flailing with a life of their own. Several of them abruptly extended, slamming into the ground behind her. As they lifted her up into the air, Calam shot Rika a glance of pure hatred.

"You…you…YOU!" She raged, apparently unable to come up with an appropriately vile insult. Don't think that just because you've got curves, you can talk down to me like that! Just who the hell do you think you're talking to?"

Rika stared calmly up at her. "I simply stated the truth. I see no reason to become as agitated as you are now."

As Calam sputtered with incandescent rage, Vile pressed a hand to his suddenly aching head.

"Rika?"

"Yes, nii-san?"

"Please, just…stop talking." Vile groaned.

"Sorry, nii-san."

"First, you confused me for a guy." Calam's voice was suddenly eerily calm. "And then you called me an immature, spoiled, BRAT?"

The cables that formed Calam's 'hair' suddenly shot outwards, a gigantic web of writhing tendrils forming a giant net in the air. Vile stared gloomily up at it. Yep, there it was. Calam's infamous tentacle swarm. Each one of those frail-looking cables was actually encasing hundreds of specially designed nano-fibers that were slaved directly into Calam's nervous system. Because of the fibers, which acted as artificial muscles, each cable possessed a ridiculous strength, a single one possessing the ability to crush solid steel with ease. She could control each and every one of them with incredible accuracy, making them do whatever she wished, able to control the amount of strength exerted by her tentacle-like cables as easily as if it were her own arms and legs.

Vile's eye twitched as he recalled that it was those very same tentacles that had been used to 'humiliate' her female opponents after she had beaten them into submission. When Vile had thought Calam was male, that had been bad enough, but to now discover that Calam was _female_ and had still done those things…

Yep, Vile was pretty sure he was going to have some pretty bad mental scarring after this.

If he didn't already have any, that is.

He could have almost cried. Really, the universe just _had_ to have it in for him! There was no other alternative explanation for his recent luck! First Aerios, who had been a total fruitcake, to say the least, and now a pint-sized, tentacle wielding pervert with self-esteem problems!

As Calam leapt to the attack, Vile sighed.

"_Why_ can't I ever fight someone normal for once?" he complained, and charged on into the fray as Calam's Galleons added their fire to their master's attack.

* * *

Hundreds of miles away, a certain God of Destruction suddenly looked up.

"My boss fight senses are tingling!" He looked around frantically. "Somewhere, someone's in the middle of a totally epic fight, and I'M MISSING IT!"

There was a purr in the darkness.

"Are you sure you want to leave _this_ fight, Saber…?"

Vix's long legs wrapped around Omega's waist, tugging him back down towards her. The God of Destruction raised one eyebrow as he looked down at her naked figure. He weighed his options for a moment, and grinned.

"Then again, I'm busy right now, aren't I?"

Vix gasped with pleasure as he buried his face in the sensitive skin at the base of her neck.

"Ye…yes, you are…!" she agreed wholeheartedly.

* * *

Back under the sea, Vile dodged under a barrage of fire from the Galleons on the ground. Seizing his left arm, he brought his elbow up to point at them. Armor plates slid aside to reveal the concealed muzzle of a rocket launcher.

**"SEEKER HEAT MISSILE!"**

Explosions burst into life among the ranks of the Galleons as Vile's heat seeking missiles blasted them into scrap metal. Grabbing another Galleon, he pulled it upright with one hand, and punched its head clean off with the other. Tossing the still firing carcass aside, he broke out the machine guns, cutting loose with every single different version he had as he started blasting away. Galleons were pathetically weak, requiring little to no effort to destroy. Vile knew that their real purpose here was not to destroy him, but simply to slow him down, keeping him distracted from the real battle. He glanced upwards uneasily.

High above him, at the apex of the net formed by Calam's tentacles, he caught flashes of light. A fierce aerial battle was breaking out overhead, and until these damned nuisances down here were wiped out, or until he could figure out how to get up there himself, he could do nothing to help.

Calam gave another scream of rage as new explosions detonated around her. She launched another wave of tentacles forward, aiming to seize or crush the one tormenting her. Rika, simply leapt over them easily, her double-barreled Buster rifles blazing as she peppered Calam with shots, attempting to score a direct hit on her main body. Unfortunately, Calam's tentacles seemed to be bulletproof too, as her shots just ricocheted off of the ones raised to defend herself.

Rika's eyes narrowed. Her arms glowed as the Busters disappeared. Suddenly, there was a flash of light, and several of Calam's tentacles separated, sliced apart by the jet-black blades that had replaced Rika's hands. Calam gave a yell of pain, and shot Rika a vicious glare.

"You'll pay for that, dammit!"

"…" Rika's only response was to suddenly morph out two extra arms, identical black blades appearing on them. Calam's eye twitched.

"…Okay, fine, if that's how you want to play it…!"

She lifted her severed cables, and in a green glow, suddenly regenerated the cut-off ends. Calam grinned evilly.

"You're not the only one with a few tricks up their sleeve!"

Rika's only response was a cold, calculating silence as she lashed out at Calam again.

* * *

Back on the ground, Vile crushed the skull of the last Galleon beneath his boot, nothing but scrap metal and spare parts scattered around him. The represented the remains of what had fifty seconds ago been a force of a hundred Mavericks.

"Bloody waste of my time…"he muttered.

Now the only question that remained was to find out how the hell Calam had gotten her hands on a squad of Mavericks that would obey her commands. The only other time Vile had ever seen that, had been during the Model O mission.

And the chaos from that insane battle spoke for itself.

"Now…how do I get up there?"

A sudden motion caught Vile's eye, and he looked around. His gaze fell on the tentacles stabbed into the ground around him, all of them shifting and relocating themselves to support Calam as she moved around high above him. He looked back up at the battle above, and then down again, and a slow, evil smirk began to spread across his face.

* * *

Calam slammed Rika backwards, a dozen of her armored cables crashing into Rika's defenses. Rika somersaulted through the air, one arm suddenly shooting out in the form of a long grappling hook that caught around several of her opponent's tentacles. Pulling on the chain, the second member of Unit V turned her motion into a wide, sweeping swing, executing a graceful arc that ended with both of her legs slamming feet-first into Calam's gut.

The Raider boss staggered back, one hand pressed to her stomach. Her face contorted into a pained grimace as she glared at Rika, who had used her wings to pull herself back to a safer distance.

"Damn, you're an annoying one…That actually hurt!"

Yelling angrily, Calam started to charge forward again, only to come to an abrupt halt. A surprised look crossing her face, she suddenly dropped down a couple feet and tilted slightly to the left.

"What the hell?"

She looked down, attempting to find the reason behind her sudden immobility, and gaped in disbelief at the sight before her.

Amidst the chaos of armored cables that served as Calam's supports, Vile whirled. Both hands extended, his icy Needlers howled, strafing everything around with a chilly storm of attacks. As they struck Calam's tentacles, they detonated, covering them in a layer of ice. The reason for her immobility was plain to see.

Dozens of her supports had already been frozen to the ground, trapped in miniature glaciers. Frantically, she tugged at them, trying to break free.

"God…dammit! Stop that, you little bastard!"

Vile looked up to see several of her cables pull back from attacking Rika, plunging down towards him.

"Finally…!" He muttered. "I was beginning to wonder if you'd ever notice!"

He didn't bother to get out of the way. Instead, he twisted his body so that her attacks just missed him, the tentacles slamming into the ground around him. Seizing a handful of cables in each armored fist, Vile tightened his grip and pulled hard, savagely yanking Calam downwards another several feet. The Raider gave a pained yelp, her instinctive recoils causing the ice around her other supports to crack, revealing the chilly metal underneath. Instantly spotting that, Vile saw the opening he'd been aiming for.

Pulling back on Calam's tendrils even harder, he kicked open the grenade launcher on his leg and took aim.

"Hey, Calam!" He yelled. "Ever wondered what happens to a material when you freeze and then suddenly superheat it?"

Calam's eyes widened in panic. "You wouldn't dare…!"

"Yes, actually, I think I would!" Vile grinned, and fired. His napalm grenades slammed into the ground, sending waves of white-hot plasma racing outwards. The ice freezing Calam's tentacles vaporized instantly, leaving only the chilled metal to bear the brunt of the attack. They defrosted in moments, and as their temperature suddenly skyrocketed, all hell broke loose.

Their armor's molecular structure strained by the terrible stress of the sudden freezing and heating, cracks suddenly appeared along the tentacle's surface, splintering their way upwards with an awful, crackling sound, revealing the raw nerves underneath.

Calam screamed, a horrible keening shriek of raw agony as the heat seared the delicate nerves, transmitting waves of pain directly into her brain. As she writhed, her flexible appendages thrashing the ground around him into ruin, Vile gritted his teeth and readied his second salvo.

"I'm not through with you yet!"

The grenade launcher concealed in his knee thundered again, launching another barrage of grenades at the ground around him. They detonated in a roar of electromagnetic power, sending out shockwaves of crackling energy.

As the rampaging energy raced across the ground, the superconductive internal workings of Calam's tentacles, their protective casings shattered by Vile's double onslaught of frost and fire, were easy prey. Countless megavolts of lightning thundered through them, and straight upwards toward Calam herself, overloading system after system as they cascaded into her.

Rika darted back as Calam went into convulsions, shrieking in gut-wrenching agony as raw lightning howled around her.

"Rika!" Vile hollered. "HIT HER!"

The raven haired girl nodded. Turning back towards the thrashing Raider, Rika morphed out two extra arms and then a _third_ pair on top of those. Jet black blades forming over all six of her forearms, and the dragonfly wings on her back suddenly glinting with a razor-edged sheen, Rika's eyes hardened.

**"DANCE OF ASURA."**

Her voice as cold and emotionless as the crushing black ocean around them, Rika launched forward. A thunderous crack in the air, and suddenly she was gone, disappearing in a blur of black and violet. A flash, and countless slashes split the air around Calam, severing cable after cable. Another flash, and more disappeared, cut off by blades that moved faster than the speed of sound.

Even Vile could not follow her passage, the brilliant violet blur of her trailing scarf the only thing visible. Up, down, around, sideways, diagonally…the violet line traced a chaotic, zigzagging path through the air, trapping Calam within an ever shrinking world of razor-edged steel.

Despite all of this, somehow, Calam managed to regain some control of herself. One hand pressed to her throbbing skull, she screamed a curse and launched several of her remaining cables to the attack. Catching Rika by surprise, she forced the nanotech to break off her attack.

"HAH!" Calam laughed shrilly. "Did you really think that would be enough to defeat me?"

"No." A cold voice spoke. "And it was never supposed to."

Rika's Dance, while an impressively powerful move in its own right, had never been meant to be a finishing move. In reality, it was to serve only as a distraction, keeping the opponent busy long enough for the _true_ finishing blow.

Calam whirled, her eyes wide in shock.

Thundering across the blasted earth, Vile was an unstoppable juggernaut. The powerful dash boosters built into his armor screaming into blazing life, the world's most powerful Renegade charged forward, racing up the complex maze of steel cables that still connected Calam to the ground.

Suddenly feeling the terrible power emanating from the oncoming colossus, Calam backed away.

"No…! NO! Stay back, damn you!"

Screaming hysterically, she launched attack after attack towards him, the panicked thought of stopping his advance the only thing in her mind.

Neither stopping nor retreating, Vile roared forward, dodging and twisting past each of her cables. Those that managed to hit him didn't even slow him down, ignoring the impacts as they tore parts of his armor free.

A brilliant glow began to emanate from his right hand. A raging wind slowly began to howl through the air, spiraling around his clenched fist. From her vantage point, Pandora gasped as she recognized the familiar, golden light.

"That's…!"

As the colossal power reached its peak, a brilliant nova of light completely engulfing his right arm, Vile drew it back. His free hand smashing aside the last of Calam's defenses, he rocketed towards her, a wordless howl tearing free of his throat.

"**GOLDEN..._RIGHT_**!"

The Raider didn't even have a chance to scream as Vile's ultimate punch slammed into her.

A flash of blazing golden fury, and suddenly they were hurtling forward, the insane force behind Vile's attack continuing forward. Calam slammed back into the forcefield that served as the barrier over the base, Vile's fist still embedded in her jaw. As the incredible voltage of the field found a new outlet through her body, a massive lightning storm tore through the air, the field distorting as the impossible power of the Golden Right strove to send Calam even further. Then, as the Renegade's fist finally slid free of her jawline, the forcefield snapped back into place, catapulting the Raider boss past Vile, shooting her clear across the open plain to crash into the ground at inhuman speeds.

The armor-clad knight landed with an earth-shaking crash, smoke rising from his body, golden lightning still dancing around his right hand. He straightened up and turned around slowly, his gaze moving to where Calam had landed.

A low moan, and slowly, Calam's battered figure rose unsteadily to its feet. The vast majority of her cables had been severed, and several of the others still twitched erratically, their controls fried by the effects of the forcefield and Vile's electrical attacks. Her prized bodysuit was torn and ripped, fortunately not in any awkward places, as Vile rather doubted he needed any more disturbing sights to ruin his day. Her left cheek was bruised and swollen, a direct result of the totally epic right cross he'd just landed on her.

He was amazed that she was still standing at all, to be honest. Last he'd checked, his Golden Right had been able to total even Maverick generals in one go. He supposed that said something about the tenacity of people who operated solely on sheer malice and pure spite.

"…Maybe one-quarter power was too low…" he muttered.

As he stepped forward, Calam's eyes narrowed, and a lopsided, malicious smile crossed her damaged face.

"I don't think so, punk!"

Too late, Vile noticed the several tentacles trailing off behind her, out of his view. He cursed, and tried to leap forward, only to stop as a cry of pain reached his ears.

"…You bitch." He growled, as Calam's tentacles roughly pulled Pandora's struggling form into sight.

Calam sneered. "I'd watch my tongue if I were you, mercenary! After all…"

Her tentacles tightened their grip and Pandora cried out again, her body suffering under the cruel pressure. Vile clenched his fists. As long as she held Pandora, he could do nothing, as any attack he launched now would cause her tentacles to tense in reflex, injuring Pandora in the process. Calam temporarily held the upper hand, and she knew it.

Seeing his helplessness, the Raider grinned.

"Now, what should I do with you, I wonder…?"

Seeing his attention flicker to Pandora again, a truly evil idea occurred to her. Smiling wickedly, she brought the rest of her remaining tendrils up, glowing as they regenerated themselves.

"Oh, I know! Why don't I give you a front-row view of how I torment my female opponents?"

Vile's eyes widened as a swarm of tentacles suddenly surrounded Pandora, who looked up at them in bewilderment.

"You wouldn't dare…!"

"Oh, actually, I think I would!" Calam whooped, throwing Vile's own words back at him. Without any further hesitation, her cables dove in, tearing at Pandora's bodysuit as they started to snake over her body.

* * *

Omega stared up at the ceiling.

"Why do I get the feeling I'm missing the perverted joke of a lifetime?"

Lying on his chest, Vix rubbed her head against him, a sultry look on her face.

"I don't know…maybe it's your brain trying to tell you it's ready for another round?"

Omega glanced down at her suddenly hungry expression and smirked.

"You're on!"

* * *

Pandora gave a yelp as the tentacles wriggling over her body suddenly spasmed and went limp. Suddenly dropping out of the air, she felt Vile's arms catch her, lowering her gently down to the ground.

As Pandora frantically got rid of the bits of tentacles that had been left behind, Vile looked back across at Calam, his shoulder cannon still-cooling from the slicer type shots it had just fired to sever Calam's hold. His expression was grim as he faced her, the last shreds of his patience evaporating.

"Now tell me how you got control of those Galleons and I might consider not bashing your face in again."

Calam stared at him in confusion. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Vile pressed a hand to his face and sighed, reigning in his temper.

"You, a Raider, are controlling and giving orders, to _Mavericks_. Don't insult my intelligence by playing dumb now. Who gave you control of them?"

Calam smirked. "Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you!"

Vile's eyes narrowed. "What are you talking about…?"

"Two days ago, someone posted a code online, claiming that it was a master control that would grant the user control over any Mavericks exposed to it. There was no signature, so no-one knows who posted it up. But for us Raiders, it's great! It doesn't work on the more advanced Mavericks, but for simple ones like these…" she gestured out to the ruined remains of the Mavericks Vile had trashed.

"They're perfect for being used as disposable cannon fodder like this!"

"…I see." Vile said, his mind racing. Two days ago…that would put it right after the Model O disaster! That meant that whoever it was responsible for giving Granz, Aerios and Siger those codes was trying to cover their tracks by letting other Raiders get their hands on it! If so many different factions began using similar codes like that, it'd be impossible to narrow it down to the source!

He needed to warn Ace, if the Scarlet Phoenix didn't already know by now. But first…

"Any more dirty tricks you want to pull?" He said darkly, cracking his knuckles. To his surprise, Calam grinned.

"Just one." She lifted her arms as the ground began to rumble ominously.

"All of that was just to stall you long enough for me to activate this!"

As the ground around them began to crack and break apart, Calam fixed Vile with a mocking glare.

"I'm sure you wondered how someone like me was able to attain the level and reputation of Raiders such as Granz and the Firestorm Tiger, right?"

Vile gave her a wary glance. He had been considering that fact himself. Against infantry units, Calam's cables would no doubt be lethal, capable of destroying even tanks, but against a serious military force she'd be torn to pieces easily. The same two Raiders she'd just mentioned would have completely obliterated her, her cables useless against Siger's brute strength or Granz's infinite armada. That meant only one thing.

There was something else to her power. A hidden trump card that they hadn't seen yet.

Vile looked down at the disintegrating earth and began to get the feeling that he was about to see that trump card for himself.

**[Cue Music: Needless OST- BloodRed Conflict]**

"Didn't you ever wonder, just why exactly it was that my faction is considered the undisputed ruler of the oceans? Or how exactly it is that we even managed to set this entire dome up, where no normal undersea craft would have survived?"

Vile was getting a massive energy reading now. He stepped back, looking around him as he vainly tried to get a read on it, but it was no use. The damn thing was too bloody big.

And it was moving.

Behind the facility to Calam's rear, he could see the opposite wall of the forcefield. Now, though, something was terribly wrong. On the outside of it, in the deep darkness of the ocean, a hostile environment where nothing should- no, _could_ not possibly exist, at this depth, something was slowly creeping up the forcefield. Vile made out over a dozen shapes, each weaving a sinuous path as they slowly snaked their way upwards. He caught sight of a gigantic steel maw creeping up behind them, centered squarely at the junction of the long, serpentine shapes. Razor sharp mandibles around the circular jaws opened and shut, revealing glowing lights deep within. It was only when he saw the massive main body, and the multiple glowing green eyes mounted over the bulbous shape, that Vile finally understood the _real_ reason that no other force in the world would dare to challenge Calam Krakatoa in the water.

For time immemorial, man has always had an instinctive dread of the darkness that is the floor of the ocean. From his mind have sprung all kinds of terrible monsters, all lurking within the infinite shadows that cloud the depths of the sea. However, there is one monster, alone among them that stands out. A beast all the more terrifying because of the fact that it truly exists, and is not merely a fictitious creation. The archnemesis of early mariners, it still holds a near mythical status even today, within the age of advanced science and technology.

The beast called Kraken.

Vile took a step back, his eyes wide with wonder.

"Will you look at that…" he breathed, amazed. "I didn't think there were any of them left! How the devil did you get your hands on a Kraken-type mechaniloid?"

Calam blinked, following Vile's admiring look up towards her pet monster. This…was not exactly the reaction she had been expecting. Mostly people either screamed hysterically and fled, or something along those lines. They didn't stand up admiring the damn thing!

Vile could care less. The Kraken-type mechaniloid was practically a myth in and of itself. Great, massive creatures, they had been created for the purposes of aquatic operations such as deep-sea construction and/or exploration, also being used as mobile bases for their crews and for transporting people and materials to and from the underwater bases. Designed and built during the golden era of Legion's construction, they had also been used to shape the coastline, reshaping the seabed to create new islands or other landmasses.

After that, they had simply disappeared. Their work done, they had been set free, sent out to further explore the depths of the ocean as they wished. As their minds were little more advanced than regular animals, that suited them just fine. Over the years, some had been found again, dead, their machinery finally giving out after so many years. Vile knew for a fact that Ace had one parked in a massive underwater tank deep within A.C.E, his scientists tossing it treats while they studied it, trying to understand its workings. Last he heard, they had managed to create a smaller model, who they had promptly dubbed 'Little Shelley' and put in the tank to keep 'Old Shelley' company.

Sometimes Vile had to wonder about the sanity of Ace and his scientists…

He shook his head. Amazing or not, the thing glaring malevolently down at him now was _clearly_ not of the friendly temperament.

"What will you do know, Unit V?"she asked mockingly. "With a word from me, my beastie here'll just reach in and crush all of you!"

Vile was silent for a moment.

Then he started to laugh, the quiet amused chuckle of someone enjoying an inside joke. Calam glared at him, irritated.

"What's so funny?"

"Ha ha…" Vile grinned, shaking his head slightly in amusement. "So the reason you've never been defeated in the water, was because you had a massive sea monster at your command?"

He looked up at her, a grin on his face.

"You called me a fool for not wondering how you could rank among Raiders such as the Gearhead, or the Firestorm Tiger. I'm afraid I must turn the very same words right back at you."

"What?" Calam snapped, confused by his words.

Vile shrugged. "Has it not occurred to you to ask exactly how _we_ got here?"

Calam stopped, taken aback. He was right! There had been no signs of a ship, or any such craft coming or going to this facility within the past few days!

_So how had they gotten here?_

At that moment, one of the crew-members inside the Kraken paged her.

"Um…Mistress Calam?"

"What is it?" she snapped, regarding the calm Unit V leader with a troubled expression.

"Uh, we're picking something…weird…up on the hydrophones."

"I don't have time for this now! It's probably just a malfunction or something!"

"Mistress, I think you really need to hear this." It was the Raider's tone of voice that finally convinced Calam that something was up.

"Fine!" she grumbled. "Put it through."

The sound came over her communications line at the same time as it rang out again, in the air around her. Calam froze, as an eerie, wailing rumble filled the air, odd clicks and distortions interrupting it now and then. She looked around, a sudden chilling feeling descending on her as she tried to find the source.

"_There's something else out there…!"_ She whispered, as the strange crooning sounded again. She couldn't tell where it was coming, the effects of the water and the field around them bouncing and reflecting it all around her.

"Mistress?" The Raider asked, definite worry in his tone now.

"I said, there's something else out there!" She screamed, "Find it! NOW!"

In the distance, hidden from the reach of the base's illumination, _something_ clutched a huge rock pillar in one mighty claw, pulling itself forward as its massive body gracefully swam over and through the canyons of the seafloor.

**[Cue music: NeedLess OST: Enemy's Shadow]**

Calam looked up suddenly as she heard a new sound. A dull _whoomp-_ing noise, that repeated itself at regular intervals.

"Control?" She said, a slight tremor in her voice.

"Yes?"

"What the hell is that?"

"W-we don't know…It…it sounds like something…swimming…"

Calam swallowed hard as she caught sight of a shadowy blur in the water. Too far away to make out properly, but it was there all right. And somehow, that indistinct blur seemed to terrify her more than if she could see it properly. It disappeared again, moving effortlessly through the water with an unheard-of grace and speed, an impossibility for anything even _close_ to that size.

Then suddenly, a brilliant flash of light, and a blue white beam of energy lanced through the darkness. Moments later, the seabed exploded, a wall of boiling water and disturbed silt washing past the field with a terrible, thundering roar. The Kraken groaned in response and latched its magnetic grips more securely onto the barrier, straining against the powerful current.

"What just happened?" Calam yelled

"We don't know! For a minute, there was a huge energy spike, and then all the sensors we planted on the seabed just went dead! Whatever it was, it just blew up over an acre of seafloor in one shot!

"What?" Calam snarled. "If there's an energy signature, then track it!"

"We can't! Whatever this thing is, it hasn't got a normal energy signature! The only time we can pick it up is when it's firing! Other than that, there's too much disruption from the terrain around us! We can't get a clear fix on it!"

"Damn, that's probably how they got in!" Calam gritted.

Any further conversation was abruptly cut off, as the cloudy water around them suddenly rippled, a huge, dark shape passing through it as it swam closer to the barrier, much closer, and passing on the opposite side of the field. As the air rumbled with its passage, Calam began to realize just how damned big the thing out there really was.

"It's circling us…" she said, dread stealing over her.

A sudden darkness, darker than night, abruptly passed over the dome. Calam looked up wildly as it passed, a dull, pounding thunder of displaced water in its wake.

"Control, _it was right overhead!_"

"We know, but we still can't get anything! We can barely make out the size of it, much less what it is! All of the debris that's been thrown up is interfering with our sensors!"

Calam looked across at Vile, sudden fear in her eyes.

"What is it? _Just what the hell do you have out there?_"

Vile smiled, cold and mocking. Folding his arms, he stared her down.

"You claim superiority over the oceans because of your monster? Haven't you ever heard the rumors of there being others, lurking down here in the darkness?"

"No! That's ridiculous! The Kraken was the biggest model of aquatic mechaniloids ever made!"

"By any civilization recorded in history, correct." Vile said, still smirking. "However, there was one other civilization that escaped the notice of the world. The one civilization believed to be a myth, but could also be considered the _ultimate_ masters of the ocean. So great were they, in fact, that the name of their city is still known in connection to the oceans of the world today."

Calam stared at him, her mind reeling. She knew of only one city in history that fit that description. Some artifacts from it had been discovered, in fact, but to this day, no-one had ever been able to find the city itself. The artifacts had been incredibly advanced for their time, fueled by an inner source of energy that still could not be unraveled.

The lost empire of the deep…Atlantis.

The eerie, moaning howl of the nameless beast outside sounded again, and Calam found her voice.

"Are you saying…that you have an _Atlantean_ creation…out there?" she croaked.

Vile stared at her, evil glee in his eyes. "Oh, not just _any_ Atlantean war machine, my friend…"

"It's _the_ Atlantean war machine."

All of the blood drained from Calam's features as she realized the true terror of the beast outside. She looked up, as the now familiar black shadow appeared in the distance, directly behind Vile. It slowly grew larger, drawing closer. It was done playing games. This was the real thing now.

Calam unconsciously found herself backing up, the ice-cold feeling in her veins driving her to get away from that thing. As it drew ever nearer, she watched it with panicked eyes.

In all of the myths of Atlantis, there had always been the mention of there being some secret passage that needed to be followed. And always throughout history, there had been ships of bold adventurers who had set off to find that passage.

And always, they were destroyed. By the great beast, the ultimate creation of the Atlanteans, a war machine that ruled the seas. Forever guarding the forgotten city that would never be found, the guardian whose name had been known throughout the ages, through every myth of the lost civilization.

Calam whimpered as the massive shadow grew nearer, the water itself rumbling around it.

"…The Leviathan…!"

Then as its colossal figure drew ever closer to the very edge of the field, its speed never faltering, she screamed and covered her eyes as she realized that it would not stop in time, that it would smash through the barrier and its dark, nightmarish limbs would reach for her.

As several minutes passed, silently, she risked another look.

Nothing.

Vile still stood smugly, the ocean behind him as dark as ever. There was not a trace of the huge shadow that had been approaching moments before. Over the line, she could hear her Raiders breathing a sigh of relief as they too recovered. She was about to fire off a mocking retort at Vile, before something told her that things were not over. Too late, she realized that the water on the other side of the barrier behind Vile was too dark, darker than it had been before.

As two blazing, triangular red eyes snapped open, the mechanical lenses irising as they zoomed in on her, she looked up, and up, and she realized the true size of the foe she was facing. The reason she had missed seeing it at this close range was because it was just _too damn big_!

The Leviathan shrieked a battle cry as its massive form reared up. It was colossal, easily rivaling the huge Kraken. Its body resembled a cross between a lobster and a scorpion, a large, segmented tail stretching out behind it and with two colossal pincer claws at the front of its body, segmented armor plates covering purple tinged sinews. One pincer was a pair of razor sharp talon, designed for slicing apart anything it seized, will the other split off into four spike tipped points, better for gripping and crushing its targets. Two smaller arms extended from just below the neck joint, more flexible and maneuverable, used for capturing and examining any possible prey that would fall into its grasp. Its entire body was covered in sleek, dark green, almost gray steel armor, violet colored wiring and cables visible within the joints and beneath the armor. Strange, alien looking tattoos ran all over its upper carapace and limbs, a matrix of swirls and jagged edges. The armor itself was covered in ridges, looking for all the world like that which you would find on the back of a normal crustacean. The tail that drifted behind it had three fins, one vertical and two horizontal, overlapping several smaller fins inside of the three main ones. More wiring and metal connections stretched from it to the main body surrounding a single central, skeletal-looking support. Beneath the long, lobster-like tail, eight insect-like legs lay folded up against the body, all ending in clawed feet.

As the Leviathan tore a hole in the forcefield, its armored head smashed through it, emerging just above Vile as it extended its neck, the wide, flaring armor over its shoulders shifting to better protect it. The antenna-like sensor arrays fanning out to either side of its face flickered, responding to changes in the new, dry atmosphere. Several tendrils of its own flickered outwards, the clawed tips biting deep into the ground as it sought to anchor itself properly.

"You're not the only one who possesses a sea monster, Krakatoa!" Vile said coolly, his voice audible even over the sounds of the water pouring in around his warmachine's entrance. Calam cursed and sent a wave of her tentacles up towards her own warmachine, a hatch opening to pull her up and away from the water that threatened to overwhelm her.

Spotting her escape, Vile gave a whistle and tapped on the green metal. The mammoth head turned slightly, its eyes finding Vile and moments later the smaller claws punched through the barrier as well. Picking up Pandora, Vile leapt onto the offered claw, Rika right behind him. As the claw brought him level with the side of its head, a smooth, organic-looking hatch irised open and Unit V climbed in. Following the dim red-lit passageway, Vile arrived at the cockpit.

He suspected that at one point, the Leviathan had actually been a crewed vessel, the Atlantean equivalent of a battleship, which would explain the hatches and the vessel-like interior, as well as the huge, spacious bridge that he now stood on. But after the fall of Atlantis, it appeared as though its autopilot had taken over. As a result of that, it patrolled the area where its home had disappeared, and perceiving any incoming vessels as invaders, had mercilessly wiped them out.

It had been Ace who had sent Vile to investigate, knowing his expertise with ancient warmachines, as well as his skill as the best damn pilot in this world _or_ the next. But even he had nearly been at a loss. The bloody thing had almost killed him the first three times he'd tried to take it. It wasn't until he literally got on top of its skull and started pounding on it with the Golden Right before it had actually noticed him. Once Rika had gotten inside its workings, she discovered that it did in fact possess a sort of AI. In terms of personality, it was like a bloody wolfhound. Savagely violent to its enemies, and unswervingly loyal to its allies. Rika had managed to convince it not to see them as a threat, and well, you can probably guess the rest.

It had taken Vile a month just to learn how to decipher the bizarre hieroglyphs that Ace had suspected (correctly, as it turned out) to be the Atlantean language, and then another two months to figure out how to drive and repair it. Needless to say, the Leviathan itself had considerable headaches for the first few weeks, after several unplanned collisions with various cliffs and, occasionally, the seafloor. Eventually, they reached a compromise, both Vile _and _the Leviathan working together to turn the colossal warmachine into an even more frightening foe.

When it wasn't in use, the Leviathan would simply return to its home territory, continuing to protect the land it had guarded for so long. So in a sense, it was like a Ride Armor intern for the Renegade.

As Vile stepped up to the console that that served as the Leviathan's controls, the machine hummed a greeting. Smashing its colossal head free of the now hopelessly breached forcefield, it pulled up and away as the sea reclaimed its prize. Like the barrier separating two fighters from one another, the field disappeared to reveal Calam's Kraken, its massive tentacles thrashing as it rose upwards, its multiple eyes glinting viciously as it found the Leviathan. Vile could almost _see_ Calam's furious snarl as she sent her pet monster surging to the attack.

As the Leviathan hummed with contented life around him, its decks thrumming with an eagerness for battle, Vile smiled and patted the control reassuringly.

"Attaboy, Landis." He grinned, saying the nickname he'd given to this particular warmachine as he stared up at the oncoming Kraken, feeling the Leviathan bring its two powerful combat claws up to a ready position. On its own, the Leviathan could probably have taken the Kraken using the countless centuries of experience, and its own animal savagery. But knowing Calam, there was probably any number of nasty tricks lying in wait. But with history's greatest pilot backing up the Leviathan…

"All right then. A battle of war machines it is!"

The Renegade enforcer, victor of countless Ride Armor duels, and piloting ace of the Maverick Wars slammed the throttles to their stops, a savage smile crossing his face.

"Fresh sushi tonight, Landis! Let's _gut_ this damn fish!"

The Leviathan gave a howl of agreement and leapt forward, brilliant blue white energy crackling from the antenna around its face.

The two titans slammed together in a fierce collision that shook the undersea world for miles, their roars echoing through the silent world as they sought to determine once and for all, the one worthy to bear the title of being the _true_ master of the seas.

* * *

Some time later…

The marine world lay silent, the cataclysmic battle now finished.

A jet-black shape cruised slowly through the depths. Powerful spotlights shining through the murky water, it moved smoothly onwards. A massive battleship, looking as though it belonged on the surface of the water, rather than deep below it, its hull was painted a dark black and as smooth and clean as polished steel. Its deck and superstructure bristled with guns and cannons as powerful sensor arrays searched the darkness around the ship. Five powerful fusion engines burned brightly at its rear, propelling the mighty vessel onwards.

Through the large windows that formed the front of the ship's bridge, one could clearly see into the illuminated command deck. A single figure stood there, his arms folded as he regarded the ocean outside. After a few moments, his gaze shifted downwards to a flicker of motion. One spotlight following it, a lone figure looped and dived through the water, moving through it as naturally as if she had been born in it. Spotting her moving towards one of the lower docking bays, the man nodded and turned away, sweeping out of the control room and down towards the docking bay his companion had just swum into.

As the water drained away, the figure stepped forward and dropped to all fours. The gills at the side of her neck closed, and she gave a slight cough as her lungs reconfigured themselves to breathing air instead of water. The long streamlined fin that ran from the back of her head and down her spin melted and flowed into a long mane, two animalian ears poking up through the red-brown hair. Her muzzle changed from streamlined and angled form it had been, to an almost wolf or lion-like one.

Finally, as the sleek, smooth gray skin that covered her entire body receded, transforming back into dusky yellow fur, two feathered wings sprouted from her back and she shook herself to get the last of the water out of her fur.

Her serpentine tail lifted itself up and spat out the miniaturized scuba mask and mouthpiece it'd been using during the dive.

"Dammit, I _hate_ it when I have to get wet!"

"Oh, quit whining, Snake! At least be grateful that I actually _remembered_ the oxygen tanks this time!"

"Ah-hem."

She looked up, to find her other comrade standing nearby, his arms folded and tapping one finger impatiently.

"Oh hey Captain, didn't see you there."

The Captain's right eye twitched, water dripping down his clothes from his companion's shaking.

"Yeah, I sort of guessed that." He replied testily.

Ten minutes later, after a hot shower and a change of clothes, he met her back on the bridge.

"So, did you find anything?"

His feral companion shook her head in disappointment.

"No, I'm afraid not. That signature we were tracking turned out to be a lot older than I thought. He was here all right, but not any time recently."

Her serpentine assistant swung around to face the Captain.

"Sorry, but the best we can give you is that he passed through here anywhere from six months to a year ago."

The Captain pressed a hand to his chin, rubbing it in thought as a disappointed look crossed his face.

"Damn…So much for that plan. Looks like we'll need to find anothertrail to follow."

He stopped as the sound of running footsteps reached their ears. Turning, they were just in time to see the doors to the bridge open and allow a third person onto the deck.

"Captain! S.Z! Did you-ack!"

The new girl tripped over her own feet, crashed into a nearby table, knocked down a stack of papers, and then fell down the steps, bouncing and rolling before landing in an ungainly heap in front of them.

Both of them sighed. Snake shook his head in despair.

"She just gets klutzier every time I see her."

While his ally whacked her smartmouthed assistant over the head, the captain helped the newcomer to her feet.

"Elisa, what have we told you about running in the corridors?"

The girl sniffed and rubbed at her sore nose.

"That I'm a danger to myself and everybody within fifty feet?"

"And…?"

"Give you guys ten seconds warning to get out of the way?"

"Exactly!" The Captain grinned sagely, pleased. His companion, S.Z. shook her head.

"I feel sorry for your kids when you have some…"

"Hey, I'd make a great dad!"

Before the two of them could start bickering again, Elisa spoke up, her voice hesitant.

"U-um…I heard you came back from scouting…Did you…" She hesitated, before she finally gathered up the courage to continue.

"Did you find anything?"

Both the Captain and S.Z. stopped, looking at her. They straightened up, suddenly avoiding looking at her. The Captain coughed awkwardly.

"Um…no. It was a dead end. Er…sorry…?"

Her face fell, clouding with a mixture of disappointment and sadness.

"Oh…oh. I-I see."

The Captain tugged nervously at his collar, then looked desperately across at his friend. S.Z. sighed and stepped forward. Placing a hand on the girl's shoulders, she gave her a gentle shake.

"Hey. Elisa, look at me."

As she did so, S.Z. gave her a comforting look.

"Don't worry about it. All it means is that we'll just have to find another possible signal and start tracking it. He _was_ here, but a while ago."

As Elisa looked at her, S.Z. went on.

"We know he's here, on this world. And whatever he's planning, he's staying here until it's done."

"But what if he leaves after that?"

"That won't happen." The Captain stepped in. "We'll definitely find him, before he has a chance to disappear on us again!"

"And when we do, me and the Captain'll make sure to hit him a few good whacks for making you worry! So you just dry those tears of yours and wait! We'll definitely track him down!"

Elisa looked up at the two of them for a moment, unsure of what to say.

"…Promise?"

S.Z. nodded emphatically. "We promise. Right Captain?"

She looked across at her friend, who grinned and flashed them a thumbs-up.

"You've got the Captain's word on it! We'll catch up to him, no sweat!"

Elisa smiled, feeling some hope return to her. She ducked her head, hiding her tears as she managed a smile.

"Thank you…both of you."

With that she turned and started running back up the stairs, brushing at her damp eyes with one hand.

"I…I'll go see if I can find any more signatures on the scanners!" she called back. "Maybe there's one I missed!"

Watch her run off, new determination in her stride, the Captain's glasses flashed angrily.

"I swear to God, when I get my hands on him, I'm going to knock his ass into next weekend, just for making Elisa cry."He growled.

S.Z. nodded, an equally dark look on her face.

"You'll have to beat me to it." She muttered, turning back to the window. "She was always the most happy-go-lucky one out of the four of us. Seeing her like this is…"

She trailed off, unable to finish, rubbing her arms as she stared out at the ocean depths. The Captain nodded in agreement as he turned to look out the window himself.

"Yeah, it's been hard on all of us, but she's got it the worst…"

Silence descended, as the two of them stared out at the barren seafloor, lost in their own thoughts.

Eventually the Captain broke it, watching as the spotlights continued to play over the aquatic world beneath them.

"Looks like we just missed some action, though."

S.Z. followed his gaze and nodded. "Yeah, I noticed that myself."

The sea floor was littered with wreckage. Some chunks were massive, defying any efforts to identify their source. Others were smaller, scattered all around in irregular, random patterns. Whole new canyons had been carved into the rock, some with melted edges, looking as though energy weapons had been brought to bear on it, while others looked considerably more painful, appearing as though something huge had been smashed into it at high speeds, something that should have been completely impossible in these movement-hindering conditions.

"Looks like it was a hell of a fight, whatever it was. Pity we missed it."

As the great battleship slowly moved on, it missed the shattered hulk that lay impaled on one of the nearby rock spires, one of many that dotted the ocean floor.

The huge, ruined body of the Kraken lay sprawled over the seabed, its few remaining tentacles drifting aimlessly in the current. Its many eyes shattered and with huge, gaping wounds slashed all over its body, a few sparks still flickered, remnants of shattered power cables sparking off in the water. It lay there, its limp sagging form a testament to the might of the one who had bested it.

As darkness fell again, the last lights of its body flickered and died, as the endless abyss slowly closed in around it.

* * *

**A/N:** Oh, what, like you were expecting any other outcome? Please, this is VILE we're talking about here. And as for the Leviathan itself…

Well.

For those of you who remember old movies, there was an animated Disney movie called Atlantis: The Lost Empire. It's from that movie that I borrowed the Leviathan. If you're not familiar with that movie, I _highly_ recommend watching it! It was excellent, and I mean that in every sense of the word.

For those of you who haven't watched it, and just want to see this 'Leviathan' I keep going on about, you can just check my DA Journal for the links, if you haven't already seen them. They were the ones I told you to watch because it'd be a big help later.

I watched this movie when it first came out in cinemas years ago, and even now, I still can't help but be in awe of that damned war machine. I swear to God I practically fell in love with it from the first moment I saw it on the big screen. The armor designs, the way it freaking _moves_ in that damn water (Seriously, what the hell! It's big enough to take out a bloody aircraft carrier and it moves through the water like it's a bird in the sky!) I cannot emphasise how _unbelievably_ kickass this thing is!

Ten years later, and I have still to find any aquatic monster, mechanical or otherwise that can top this thing.

And of course, if you're going to go with deep-sea monsters, of course you've gotta have a kraken!

Anyway, that wraps up our little sidestory starring Vile, Rika and Pandora! From next chapter, it's back to everyone's favorite ladies-man, bloodthirsty swordfighter and all around specialist in badassery, Omega!

Woo! Next time, more fights, more laughs, and probably a good bit more sexually themed humor! Look forward to it!

…Or not.

Why yes, I did watch Iron Man 2 the other day. Why do you ask?


	17. Chapter 16: MEGAMERGE!

**Chapter 16: MEGAMERGE!**

Disclaimer: Capcom owns their stuff, while everything else is mine.

* * *

Omega stepped out into the sunlight, stretching his arms out with a decidedly satisfied air. Cracking his neck, he gave a yawn and then looked back up at the front of Vix's Tech. He certainly hadn't gotten a lot of sleep, that was for sure!

After leaving A.C.E, he and Celtis had separated, the female Hunter heading back to her apartment for some long overdue sleep, while he had decided that he needed to kick back and relax a little. Fortunately, Omega just happened to know one woman who would be more than happy to help with that!

Once he'd gotten here, Vix had been only too willing to go along with it, as she'd been lusting after him ever since their last unfinished 'conversation'. They'd damn near gone all the way before she managed to regain enough self-control to get them to residential area at the back of the warehouse. After that…Well.

Omega grinned with satisfaction as he recalled the hot and steamy hours that had followed. Better still, he'd also discovered that Vix's so-called 'copy' was as real as she was, and just as talented in bed too! It had been like showing up expecting one girl and then scoring with a pair of twins instead!

"Best. Night. Ever." The God of Destruction chuckled. After last night, he figured Vix probably wasn't going to be up and about for some time, which meant that he might as well go get Celtis and figure out what their next move was. Considering the fact that they hadn't gotten any reward other than Leos' own, Omega suspected that they were going to need some extra funds pretty soon.

His account hacks were good for paying off his operatives, Syrene being the only one for now, but Omega was a bit leery about pulling cash out for himself, since that'd probably be a lot harder to hide or explain. He sighed as he realized where this was heading.

"Great. I gotta go find a job."

* * *

He reached Celtis' apartment to find her standing outside the door, a _most_ pissed look on her face.

"What the hell's up with you?"

Celtis' eye twitched involuntarily.

"What's up with _me_? Omega…!" She shut her eyes, and willed herself not to explode.

"Would you care to explain to me why there is a _large hole_ knocked in the wall behind the refrigerator?"

Omega blinked. Then, folding his arms, he looked up at the ceiling a puzzled look on his face as he racked his memory. Then he snapped his fingers, his expression brightening.

"Ah-ha! I got it!"

Glancing back at Celtis, he grinned.

"Well, you remember how you were wondering how I'd managed to get back in, even after you tried to lock me out?"

"Yes…?"

Omega snickered. "Well, there's your answer, kid!"

Celtis stared at him for a moment.

"You're telling me…that to get back in…you punched a hole in the wall, climbed through and _then shoved the fridge in front of it so I wouldn't notice?_"

Omega counted on his fingers for a minute before replying, a confident smile on his face.

"Hmmm…Yep, that's pretty much it!"

"AAAAARRRRGH!"

* * *

Ten minutes later, the inevitable brawl was interrupted by the phone ringing. Watching as a panicking Celtis scrambled all around the room in a mad dash to avoid the various weapons chasing her, courtesy of Omega's Gate of Babylon, he fired up the line, raising an eyebrow as Ace's face popped up on the small screen.

"Oh. Saber? Sorry, I was trying to get through to miss Arcana."

"Nah, no problem. She's here too."

As if on cue, a thoroughly battered Celtis staggered onto the screen.

"He…hello, Ace."

The Phoenix raised an eyebrow. "Wow, you look like crap. What happened?"

"Oh, she was just a little rough in bed last night." Omega commented airily from the background. "You know how it is with some girls!"

Without another word, Celtis grabbed a flying warhammer from out of the air and belted the surprised God of Destruction straight through the wall, into the street outside. After the sounds of screeching tires and a couple metallic crashes, what sounded like a faint "Don't worry, I'm okay!" floated back up through the new window.

"Nuts." Celtis muttered, before turning back to the phone. Amazingly, Ace seemed entirely unbothered by the fact that she'd just swatted him out with a warhammer that had apparently been randomly nearby. Seeing the question in her expression, Ace shrugged.

"Let's just say similar things are pretty common over here too."

There was a sound like an angry yell of "AAAAACCCCEEEEE!" and suddenly what looked like an entire crate of DVDs and manga hurtled onto the screen and clonked Ace squarely in the head. There was a yelp, followed by some muffled cursing as the Phoenix disappeared off the screen.

"For the last time, GET YOUR CRAP OUT OF MY OFFICE!" A familiar voice yelled angrily, before storming out and slamming the door again. After several moments, a hand reached up weakly and grabbed onto the desk. The Scarlet Phoenix pulled himself up again, a sizable lump on his head.

"See what I mean?"

"Er…right." Celtis sweatdropped.

Ace shook his head briefly, magically restoring himself to a completely undamaged appearance. He grinned brightly.

"Now, onto other things! I've got something I want you two to check out for me."

Celtis looked surprised.

"Us? Why? What about Ashe and the others?"

Ace's eye twitched.

"Ashe is…incapacitated, for the time being. Grey is heading off down to the airfield to meet someone as well, so for the time being, they're both busy."

"Uh…'Incapacitated'?" Celtis raised an eyebrow.

Ace sighed, "She went out and got totally wasted last night, so she's got the mother of all hangovers right now."

"Oh. Er…huh." Celtis looked around for a moment, searching for something to say.

"Yeah. Oh, and Unit V is currently returning from a mission of their own, so I'd rather not send them out again so soon. Plus I just know that they're on the way. I have no clue when they'll actually be back. So at the moment, you two are the only ones available at the moment who are still fresh."

"All right…" Celtis said, still a bit uneasy. Ace saw her hesitation and rolled his eyes.

"Fine, there's also a 9500 EC reward as well. Now are you interested?"

There was the almost audible 'CHA-CHING!' of jackpot reels and suddenly both Celtis and Omega were practically attached to the screen, the latter somehow magically reappearing in the room at the sound of the reward.

"SOLD!"

In his office, Ace pressed a hand to his face, already feeling a headache coming on.

"I swear to God, I need a vacation…"

Resting his elbows on the table, he leaned back into his seat, arranging his fingers into a steeple before him, he turned back to the screen, his features settling back into the cool imperiousness of Legion's Security Commander.

"All right then. Satellite scans have shown a considerable amount of Maverick activity out in the desert. More specifically, in the general area of the Model O battle. We suspect that there may still be traces of Model O's power in the area that may be acting as a lure to draw them in. However, they seem to have taken a considerable interest in the area, appearing almost to be searching for something. We haven't had time to salvage the wreck as yet, so there may well be something there that may still prove useful to them."

"So what do you want us to do?" Omega queried.

"Investigate, of course. Get in there, find out what they're looking for, retrieve it if possible, blow it up if not, and in general raise all kinds of hell in there. That seems to be you two's specialty, so this should be right up your alley."

Omega flashed a thumbs-up, grinning with anticipation.

"Oh, you have _no_ idea!"

When they had left, Ace stared down at his desk, a perplexed look on his face as he regarded the data concerning Saber.

Or more specifically, his sword. Something about that strange weapon set Ace's senses on edge. That violet, cross-shaped blade…It seemed familiar, as if he had come across that design before, along with the ridiculous power it had unleashed against Granz.

Actually, now that he thought about it, Ace realized that he hadn't actually seen the effect of that sword, as he had been slightly occupied by Model O's attempts to snap him in half. Instead, he'd just heard the accounts of it from other personnel who _had_ seen it. He reached for the intercom.

"Operations?"

"Yes, Commander?" The cheerful female voice of one of his A.C.E operators came on the line. He suddenly remembered Saber's parting shot at him before leaving A.C.E and flushed. Shaking his head to dispel the thought, he gave a mocking smile.

_'Naaaaaaah. He's just messing with me!'_

"Yes, I'd like you to send up all of the image and video data we have on the Model O transport mission."

"Roger that, sir! Will there be anything else?"

"Uh…no, I think that's probably it for now. Phoenix out."

That done, he spun his chair around, facing towards the panoramic view of the city. As he stared out over the world he protected, Ace's face clouded as he continued attempting to unravel the mysteries that followed in the wake of Model O.

And back at the door to her office, Marino, peeking through the partially opened door, gave a gentle smile and closed it. She sighed, leaning back against the wall.

"I guess he can keep his stuff in here for a _little_ longer…"

* * *

Celtis blinked as the lights of the transfer faded. Next to her, Omega cursed and shook his head woozily.

"I fucking _hate_ doing that…" he muttered. As he looked around, his freshly repaired crimson suit waved in the passing breeze. Kitara had been as good as her word, getting everything restored to almost perfect condition. Her reward for that had been…well, let's not go into that now, other than that Omega could now say for certainty that she was an _excellent_ kisser. He'd almost gotten her as badly as Vix, but he decided to break it off. After all, no sense giving her the _full_ reward just yet.

After all, there had to still be something to work for!

While Omega was enjoying his lecherous thoughts, Celtis was looking around. They had landed atop a rocky bluff overlooking the plains below. From here, Celtis could make out the shape of the wrecked train, as well as the terrible scars blasted into the surrounding terrain, remnants of the God of Destruction's fury. Spotting the crater left by the destruction of Granz's Orotic, and the graveyard of scarred and battered weaponry that impaled the landscape, she looked back up at Omega uneasily.

No matter how carefree or unconcerned he seemed to be, the one thing that she could never allow herself to forget was the truly immense power hidden behind that mask. The birthright of the being known as the God of Destruction was never to be underestimated. Those who did make that mistake…

She looked back down at the blasted and scarred desert again and gulped.

Those who made that mistake usually never lived long enough to make it again.

Shaking her head to clear her depressing thoughts, Celtis looked around again, remembering Ace's words.

_"I've already sent one of my agents ahead to scout the area. He should be there waiting for you once you arrive, and will assist you for the duration of the mission."_

"That's what he said…" Celtis muttered, "But where the heck _is_ he?"

It was at that moment that the rock wall behind them shifted. Omega whirled, his Buster in hand, leveling it almost instantaneously at the center of the blur. It was at that exact instant that a massive, jet black cannon emerged from it, moving at a speed that matched Omega's as the barrel came to a stop inches away from his face, humming menacingly. The God of Destruction raised an eyebrow.

Well, this was certainly new.

As he noticed the size, however, he smirked. He'd seen this unique weapon once before…

"Nice to see you too, Sniper-boy."

The rock blurred again and was swept away to reveal the crouching form of Hadrian Craft, his infamous cannon _Neige_ hefted in one hand as he trained it on Omega. As his other hand swept his cape back out behind him, its pattern shifted and blurred, changing from the dusky, sandstone coloration back to its normal cool teal-green color.

"A camo-cape?" Omega whistled. "I'm impressed."

Craft merely gave a slight smile and lowered his cannon.

"I am a soldier after all. This is all just par for the course."

The massive commando straightened up and gave him a piercing look.

"But of course, I'm sure you already knew that, right…God of Destruction?"

Omega stiffened as Celtis gasped. Tightening his grip on the Buster in his grasp, Omega narrowed his eyes.

"Who are you and why do you know that title?"

Craft stowed his cannon away and folded his arms.

"My name is Hadrian Craft. As to why I know your true identity, well, that would be for two reasons. Firstly, that I am from the same era as you, the era of Neo Arcadia. And secondly…"

Craft gave a bitter smile.

"We both share a previous employer."

"Previous…?" Omega caught the harsh look on the man's face and his eyes widened as he caught on.

"Weil!"

Craft nodded. "I was the Commander of his generals in the period following your fall. Weil had taken over, turning Neo Arcadia into a dictatorship and ruling it with fear and death."

"Yeah, that sounds like old Lava-lamp, all right." Omega muttered darkly, lowering his Buster slightly.

"As his commander, I fought the Resistance and their champion, who I'm sure you know all too well."

Omega smiled grimly. "Damn straight I do. What happened?"

"What else?" Craft smiled. "I lost."

"But that was what saved me in the end. Believing that I was wrong, and that Weil's evil truly needed to be stopped once and for all, I took over his orbital laser cannon and attempted to turn it against him."

"Wait, hold on a sec. Orbital laser? You mean Ragnarok?" Omega's voice was incredulous. "He actually _built_ that piece of crap?"

"Yes, and he almost destroyed everything with it. When I turned it on Neo Arcadia, Zero and the Resistance intervened. They evacuated the city before it was destroyed and then I fought Zero for the last time. You can guess the result."

Omega smiled humorlessly.

"Let me guess…a one-way ticket to the big chicken farm in the sky, right?"

"Essentially." Craft nodded. "My body was left on Ragnarok, which was then destroyed in the atmosphere when Weil tried to ram it into the Earth."

"Huh. So…How'd you get your body back?"

"As I'm sure you're aware, our former employer's specialty lay in Reploid 'resurrection'. To assist with that, he built a system into all of his creations that would periodically copy all of the host's data, like personality and memories, and then transmit it to a hidden storage facility."

"Creating a backup copy in other words." Omega interjected.

"Exactly. After that, all Weil needed to do was reinstall that data into a new body. In my case, it appears that someone discovered that hidden facility, and in the period between the fall of Neo Arcadia and the rise of Legion, took that information and hid it within the databanks of A.C.E, where it fell into Ace's hands. With the data he found, he was able to recreate a duplicate of my original body, but with more modern upgrades and technology."

"He rebuilt you from schematics?"

At Craft's nod, Omega's eyes narrowed. "That intel…If it constantly creates backups, and Ace now has it, that means that he can rebuild any of Weil's creations! That probably includes me too!"

Craft shook his head. "Your information isn't on that disk. Weil made certain of that, since about the only thing he feared was for someone else to get their hands on it and to build another God of Destruction, one that would be turned against him. Thus, the only place he kept that information was in his head, stored in his artificial body's memory banks. As for resurrecting the others…well, any history book will tell you of the Einherjar or the Hachishinkan's evil under Weil's command. I was an exception, in that I turned against Weil, and that's why Ace chose to bring me back. He won't risk resurrecting a Maverick."

"Well, that's interesting enough." Omega commented airily, "Now for the million-dollar-question…"

His Buster came back up, his gaze suddenly as cold as ice.

"Have you told anyone else this?"

"I don't intend to, no."

The answer caught Omega off guard.

"What? What the hell does that mean?"

"It means exactly that. I have not told anyone about your true identity, nor do I plan on doing so. Like your friend from Unit V, I too am interested in seeing how things will turn out if they continue this way. So rest assured, your secret is still safe. Now, since we've got that out of the way, could we get back to the task at hand?"

Craft gestured to the squad of Galleons that had snuck up on them during the discussion. Omega looked around at them dispassionately, pulling his Buster back slightly as he scanned them.

"Alright then. You two don't move an inch. Otherwise, I ain't responsible for whatever body parts might get lost."

Ten seconds later, the Gate of Babylon descended, wiping out all of the enemies around them. Craft brushed himself off as he looked around, the weapons flashing and disappearing to reveal nothing but scrap metal.

"That's a pretty useful trick."

"You have no idea." Omega grinned, watching Celtis struggle from where he'd pinned her to a nearby rock.

* * *

They were closer now, hidden behind various obstructions that littered the desert surface. Omega raised an eyebrow as he saw the number of enemies swarming around the wrecked train.

"What, are you kidding me?" He grumbled. "My grandmother could take care of this!"

"You don't have a grandmother." Craft muttered.

"My point exactly!"

Celtis sweatdropped, then decided to step in before things got any weirder.

"Okay, so Mr…Craft, was it? You were here before us, so did you find anything out?"

"I know nothing about what it is they're searching for. There's no real pattern, and they've just been milling about aimlessly for the last day or so."

"So what do we do now?" Celtis asked.

Both men looked at her for a moment, then back at each other.

"She's a new one, huh?" Craft said pityingly.

"Complete noob." Omega agreed. Turning to Celtis, he explained it in the simplest terms he could manage.

"Well, since we don't know what they're doing, obviously, we'll have to find out!"

"And just remind me how exactly it is we do that?" Celtis asked, a familiar dread forming in the pit of her stomach.

The familiar violet flare of Omega's Zweihander burst into life, casting demonic shadows on his face.

"Simple."

Whirling around, he leapt from cover, charging headlong at the mass of startled enemies, Craft close behind him.

"WE BEAT THE SHIT OUTTA 'EM UNTIL ONE TELLS US!"

* * *

Ace looked up as a light flashed on his desk. Keying it, he was rewarded by the sight of the Unit V logo. He spun his chair around to face it fully, stunned. Vile almost never contacted him directly!

"Vile? What's going on?"

"Ace? That 'mastermind' of yours pulled off another fast one."

"You mean you finished the mission? Already?"

"Yes, and I found an unexpected 'prize' as well. But that'll have to wait until later. For now, you need to know what I found out."

As he listened to the truth of the Mavericks being controlled, Ace's eyes widened.

'_They're not there because of Model O…They're being used as bait!_'

Ace reached for his second communications line.

"Vile, I gotta go! I'll call you back!"

* * *

A violet flash, and a dozen Galleons fell, shredded by Omega's colossal Zweihander. Leaping aside, a dozen grenades shot through the space he had been in a second ago, blowing away a mutos Maverick.

"Nice shot, Sniper-boy!"

Craft's knee plating slid back into place and he swept his cannon up and around, launching a massive serrated blade ahead of him and skewering four Mavericks with it. Gripping the cannon's trigger, he fired the blade off, wreaking still more havoc as it plowed through the enemies.

A thunderous blast and several insect-like mechaniloids fell from the air in a shower of disintegrating metal parts.

"Omega! There's more of these things coming!"

"Great!" He yelled back, "Now, less talky, more shooty!"

Turning his attention back to the fight, he blew a Galleon's head off with a point-blank Buster shot to the face and then flung the Zweihander overarm. The massive blade shifted in mid-whirl to the screaming buzzsaw that was the Red Ripper, tearing through the enemies.

"Haha!" Omega crowed. "FUCK you, douchebags!"

A wolf mutos that leapt at him from behind met Craft's boot going the other way. As it went down in a pile of Mavericks, the commando spun and nailed it dead-center with a brilliant blast of blue-white light. The entire dogpile vanished in a deadly explosion.

"Don't get too carried away now, hero." Craft smiled. Omega's only response was a rude hand gesture thrown over his shoulder as he stomped another opponent's face into the dirt.

Then he felt it. A strange pulse of energy through the air and suddenly a low, subsonic rumble began, the ground around them beginning to vibrate. Omega stepped back, his head swiveling from side to side as he sought to find the source.

"What the hell…" He caught sight of Craft and yelled after him.

"Oi! Craft! What the hell's goin' on here?"

The commando staggered as another tremor shook the ground. Looking up, he was rewarded by the sight of familiar looking lines of light tracing a pattern on the ground. Realizing that it was already too late, his face darkened.

"Get ready to fight, God of Destruction!"

"What?" Before Omega could protest further, the massive transfer sequence completed itself, and over a hundred Raiders suddenly materialized around them. As Omega stared at squads of battle tanks, divisions of vehicle mounted turrets and whole battalions of infantry, he felt the communicator Ace had given him buzz to life. He opened it, a bored look on his face.

"Gee, let me guess. 'Run, it's a trap!' right?"

Ace sweatdropped, "Er, I'm late again, aren't I…"

Omega eyed the troops around him.

"Yeah, that would be a definite 'Yes.' "

A new voice rang out, the air resonating with its imperious tones.

"Well, it seems as though the infamous Scarlet Phoenix is not as infallible as the rumors make him sound! You've all walked right into my trap!"

A figure slowly descended into view. A body covered in a smooth, armored bodysuit of pure gray material, his face covered by a blank mask, the newcomer regarded the two combat Reploids regally, his eyes hidden between the red lenses of his mask's eyepieces. He came to a stop several metres above the ground, floating in the air with his arms crossed over his chest.

Hearing the voice through the connection, Ace's eyes narrowed.

"Donovan Gates…I should have known it was you!"

Omega raised an eyebrow. "You know this bozo?"

"Yeah, he's a scientist I used to know. He specialized in transfer technology and Cyberspace control systems. I fired his lousy ass when I found out he was selling Legion tech to Mavericks and Raiders on the black market."

"After that," Donovan interrupted, "I swore revenge on Legion and on that same man now sitting in the office of Legion's Security Commander! Now, I am the Raider known as Gatemaster!"

He gestured to the forces surrounding Omega and Craft with a regal air.

"Behold my power! With my mastery of trans-server technology, I no longer require any of the complex equipment that would normally be required! With a mere snap of my fingers, I can transport anyone or anything I wish from a location of my choice, _to_ any location of my choice! With a mere gesture, I can tear rifts through Cyberspace, wormholes that can instantly transport me across thousands of miles in an instant! And not just me, either…"

He lifted a hand to the sky and called out.

"Now come, my battleship! _Excalibur_!

Again the lights of a transfer sequence blazed into life high overhead. Omega looked up and cursed at the size of it.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me…!"

A colossal Raider battleship emerged from the rift, fragments of data spiraling around it as it cruised forward, countless guns sliding out from their recessed ports, readying themselves for battle.

Gate looked down at them and sneered behind his mask.

"I suspected that there might have been something still hidden in this wreck, and now I have my proof! What better place for you to hide something than in a wreck like this, a place where no-one would possibly consider looking?" Donovan shouted triumphantly.

"However, I myself could not find it, so I decided to take a different approach! If you were to suddenly discover that your precious hiding place was suddenly under the attention of a number of Maverick signals, would you not send a team to investigate, to find out if your secret prize has been uncovered?"

"I'm not following this guy…" Omega muttered.

"That makes two of us." Craft replied in an undertone.

"And just like I predicted, you did send a team! That more than confirms that you have 'that thing' hidden away here! Now, admit it, Phoenix and hand it over before I obliterate your precious agents!"

Gates leveled an accusing finger at Ace through the communications screen and roared triumphantly.

"Give me the Model O that lies hidden within these ruins!"

His victorious ultimatum echoed out over the suddenly silent canyons.

Omega stared blankly up at the hovering Gates.

Craft's eyebrows disappeared into his hair.

And Ace collapsed forward, smacking his head on the desk and pounding one fist on it in complete disbelief.

There was another moment of silence before all three of them burst out laughing.

"Oh my god, you can_not_ be serious!" Omega howled with laughter, leaning on his sword to support himself.

"Apparently, he is. Very much so, too, it would seem." Craft chuckled.

Ace pounded the desk wordlessly, unable to speak from the sheer hilarity.

Gates looked taken aback. This had not been the reaction he had been expecting!

"Wh…what's so funny?"

Ace held up a finger, pleading for a few more moments. It was several more minutes before he finally calmed down enough to talk normally.

"Hee hee…y-you don't get out much, do you?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Ha ha…Oh god my stomach hurts…Hee hee hee…"Ace snickered. "You _actually_ thought that this was where I 'hid' Model O? Oh my god, this is just too hilarious!"

He broke down in a fit of laughter.

"You complete _jackass_!" He whooped. "THAT was your whole plan all this time? Your great, oh-so-supreme strategy was to lure me into unwittingly sending out hostages which would then be used to force me into revealing where I hid Model O?"

He held up two fingers.

"The first reason your plan is a complete load of crap would be because firstly, MODEL O ISN'T HERE, YOU DIPSHIT! I swear, it would have made more sense to just threaten me to bring out Model O in the first place, rather than come out of hiding just to attack the place where you believed it was hidden. And second…"

Ace gave the Gatemaster a pitying look.

"Did you even notice that I only sent _two_ agents?"

"Of course I did!" Gates bristled, "But what does that have to do with anything?"

"Think for a minute, you moron. Why would I only send two agents to exterminate a group of Mavericks that would normally require a considerably larger force to deal with them?"

Gates looked back down, to see Omega grinning evilly, and Craft whistling as he readied his massive cannon.

"Oh dear."

Ace smiled. "Oh wait, how silly of me. Did I say two? I actually meant-"

BOOM!

A single Hades round crashed into the Gatemaster and knocked him spinning out of the air.

"-three." Ace finished, as Celtis peered down from her vantage point further up the cliff. Omega flashed her a thumbs-up.

"Attagirl, Servant Number Four! Keep this up and I might promote you from a microbe all the way up to a woodlouse!"

"Er…thanks, I think…" Celtis sweatdropped. The original plan had been for her to go up here and to start sniping, since while Craft could hold his own in actual combat, she was useless in everything other than distance fighting. The problem was, by the time she had managed to climb up here, Gates had sprung his ambush. So instead, she'd settled for blasting him out of the air.

Then there was a flash of light and Gates was back in his original position, the only difference now being that he had a decent sized energy burn on his right shoulder. His eyes narrowed as he stared at the three of them, two Hunters and a Security Agent.

"All right, then Ace, I'll show just how greatly you overestimate your prized agents!"

Ace finished filling Omega in on the Maverick control codes and turned his attention back to Gates, an arrogant smile on his face.

"And I'll show you that you're still no match for them, much less for me!"

"Then let's go already!" Omega yelled, and charged forward.

* * *

Ace tapped in the command transfer sequence and vaulted over the desk. Opening the secret door to the A.C.E elevator, he hit the command for the high speed entrance, and the floor opened beneath him. Plummeting headfirst down the miles long shaft, he grinned as he saw the floor coming up far below. Hitting the glowing red button on his right wristpad, he felt the steel soles of his boots shift and transform. The jet boosters hidden within burst to life, roaring with power. With a wild yell, he let them flip him around until they were facing the still approaching floor. Muttering a curse, he cranked up the power, increasing the deceleration effect.

He slammed down onto the steel floor hard enough to dent it, dropping down to one knee with the force.

Moments later, the door to the Command and Control hissed open and the Scarlet Phoenix half-ran, half-limped through it, uttering a stream of curses.

"…Shit, shit, shit, ow, Christ that hurts, ow, ow, fuck, ow-Control, patch through the live feed I just transmitted down here! I want satellite coverage and every other form of intel support locked on those co-ordinates, now!"

"Already done sir!" The cheerful response came back, catching him completely off guard.

"Wait, what?" He turned and did a double-take as he saw Marino grinning at him. Next to her, Cinnamon waved happily at him.

"Jeez, Ace, what took you so long? We already got the party started without you!"

"…Bzuh?" Ace gaped at his aide, his brain unable to come up with a successful comeback. He gestured wildly to Marino, and then back at the elevator with mute disbelief before he finally got his head back in gear.

"You…what…how…elevator! How the _hell_ did you get down here before me? I practically broke both legs coming down and you still beat me here?"

There was an audible crackling sound and Ace's right leg twitched slightly, accompanied by a pained expression from Ace himself as he slowly tilted sideways.

"Okay, scratch that. I think I actually did break something. Ow."

Marino sighed as Cinnamon ran over to him. Every single time, Ace always tried some new, increasingly more reckless and/or stupid method to outdo Marino, and with same results every time.

When Cinnamon had finished healing him, Ace staggered over to the railing.

"All right, well let's try this again, shall we? Oh, and Research! Any luck finding a match for that sword yet?"

"None sir, but we're still looking!"

"Okay!" Ace clapped his hands and rubbed them together in readiness for the battle ahead of him.

"Let's _do_ this, shall we, ladies?"

"Roger that, sir!" The determined chorus rang out, and the Command and Control deck hummed to life.

Ace remembered Saber's words again, and he pressed a hand to his face.

"I hate him so much…" he grumbled.

* * *

Craft cursed as his beam missed again. Every shot he took at Gates was in vain, the man warping and teleporting around the area faster than the blink of an eye. Even Celtis' Demon Eyes couldn't let her hit him. She gritted her teeth as she held down the trigger of the Hades, blasting round after round after the constantly disappearing opponent. Her eyes could track him, sure, but his instantaneous teleportation got him out of the way long before her bullets could reach him.

This was nothing like the battle with Gallidin. Back then, it was only his ability to move at super-accelerated speeds that had allowed him to dodge, and even then he had only barely gotten past it. This wasn't an accelerated ability like that. This was much, much worse. While Gallidin had had to rely on his reflexes to get him out of the way, all this man had to do was _think_ it and he was gone, reappearing safely out of harm's way.

If it was just speed, her eyes might have let her hit him, but since he vanished into Cyberspace while he was teleporting, there was nothing _to_ hit!

In the meantime, there was a massive flash of Buster shots and a whole wave of enemies exploded into the air as Omega slammed his Buster into the ground. Lashing out, the Chain Saber snaked around one luckless opponent and Omega used him as a flail, whirling the chain around and around and slamming him into enemy after enemy. Finally, he gave an angry yell and launched the battered corpse head over heels towards the Gatemaster.

Sneering, he dodged it, only to get a stunning blow from the Hades right in the back of his head. Snarling, he recovered and whirled around.

"Enough playing around! Now, it's _my_ turn to attack! Excalibur, open fire! ERASER BALLISTIC!"

Omega skidded to a halt and looked up as the mammoth guns of the colossal battleship opened fire, blasting powerful beams of energy in every direction.

"Hah!" He laughed. "Did you even bother to aim? I can see crap like that coming from a mile away!"

Donovan Gates smiled. "You'd think so, wouldn't you?"

A flash of green light, and suddenly the ends of the energy beam disappeared, the cannons continuing to fire. Every attack they launched disappeared, vanishing as if by magic.

"What the hell is that?" Omega wondered. Then as he felt a rift open in Cyberspace on his left, he understood.

"Oh, SHIT!" Barely wasting time to curse, he leapt out of the way as an Eraser cannon blast emerged, Gates' control over transfer sequences redirecting it to re-emerge there. Before any of them had a chance to react, more gates opened all around them, appearing and reappearing all around them just long enough to launch their attack from any number of random directions.

Over the sounds of explosions and yells, Donovan's laughter rang out as he continued to open and close gate after gate as he continued to aim and redirect his battleship's incredibly powerful attacks towards them with pinpoint accuracy. The hexagonal fragments of the barrier between reality and Cyberspace splintered apart as Gates continued to activate teleport after teleport.

"Do you see now? Do you understand the extent of my power? I can take any of my Excalibur's attacks and put them in exactly the kind of range and position that will render your defenses completely useless!"

Omega skated around one Eraser, dodged the other and was smashed brutally into the ground by a dozen missiles that reappeared right above him. His roar of pain vanished amidst the thunder of explosions as they detonated.

"God of Destruction!" Craft yelled, his cannon beam carving a swath of death through the surroundings as he swept it up and around towards the laughing Gatemaster. Spotting the oncoming energy, Gates merely smiled and held one hand out towards it.

"This power isn't only limited to my battleship's attacks, either!"

A flash and the ripple of a transfer, and Craft's attack vanished, disappearing into the depths of Cyberspace.

"What?" He shouted, before the air behind him rippled and the beam emerged, ripping a terrible wound across his side. It was only his quick reflexes that saved him from taking a fatal hit, but it was still a grievous injury anyway. Craft gritted his teeth and staggered.

"You…bastard!"

"That's right…" Gates chuckled, "I can even turn your own attacks back on yourselves! I don't even need to do more than lift a finger to watch you all be torn apart! Hell, I can kill you all right here and now without even getting my hands dirty! I can destroy you all in the blink of an eye, and you can't even hit me!"

He lifted a hand and the guns of his battlecruiser thundered again. As the world behind him glowed and shifted, slowly distorting to the green of Cyberspace, he smiled.

"Any last words?"

"Yeah, I got your last words right here!" An angry snarl rang out. Donovan gasped as he felt the unmistakable energy of a Cyberspace transfer signal.

"Impossible…!"

As the smoke and flames of the burning crater dissipated, a new red glow appeared.

"GATE OF BABYLON!"

The God of Destruction reared up, his limitless array of weapons rising from the ground and hurtling up to rip into the Gatemaster. As his opponent staggered backwards, the wave of attacks from the Gilgamesh Factor smashing into Gates, Omega gave a yell.

"NOW!"

Donovan looked up to see Craft's massive cannon glowing with power. He gritted his teeth and activated his teleportation.

"Fools, I can still dodge tha-!"

BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!

Four high-velocity rounds smashed into his back. The air around him crackled as his transfer signal was suddenly thrown off by the impacts. Desperately, he turned to see Celtis' eyes glowing and the Hades' muzzle charging for another shot.

"You…!"

Too late, his entire system disoriented from the powerful blows, he could do nothing to evade as the full might of Craft's attack smashed into him, six missiles exploding on his armor and followed up by the powerful laser that was his main attack.

With an angry howl of pain, the self-proclaimed Gatemaster was launched backwards, hurtling into the transfer that contained his battleship's attacks. As the shimmering green air cracked and warped around him, the beams of his cruiser's main guns struggling to break free through the destabilizing gateways, the entire thing suddenly imploded, collapsing in around Donovan before finally detonating in a massive explosion that knocked Omega backwards.

As the lights of the explosion reached Ace back in the A.C.E Command and Control room, he punched the air in triumph.

"HAH! In your FACE, Gates! Can't touch this! Da na na na nana nana!"

Celtis sweatdropped as she heard Ace crowing victoriously over the line. He had been the one who had told her to aim for his back, as the design of Gates' suit meant that a series of heavy impacts around that area would be enough to disrupt his teleport. As she gazed out at the dying ball of fire and smoke that had been the explosion of Gates' warp, she had to admit, Ace had probably earned his right to celebrate.

Omega turned his gaze upwards, locking onto the battleship that still loomed overhead.

"Now, time to deal with you…" He hefted his Zweihander, a determined look on his face.

"I wouldn't count on that just yet, fool!"

Omega whirled, just in time for a massive Eraser beam to smash him full in the chest. With an angry yell, he was knocked backwards, crashing and rolling across the ground before smashing into Craft. As the two of them went down, Celtis desperately scanned the area, her eyes struggling to find the source of the attack.

In the Command Center, Ace suddenly froze.

"Wha-Arcana, get out of there! MOVE!"

Too late, Celtis' Demon Eyes detected Gates' signal again. Her eyes widened as she realized her mistake.

"Behind-?"

She whirled and abruptly shuddered to a halt as a sickening impact hit her. She stayed there for a moment, frozen, a shocked look on her face as she stared into the scarred armor of Gates' mask.

Omega staggered back to his feet, a stunned look on his face as he saw the scene up on the clifftop.

"You should feel honored." Gates' cold voice sounded, "You actually managed to anger me enough that I would personally come kill you myself."

The Hades clattered to the ground as Celtis felt a terrible, cold feeling spreading through her midsection. Slowly, she looked down, to where Gates' armored gauntlet had impaled her, his bloody fingers emerging from her back. She tried to speak, but only blood dripped out.

"I've had just about all I can stand from you and your shooting, woman." Gates growled, his eyes narrowing.

On the ground, Craft moved up next to Omega.

"Am I correct in assuming that this will not end well?"

Omega gave him long look. "Buddy, that is the understatement of the CENTURY."

As an eerie wind began to howl through the air, Celtis' bloodstained hair whipping in it, Gates' eyes widened.

"What the hell…?"

In A.C.E's Command Center, warning alarms began to go off. Ace didn't even need to look at it. The tingling sensation and nervous twitching of the fingers in his right arm were all he needed to know what was happening.

"Hold on to your hats, people, because all hell is about to break loose out there!"

As Gates realized that something was wrong, he tried to pull away, only to find his arm irrevocably locked into place, an iron grip clamping down on it. He looked up, into the snarling, enraged features of the exiled Biometal.

As the air around her suddenly burned red, Celtis could feel the overwhelming power of Model O suddenly surging up within her, a tidal wave of raging fury and unlimited bloodlust that threatened to smother her, burying her mind beneath it. Now she remembered the fight with Gallidin, and this exact sensation. She remembered the terrible destruction, and then her thoughts following the aftermath of that battle. And finally, she remembered the decision she had made to keep that from ever happening again.

Clamping her second hand down on Gates' arm, Celtis gritted her teeth, rallying every ounce of her strength. As Model O roared its neverending howl of vengeance and destruction, she summoned all of her determination and faced the rising nightmare head on.

"Not this time…!" she gritted, her hands clenching.

"GRAAAAAAAAH!" Model O roared, struggling against the chains that had suddenly tightened around it.

"I won't let you use my body as you wish…!"

As Omega stared up at the raging pillar of red light, his eyes narrowed. Something, he wasn't quite sure what…something was different this time. He could smell it in the air, the strange sensation that resonated within him. He remembered the control code he possessed, and for a moment, he considered it.

Then, as his eyes found Celtis, he felt a smile cross his features.

"No…I don't think so." Folding his arms, he fixed her with a burning glare.

"Now then…show me, human, just how far you can go! Let's see how strong those convictions and emotions that you spoke of really are!"

A brilliant light burned in Omega's eyes as he thundered her name.

"Let's see whether or not you're truly worthy of being the holder of my power! Celtis Gisborne-Wingates ARCANA!"

Celtis' eyes snapped open. Almost as if she had heard him, the chaotic red aura around her slowly began to condense, becoming more ordered and controlled. Inside her mind, she gave a yell and put everything she had into one, final push, throwing her whole soul against the oncoming surge of Model O.

"GET…BACK!"

For the first time, she sensed something close to surprise from the Biometal. Taken aback by the ferocity of her counterattack, the core consciousness of Model O drew back, Celtis feeling its presence recede, even as its power finally surged over her. And this time, things were different.

Craft staggered back as a colossal wave of power blasted outwards. Lifting one hand to shield his face against the raging hurricane, he opened his eyes to see Omega still standing, his arms folded as he faced the onslaught head on.

A savage smile crossed his face.

"Magnificent…" he grinned.

**[Cue Music- Realove:Realife –by Sphere]**

The entire cliff exploded, a brilliant beam of solid crimson light bursting into life. It punched through the hard rock and erupted into the sky, a blinding bridge connecting heaven and earth. Donovan felt himself blasted backwards, his hand finally coming free of the crushing grip. Teleporting three times, he finally came to a halt in midair, staring aghast at the sight before him.

"What in the…What the hell is going on?"

This was nothing like what the unleashed fury of Model O had been like back in Legion. This was crisp, clean and condensed, perfectly controlled. Unlike the raw, unchecked energy that had spilled forth back then, this was restrained and held in check, the energy spiraling inwards towards the heart of the brilliant light.

Familiar crimson armor materialized, locking into place. Golden bands glinted, appearing at the wrists and ankles of its master. Celtis' jacket and pants burned away, replaced by a jet-black bodysuit and a new, crimson jacket. The blue gem on her forehead burned with life, the sigil of the God of Destruction blazing anew. Crimson light spewed from it, materializing into the trademark scarlet fins of Model O's helm. The helm did not materialize any further, leaving the red fins to run through her sweeping mane of lustrous green hair.

Black chains erupted, shattering the air and earth around her. They flashed with energy, before disintegrating and spiraling in around her in a whirlwind of violet energy. Seizing the two spheres of energy in either hand, her fingers tightened around them as they resolved and solidified into the forms of twin O-Busters. Celtis' eyes snapped open, brilliant scarlet spirals tracing a path through her irises.

As the crimson light suddenly burst apart, dissipating as its mistress' transformation completed, Omega grinned.

"She did it…!"

Ace looked up as the alarms shut off, the strange sensation in his arm receding.

"Sir, we're getting readings of a successful Biolink! Hunter Celtis Gisborne-Wingates Arcana has successfully managed to Megamerge with Model O!"

Ace slammed his fist down on the steel railing in exuberance, a proud look on his face.

"Attagirl, Arcana! Way to go!"

Celtis' boots touched the ground lightly as she landed. Slowly, she straightened up, marveling at the sudden weightlessness of her body. She looked down at her hands and dispelled the Busters with no more than a thought. Another thought, and the Hades appeared in her hands instead.

"Amazing…!" She breathed. "So this is the power of a Chosen One…! It's unbelievable!"

She flexed her fingers, feeling the power coursing through her veins. It felt as though burning lava raced through her body, a seething red hot liquid that flowed through her instead of blood. It even reached up into her head, that boiling, burning blood. It was as though for the first time in her life, she truly felt…_alive_. She felt powerful, and her body ached for use, to leap, to rend, to tear…To fight, to heedlessly rush at any opponent that stood in her way. She clutched at her shoulders, her eyes wide as she panted, a look of delight on her face. It took everything she had not to act out on this reckless, mad feeling, her entire body burning up with lust. Whether it was for sex or for battle, she had no idea, and to be honest, she could care less.

It was then that she realized that this was not the power of any normal Chosen One. This was all the effect, and power, of Model O itself. This strange _heat_, and the feeling as though her blood was boiling…All of that was from this one Biometal, the exiled one that was unique even among these rare items.

"God d-damn…!" She gasped, her breathing shallow and fast. " I-is this how _he_ feels all the time…?"

The continuous heat didn't feel all that bad, in fact. It actually felt good, too good actually. It boiled through her veins, a continuous siren song that urged her just to let go, releasing all her inhibitions and restrictions, to just give in, surrendering herself to the power. It sapped at her rationality, always there, an irresistible, seductive call. But somewhere in her mind, she knew what lay at the end of that long, dark road. She saw the raging flames, and the demonic visage of Model O, and she shuddered, the song receding. It would never vanish fully, she knew. It would always be there, calling to her.

She straightened up, getting a grip on herself as she faced Gates again.

It was then that she realized that her body was moving a bit…differently. She looked down, and gaped in disbelief.

It seemed that her mind hadn't been the only thing affected by Model O.

Celtis wouldn't have said she was an unattractive girl normally. She considered herself to be fairly good-looking by normal standards, but with a friend like Vix, who was pretty much sex on legs, and Kitara, who preferred skimpy clothing like her bikini, she was just overshadowed. Now, though…

She looked drop-dead gorgeous. Her chest bounced, straining against the taut jacket that covered her breasts, the zipper at the front of it pulled down to accommodate her now considerably larger assets, revealing her ample black-clad cleavage. The white armor around her hips, well, Celtis was pretty sure it hadn't been quite that form fitted when she'd first seen it on Omega. Plus, she suspected her hips had filled out a bit, giving her an hourglass body that rivaled even Vix's. Her gauntlets and boots had been altered as well, looking more streamlined and curved than what Omega's had been. Not to mention that her actual boots now looked quite a bit more feminine, almost like armored heels. Even her hair had not been entirely spared. While the coloration had remained a dark green, it practically glowed in the light, each verdant strand lustrous and silken, cascading all the way to her ankles in a lush, verdant green waterfall.

"Wha-wha-wha…What the hell is this?" she demanded, pivoting on one heel as she tried to get a good view of herself.

Craft leaned over towards Omega.

"I take it this wasn't supposed to happen?"

Omega's left eye twitched slightly.

"…I'll take that as a no." The commando decided.

"Holy crap." Ace gaped. "She got _hot_!"

Ten seconds later a beam chakram kicked him across the room.

Omega's eye twitched again. "Oh she's hot all right. I wouldn't think twice about hitting that, except for the fact that, y'know, _she looks like a female version of me!_"

Craft patted him on the head.

"There, there." He said sarcastically. "I'm sure for someone who loves himself so much, that's just a minor setback."

"Oh, piss off." Omega muttered.

As Celtis continued to try to figure out what the hell Model O had done to her, Gates' eyes narrowed.

"It seems as though my theory about you hiding the Biometal here was incorrect Ace."

Ignoring the chorus of "No shit, Sherlock!" from both Ace and Omega, he went on.

"You actually managed to get your hands on a Chosen One for it as well! Once again you have exceeded my expectations!"

'_And once again, you draw an entirely bogus conclusion…'_ Ace and Omega both thought blankly as they stared at the chuckling Gatemaster.

"Very well then!" Gates looked back down, an amused expression on his face. "I expected you to have a trump card up your sleeve, so I prepared one of my own! BEHOLD!"

Raising one hand to the sky, he opened another gate, this one leading to a special chamber within the depths of his cruiser. A secret, sealed room, only the Gatemaster himself had access to this particular trump card. A massive, bulbous figure appeared, slowly sinking down towards them. As Celtis' enhanced eyesight began to make out details, she caught sight of a smaller body atop the large sphere, four flaming, insect-like wings on its back.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" she gasped. "That can't be-!"

"The prize I obtained after the most secret of black-market deals!" Donovan Gates swept a hand out towards them in triumph as his gate closed behind the now fully materialized trump card.

"Queenbee the Pseudoroid!"

Ace started, jerking forward to clutch the railing.

"WHAT? That…That can't be! Queenbee was destroyed by Ashe and Grey! I saw the wreckage myself! It was sealed away in one of Legion's vaults for research! How the hell did you get your hands on it?"

Ace paused as a far more disturbing question reared its head.

"No, scratch that…How the hell did you _revive_ her at all?"

Gates tapped his forehead knowingly. "Never underestimate the power of us scientists, Ace! Wasn't that a favorite saying of yours back when we used to work together?"

Ace gritted his teeth as he remembered.

"Oh, did I strike a nerve? Through my underworld contacts I discovered that someone had managed to restore her to perfect condition! After that, it was simply a matter of haggling over price!"

Gates laughed maniacally. "Now, not only do I possess a battleship and my own astounding control of transfer technology, but I now possess a fully combat-capable Pseudoroid of my own!"

"Then why is she chained down?"

Omega's question, his voice heavy with anger, cut through the conversation. Ace's eyes narrowed.

"What?" Looking at the still motionless Queenbee, he realized that Omega was right.

Her entire body was wrapped in chains, the heavy gray metal entwining her in a spiderweb of constricting steel. As Ace watched, the Pseudoroid gave a slight twitch, and sparks of electricity danced across the metal. The Phoenix's grip tightened on the railing as he saw the dull, lifeless look in Queenbee's eyes. He knew what he was looking at.

"Gates, you cold-hearted son of a bitch…" he growled.

The Gatemaster merely folded his arms and smirked.

"Yes, well, sometimes Pseudoroids can be rather…strong-willed at times. She was disobedient enough when I first got her, but when I wanted to start making modifications of my own to her, she became downright insolent. And I for one was certainly not going to stand for that. So, after a little, shall we say…'training'? She became quite willing to listen to me."

He reached one hand up to give his slave a proprietary caress along her head.

"Isn't that right, my dear Vespa?"

"…" Silence was the only response. Gates' eyes narrowed.

"Still a mite resistant, eh?" He tapped a button on his wrist and suddenly the chains binding the Pseudoroid arced to life, thousands of volts crackling throughout her body. Queenbee's spine arched and she let out an ear-piercing shriek of agony. After several seconds, Gates cut the power. As she slumped over, still jerking and twitching from the discharge, he seized her by the throat and forced her head upwards to look at him.

"Now, what was your answer?" he asked calmly.

"…Y-yes…ma…master…"

"Good girl." Gates drifted backwards, releasing her with a satisfied look on his face. Wiping his hands off distastefully, he turned his back on her as the once-mighty Pseudoroid sagged, a piteous remnant of her former regal self.

"Well, as you can see, it's not quite perfect, but I have high hopes for her."

Ace's fists clenched tight, his fingernails digging into his palm hard enough to draw blood.

"I always knew you were trash, Gates, but this is a new low, even for you!"

"And why is that?" Gates shrugged. "After all, unlike Reploids, Pseudoroids are merely tools created for the sole purpose of destroying things. It's useless to think of them as anything more than simple objects, to be used and controlled at the whim of their master. To be honest, I'm not even sure why they were created with these useless 'personalities' to begin with. It just makes things harder for people like me to make them obey."

"That's bullshit!" The Phoenix snarled. "Pseudoroids are the same as everything else! Even though they were solely created for military purposes, those that chose to follow Serpent, and then Albert did so because they wanted to! They did it for their own sakes, not because they were forced to! Even today, I know of other Pseudoroids who are still here, working for Legion! What you're doing is no better than enslavement!"

Gates smiled evilly as he gestured back towards the pathetic form of Queenbee, under his control.

"Enslavement? HAH! This is their sole purpose in life! This is _her_ very reason for existing! And what do you care, anyway, was she not declared a Maverick and destroyed? If anything, you should be thanking me for punishing her like this!"

"The title of Maverick is just that, Gates, a title. Words used to label any Reploid or Pseudoroid that turns against Legion. Even Mavericks can change for the better, if given the chance."

For a moment, Ace met Craft's gaze, before the commando Reploid merely gave a weary smile and a nod.

"Suit yourself, fool." With a snap of his fingers, Gates released the chains binding his pet Pseudoroid. As Queenbee levitated upwards, preparing for battle, her eyes never once lost their dull, defeated look.

The Gatemaster lifted a hand and clenched it before his face, an evil smile on his face as his battlecruiser readied its weapons behind him.

"Then, if you think that childish daydream of yours is the truth then prove it, here and now! Defeat me if you can, foolish Commander!"

"I thought you'd never ask."

The cold voice sliced through the air as a violet chain wrapped itself around Gates' waist.

"Wha-?" As he whirled to find the source of the attack, he felt a tremendous jerk on the chain, and then suddenly a crimson shadow was in the air before him. Pure hatred in his eyes, Omega snarled as he brought his fully charged O-Knuckle around.

"Eat shit and _die_, asshole."

WHAM!

Gates practically left a hole in the air, so great was the force behind the blow. He smashed into the ground at about a hundred miles an hour and plowed a considerable distance across the hard rock surface of the wasteland, leaving a broken and cracked trench in his wake. Getting back to his feet, he gave an angry snarl.

"You dirty-"

The violet spark of Omega's Chain Saber lashed around his leg and yanked him rudely into the air. Before Gates could do anything, Omega thrashed him through the surroundings like a flail, demolishing cliffs, rocks, the floor and his own troops before flinging him straight into the canyon wall at speeds that put even the Lightning Bullet to shame.

As Omega withdrew his Saber, cold rage written all over his face, there was an explosion behind him, and he staggered forward. Ignoring the scorching pain on his back, he turned slowly to see Queenbee floating behind him, the hexagonal panzer plates of her lower body already preparing another salvo of missiles. He stared at her for a moment, something close to pity in his eyes.

"I forgot. You've got no choice, right?"

As Gates reappeared behind him, one hand raised to skewer him like he had Celtis earlier, Omega gave a rueful smile.

"All right then, we'll play it that way."

Four fully charged Buster shots slammed into Gates, smashing him out of the air, and back into another forced teleport. Celtis skidded to a halt behind Omega, Model O's twin Busters already charging for round two.

"Servant Number One!" Omega barked, his gaze still fixed on the motionless Queenbee.

Celtis jumped, surprised at her sudden promotion. "Y-yeah?"

"I'm taking on the Pseudoroid. See if you can hold Gates until I'm done."

"'See if I can'? I thought this Model O was supposed to be oh-so-invincible!"

"Yeah, Model O is." Omega grinned. "But I doubt you have any clue how to fight with it. Don't worry, I don't expect you to actually beat him. I just need you to tie him up for a bit."

"What? But-" Celtis stopped as she saw the look on his face. Still staring up at Queenbee, there wasn't a trace of humor in his features. For the first time since she'd seen him, Omega was actually serious. And instead of the usual manic glee in his eyes, was that…

_...sadness_?

Then, she remembered Weil, and how Omega had suffered as his servant for over a hundred years, and the truth dawned on her.

"Oh…"

"Yeah." Omega gritted. "In fact, _don't_ kill him. I'll do that myself once I'm finished here."

Craft glanced at the two of them for a moment, then shook his head, a knowing smile on his face. Shouldering his massive cannon he turned away, his cloak blowing in the wind.

"Then I'll deal with that battleship of his, shall I?"

Omega closed his eyes for a minute and grinned.

"Practically read my mind, Sniper-boy!"

In his Command Center, miles away, Ace grinned.

"All right then, since you guys seemed to have decided on your targets already, I guess that doesn't leave me with anything to do, other than to give you the go!"

Omega smirked at the camera.

"As if we needed to wait for that!"

"Okay then…!" Ace laughed, a determined smile on his features as he reared back.

"Then get going and hit 'em one for me!"

"Roger that!" Three voices yelled, and then the battle was on!

* * *

A/N: Yeah, you'll have to forgive me if things felt a little odd about this chapter. I had a HELL of a hard time getting the rhythm of this fight going, which is why it might seem a bit…I don't know, up and down?

And for those of you who've recently been wondering about the slightly darker tone I've taken for these recent chapters, I'm just trying to make things a bit more, well, serious, I suppose. And let's face it, don't you just _hate_ Gates now? I know a lot of you probably stood up and cheered when Omega belted him one. I know I did, and I _wrote_ it!

You'll notice he mentioned some 'modifications' right? Well, you'll get a chance to see just what it is he's talking about in the next chapter! Trust me, this Queenbee is gonna be a LOT different from the one you've fought in the game! I should probably also mention that her general appearance has also been altered slightly, so her body itself is different from that of the ZXA Queenbee. But I'll tackle that in the next chapter, and I'll probably put some art up for it when I do.

As for Model O itself, er…well, I'm not too sure how well I did that! Anyway, have any of you ever gotten that feeling before? The kind where it feels like your very blood is boiling, the sensation that you can do anything, defeat anyone, and crush anything that stands in your way? The sheer sense of invincibility, as if you're a god and nothing can stop you? It usually happens to me when some ridiculously complex plan of mine has gone off exactly the way it was supposed to, or if everything's just falling into place, going along perfectly, exactly how I planned it. I don't know if anyone else knows what I'm talking about, or if maybe it's my latent world-domination tendencies kicking in, but it feels _awesome_. That was the sensation I was trying to keep in mind for describing Model O's effect on the body. The lust part I just threw in since, hell, it's Omega we're talking about here! And the bit about it altering her body itself…er, well, it _is_ fanservice, but there's also a one hundred percent scientific explanation for it as well, which will be tackled in the chapter after this battle's done! And the explanation makes SENSE, too! So does the reason for the alterations! So THERE!

*sticks out tongue*

Well, next chapter is the three-way battle, and I've got some _wicked_ super moves planned, so look out for it!

See ya then!

DarkShift Out!

P.S. Reviews PLEEEEEASE! I need them! They're like Pringles, except healthier! Twice as addictive, though…


	18. Chapter 17: Mad Scientist

Chapter 17: Mad Scientist

Disclaimer: MMZXA and Megaman in general belongs to Capcom. I'm just…borrowing it for a while.

* * *

Celtis' dual Busters blazed, a mad blitzkrieg of shells filling the air. At first, they seemed completely random, as if she was simply shooting wildly. But on closer inspection, seeing her precise, accurate motions and the blurs appearing throughout the world around her, the truth would become clear.

Celtis, her boots planted firmly on the ground, stared firmly ahead of her, her glowing eyes narrowed in concentration. Her reflexes, already boosted by the Demon's Eyes and now further enhanced to an almost godlike level thanks to Model O's power, moved her arms at lightning speed. With every teleport Gates carried out, every moment he reappeared in the real world, her Eyes would lock onto him, and one Buster would snap towards him, cutting loose with a volley of shots. So great was the speed of this battle, that any normal observer would not even have been able to follow the movement of Celtis' arms, merely a flicker through the air as they raced to keep pace with Gates. Not only that, but they would have barely been able to catch more than a ghost of Gates, blinking in and out of reality at speeds that defied light itself.

And even that ghost would have been nothing more than an afterimage, a shadow lagging behind its master by at _least_ three teleports.

"Magnificent!" Gates laughed. "It seems your offensive speed is indeed nothing to be trifled with!"

Circular ripples, and then hexagonal cracks appeared in the air and the earth surrounding Celtis.

"Now… let's see how good your defensive speed is!"

Over a dozen Eraser beams emerged, crisscrossing and punching through the space Celtis had been occupying less than a second ago. Gates whirled as a red blur flipped and spun across the ground. Catching the hard surface in one hand, Celtis pushed herself back off of it, cartwheeling through the air as she leveled both Busters directly at Gates. As the Gatemaster gave an annoyed grunt and vanished again, she landed again and skidded across the ground. The air in front of her shimmered, and as Gates reappeared directly before her, she snapped her hands out to the sides, her Busters instantly teleporting back to their holsters. Seizing the two O-Saber handles as they came down, she triggered them as she met Gates' attack, the glowing energy around his hands clashing against the cross shape defense of her twin O-Sabers. She gritted her teeth and stared up at him through their crossed attacks as he towered over her.

"I'm using only one hand to attack and you need to use both swords to defend?" Gates chuckled, mocking her, "Well, well, it seems that while your speed and reflexes are certainly top-notch…"

He clenched his hand into a fist and leaned forward. With a single, blindingly fast motion, he snapped it forward in a powerful punch that launched Celtis clear off her feet.

"-Your actual strength seems to still be fairly low!" He shouted.

As Celtis shot backwards, Gates grinned and vanished again. As he reappeared again behind Celtis, planning to land another powerful hit while she was still in the air, things went completely haywire.

Celtis whirled her legs around, spinning around to face Gates while she was still upside down in midair. Her legs slid past either side of his startled face, his head coming to land squarely between her thighs. Tightening her legs, Celtis used the bewildered Raider's body as leverage and flipped over him, releasing her grip at the end of her arc and catapulting the stunned Gatemaster into the ground at a few dozen miles an hour.

A massive eruption of sand and rock, and Gates bounced out of the cloud of dust, crashing across the barren surface several times before he recovered, his armored boots scraping across the ground as he bled off speed.

Celtis landed as well, barely breathing hard.

"Who…wha…How the _hell_ did I just do all of that?" She gasped, utterly bewildered.

It was as though someone else was moving her body. Somehow, no matter what position or situation she ended up in, she knew exactly what move or action to take to turn things around. She knew for a fact that she hadn't had the slightest idea of how to do _any_ of the crazy shit she had just pulled off, but now it was like second nature to her! It was almost as though her body was moving even before she knew what to do and boy, was that _seriously_ screwing with her timing.

Gates cracked his neck.

"Well, that was certainly a novel attack…Can't say the view was all that bad, though."

Celtis glanced down at the skimpy, curved crotch armor (seriously, she was 100% _certain_ that Omega's original own had looked nowhere close to being an actual thong as this one did!) and flushed in embarrassment.

"Wha…Sh-shut up! It wasn't my idea!" She sputtered.

Gates snapped his fingers again, and Celtis started. Alerted by the telltale glow from behind her, she darted sideways as a dozen missiles blew past her, blasting the ground into ruin.

"Tch…!" Gates growled and leapt after her, opening up array after array of Eraser beams all around her as he did so.

"Damndamndamn_damn!_ Celtis yelled as she continued to dodge them. Looking down at the swords in her hands she gave a groan of despair and locked them back into their respective Busters. Sure, they were great and all, but to be honest, using those things made her nervous as hell, since after all, it meant that she'd have to get up close and personal with Gates himself and she was miles away from feeling comfortable enough with this new body to even _think_ about trying that!

"Nope…" She decided, drawing the Busters again, "Maybe I'll just stick to what I'm good at for now…"

Gates, still pursuing her, teleported over the first Charge Shot, skidded around the second, bashed away the third with one energy-imbued backhand and took the fourth one straight in the face. Blinded, he gestured frantically towards her, a major array of Eraser beams appearing around her in a scattered pattern.

Dodging them, Celtis gritted her teeth and risked a quick look towards the massive, whale shaped battle-cruiser that still cruised overhead.

"Dammit, what is that Craft guy _doing_? Shouldn't he have blown that thing up by now or something?"

* * *

Eraser after Eraser tore across the desert surface, advancing inexorably towards their target. Missile after missile was launched, blasting countless new craters as the gunners aboard the battleship Excalibur did their utmost to wipe out their opponent.

A snarling roar, and a massive bike thundered over a rise in the ground, explosions erupting behind it. Craft skidded and swerved, somehow managing to always stay just ahead of his pursuers as he hurtled across the open canyon.

Risking a quick glance upwards, he gave the battleship a speculative look, searching for weapon placements and any other kinds of information that could give him an advantage. To be honest, this hadn't been the first warship he'd had to sink, so there were a few a basic things he'd picked up.

First…Craft revved the engine and took off.

Keep them guessing. The more time they waste trying to shoot at you, the less time they have to think about other strategies and the more time you have to come up with a plan of attack.

Second…Still hurtling forward, Craft slammed one boot down on the ground. Using it as a brake, he spun the bike a full 180 degrees and hit a button on the handle as he unslung his cannon.

"Bike Busters online."

Make sure they know you've got some bite, just enough to make them keep their distance.

As concealed ports on his bike opened to reveal the multi-barreled forms of four Chain-Busters, Craft opened up on the enemy cruiser with a blazing fusillade of attacks. The high-power shells from his bike Busters chewed through the Excalibur's armor easily, punching through to shred the decks closest to the outside, while his Neige Cannon's trademark laser lanced through bulkhead after bulkhead, spearing deep into the battlecruiser. Grinning as explosions burst into flaming life along the areas his shots had struck, Craft gunned the throttles and sent the bike shooting back beneath the cruiser. Leveling his cannon straight up, he pulled the trigger. Without even looking up, he fired again and again, blue-white energy melting its way through the armored decks and setting off a chain of brilliant explosions stitching the warship's belly.

And then he was out of its shadow and into the open again. Glancing back at his handiwork, Craft raised an eyebrow. Okay, so perhaps that had been a little _too_ much bite…

On the other hand, considering the size of his opponent, just being able to deal this much damage would probably still take him the whole day just to make any kind of a serious dent. Thanks to the sheer size of the Excalibur, it could just soak up everything he threw at it for a considerable amount of time before it could be seriously affected. The commando's eyes narrowed as he stared up at it.

…No, if he really wanted to hit it where it hurt, he was going to have to get above it, to hammer the vulnerable upper and front decks. That was tip number three.

The only question now, Craft mused as he dodged another withering burst of fire from Excalibur's weapons batteries, was to figure out just _how_ to get up there at all.

Then, as he saw the armored bay doors beginning to open all over Excalibur's surface, he sighed and gave a weary grin.

Tip #4: When fighting a battlecruiser, enemy fighters can either be your best friends, your worst enemies, or both.

"Well, this should be fun." He muttered, and hit the accelerator.

* * *

Thunderous explosions tore through the canyon. The ground erupted in raging firestorms of death and destruction, and even the very air itself seemed to burn as countless missiles, lasers and energy beams ripped apart the battlefield.

Omega barreled on through it, ignoring the hellish conditions as he kept his gaze fixed solely on the source of the attacks.

Queenbee laid down another devastating array of explosions, panels on her massive lower body snapping open to release a storm of missiles. Omega growled and leapt over them, his Buster blazing. He gritted his teeth as he watched his shots dissipate harmlessly against her armored panzer plates. Even the reflective armor on Granz's Orotic paled in comparison to this stuff, and _that_ had managed to stop a fully charged deathblow from his Saber, a feat which was no less than miraculous.

As he continued racing across the terrain, always keeping just ahead of Queenbee's murderous fire, he ran his eyes over her body, his mind moving just as fast as his legs as he pieced together what intel he'd gathered so far.

To sum it up briefly, Queenbee was practically a floating fortress. The heavy panzer plates that covered her body rendered her practically invulnerable to anything but the most powerful of attacks. Also, he had discovered that the armored lower body was little more than a container, countless weapons and ammunition concealed within it. At a moment's notice, she could open any of the plated hatches scattered all over its surface to cut loose with a staggering variety of attacks. He suspected that her upper body was not quite as well defended, but without a clear shot at it, that information was next to useless.

Nope, Omega decided, the best option, no, the _only_ option right now that offered even a slight chance of victory was to get up close and personal. Only his O-Saber would stand a chance of taking out her arsenal. Once that was down, then he'd figure out how to deal with the Pseudoroid herself.

His eyes narrowed as he leapt backwards, avoiding a wave of fiery lasers that stitched the ground with explosions. No, he would prefer to settle this without killing the Pseudoroid. He had…_plans_…for her!

Omega tapped his headset and opened a line to Ace.

"Oi, Phoenix! You there?"

"No, I went to the beach." Ace replied sarcastically. "OF COURSE I'M HERE!"

"Ah, quit bitching! I need some info here!"

"Yeah, sure. Go ahead!"

"You said somebody else took this broad down before, right?"

Ace nodded. "That's right. Ashe and Grey fought her during the Game of Destiny and defeated her."

"Good!" Omega gave a fixed grin as he fired an array of grenade launchers at Queenbee, courtesy of the Gates of Babylon.

"Cause see, this bitch's armor is just eating up my attacks like they're friggin' _nothing_! Any hints on how to get through it-whoasonnuvabitch!-would be welcome right now!"

"We're on it!" Ace replied confidently.

"Swell. I'll-Jesus , where the hell is she _keeping_ this stuff?-I'll call you back!"

Omega cut the connection as the sound of more explosions rang out.

Ace whirled towards the nearest operators.

"Get me a line to Ashe, now!"

"Already dialing, sir."

"What, is _every_one trying to outdo me today?" Ace muttered, missing the giggles that followed his complaint.

"Connection established! We have Ashe on the line, sir!"

"Oh, good, she's awake." Ace grinned, turning towards the communication panel next to him. "Right, Ashe we need-SWEET MOTHER OF MERCY!"

Ace screamed like a little girl and jumped about three feet into the air.

"What?" Ashe snapped, annoyed. The Commander blinked and took a hesitant step back towards the panel.

"Wha-that's you? Bloody hell, no wonder Grey says you always take forever to get ready on mornings!" He said, awed. "If I looked that godawful when I crawled out of bed I'd probably take that long myself!"

"Ace, I have a killer hangover right now, and I got like two hours of sleep last night. My patience is practically non-existent right now, so stop commenting on my looks and tell me what the _hell_ you just woke me up for!"

"Oooh, touchy today aren't we?" Ace grinned, before turning serious once again.

"Yeah, we're right in the middle of some serious crap right now. To summarise that Saber guy from earlier is duking it out with a revived Queenbee and having a hell of a time trying to get through her armor. We figured since you killed her already, you'd have some clue to getting through it."

"What?" Ashe demanded. "Revived? How is that even possible?"

"See for yourself." Ace spun the monitor to face the massive wallscreen, showing Omega smashing his way through an almost solid wall of weapons-fire.

"Son of a…" Ashe cursed. "I scrapped her myself! How in the heck-"

As the image zoomed in on Queenbee, just in time to see the Red Ripper ricochet crazily off of the near-invulnerable armor, Ashe gasped.

"Wait…! Hold that image!"

As the surprised Commander complied, a frozen picture of Queenbee appearing on the screen, Ashe's eyes narrowed.

"Something's…not right here...That's not the same Queenbee I fought!"

"What?"

"It might be the same mind, but definitely not the same body!" Ashe growled. "Whoever brought her back made some serious modifications. She never had nearly that much firepower back when I fought her, and her body didn't look like that either! If I didn't know better, I'd say her chassis was upgraded, from the looks of it, probably to something on a full fledged combat-Reploid level."

"Ye-es, I suppose you could suspect that…" Ace coughed, carefully avoiding looking at the Pseudoroid's considerably more humanoid looking upper body. "I had been wondering about that myself, actually."

Ashe gave him a knowing look.

"Yeah, I'm sure I know _exactly_ what you were looking at, too."

"Wha-no, of course not!" Ace spluttered, "I-er, of course, I'm talking about the strange augments on the upper back and shoulders! You know, the spiky looking shoulder guards? Those looked a lot different from how I remember Queenbee appearing, so…"

"…Riiiiight." Ashe said, clearly unconvinced. "And this inspection had nothing to do with her new bre-"

"Look, do you have any advice or not?" Ace yelled, desperately cutting her off. "Cause we sort of need it right freakin' now!"

Ashe nodded.

"Yeah, but just this: The only thing that'll do her any damage is a Thunder Element attack. Anything else and that armor of hers'll just brush it off like nothing. If you can hit her weapons-carrier enough damage with that, it'll explode. With that gone, her lower body'll be defenseless. That's her weak point. So long as Saber's got a Thunder chip of some kind, just tell him to keep bashing away with that!"

"…And if he doesn't have any Thunder moves…?"

"Well, then he's screwed." Ashe growled. "Because other than that, nothing short of a frickin' _nuke_ is going to even scratch her paint job. Trust me, I tried dropping Bifrost on her last time."

Ace felt a bead of sweat run down the back of his neck.

"Er…right. Yeah, thanks! Okay, I'll let him know."

"Ace."

The Commander halted, surprised by the tone in her voice. Ashe looked at him seriously, an uneasy look on her face.

"All jokes aside, watch out for that new body of hers. When I fought Queenbee the first time, she stayed at a distance when attacking. But she's not doing that this time. Instead, she's just charging in headfirst, even against a psychopath like that Saber guy. That means she has no reason to worry about her carrier being destroyed."

"And that means there's still something we're not seeing…" Ace finished, his eyes narrowing.

"Exactly."

"…"Ace stood there for a moment, considering her words, before giving the command to re-establish communications with Omega.

* * *

Omega whirled through the air, dodging bullets, before he slammed the massive Zweihander straight across Queenbee's chest. The Pseudoroid gave a stifled grunt and flew backwards, her reflective armor stopping the edge of the blade, but not the force behind it. Omega landed as the massive Pseudoroid crashed into the canyon wall and slid down in a pile of rocks and rubble.

"Well?" he demanded. "Is that the best you can do?"

Ignoring him, Queenbee's wings flared as she lifted herself back up. Her arms, now five fingered and more human looking than her previous insect-like appearance, hung limply at her sides, her shoulders slumped. As she slowly lifted her head again, there was barely a glimmer of light in her blue eyes, a dull, lifeless expression haunting her features. Omega saw it, and his eyes widened in anger, his fists clenching involuntarily.

"Say something, damn you!" he roared, infuriated beyond all reason, the mere sight of her sparking off all of his most hated memories, memories of a time when he had been in a similar situation.

"Stop sniveling and get back up!" Omega growled, "You're not done yet, and neither am I! Enough of this wussy emo shit! Grow a spine and fight! Stop lying down and whining like a beaten dog!"

"…" Queenbee's only response was to release another swarm of missiles towards him. Omega's eyes narrowed.

"All right, then, if that's how you want it to be…!"

Explosions lit up the canyon again as the missiles detonated, a massive fireball rising into the sky. As Queenbee moved closer to inspect the damage, there was a flash of light, and suddenly a figure burst out of the superheated cloud of smoke and fire. Flames trailing from his tattered coat, Omega crashed down atop Queenbee's carrier, facing her head on. Snarling, he lashed out, his armored claw slamming closed around her throat. Tightening his grip, he drew her in, dark anger burning in his eyes at her lack of resistance.

"What is _wrong_ with you?" he snarled.

For the first time, Queenbee actually responded to him, a dry chuckle escaping her throat.

"Why should I bother fighting with you?" she demanded. "Whether I win or lose, it makes little difference. Even if I win, there's nothing for me but to return to that bastard's slavery. At least in death, I won't have to worry about such things like that. So go ahead."

She tilted her head back and held her arms out to the sides in acceptance.

"Go ahead and kill me."

Omega's jaw tightened.

"You worthless…!"

WHAM!

The punch caught Queenbee by surprise, slamming her head back on her shoulders. Omega stood before her, his right hand clenched into a fist, rage on his face.

"Just listen to yourself, you coward!" He snarled. "Even death would be too good for a beaten dog like you! You _want_ to die? Don't make me laugh!"

"What…?" Queenbee stammered, taken aback.

Omega leaned in. "You think you're the only one who's ever been enslaved like this before?" he growled. "Guess again. I've been there, and I've done that. And you know what? Not once in any of those years did I ever sink as low as you have. A beaten dog, whimpering and cowering in the corner, afraid of its master's anger…! A broken doll, tossed about and used as a mere plaything, obediently serving the master's every whim…! Even though I had no choice in the matter, I still fought tooth and claw to resist, no matter what it cost me! And now I see you, someone who hasn't experienced even half as much torment as I have, broken and beaten, all but begging for death!"

Omega reared back, a disgusted look on his face.

"You make me sick!"

Inside Queenbee, something snapped. Faster than either of them could react, her right arm shot out, punching through Omega's chest. The God of Destruction staggered, a startled look on his face.

Queenbee was breathing hard, her eyes wide with fear and anger.

"Y-you…! I don't care who you are…What do you know about anything? You're just some lowlife trash who probably thinks he knows everything, mouthing off to me like that! You don't know even half of what I've gone through!"

The Pseudoroid panted, her body shuddering as her mind replayed the horrors of her enslavement. She hunched over, retching as her mental scars reopened, flooding her brain with the memories of the countless weeks of pain and agony.

"That monster…he tore me apart, and then put me back together, modifying me for his own sickening amusement! And he always kept me conscious, aware of what was happening! I wanted to die, I screamed for death, and yet he simply laughed and went on, savoring the pain he was causing me! Worse still…!"

Queenbee looked up at him, her faceplate retracting as Omega finally got a glimpse of her true face. Bronze skin, and orange eyes, wide and hysterical as they stared up at him, tears streaming from them. It would have been beautiful, if not for the terrible anguish and pain ravaging her features now.

"My body…He changed me into this, combining my essence as a Pseudoroid with a human body!" She screamed. "I had to watch as he dismantled her, piece by piece, until she couldn't even scream anymore…Then he did the same to me, rebuilding me and combining both my technology as a Pseudoroid with that of Legion's biotechnology! _This isn't even my own body anymore!_"

She gasped for air, the words pouring out of her now.

"I was the only one who survived. I never even knew the name of the girl he killed to make this abomination! And still he was not content with that! At night…at night, he used this body, used me, as nothing more than an obedient toy…!"

Now her voice failed her, her mind reeling as she relived those terrible memories. The once-mighty Pseudoroid, now frightened and bewildered, trapped in a manufactured body that was completely alien to her, and forced into subservience under a depraved madman, sobbed hysterically, heedless of the battle raging around them.

"I don't even know why I'm telling you all this…" She murmured finally, staring blankly down at the armored surface of her carrier, now stained by the blood dripping down onto it.

"You're dead, aren't you? And then he'll order me to kill all of your friends next, and then it'll end, the same way it always does…"

A sudden pressure on her wrist caused her to look up, her eyes widening in shock.

"What…?"

One hand gripping the arm that was still buried in his chest, the legendary God of Destruction lifted his head and stared her full in the face, a bloodstained smile crossing his features.

"You know…I really wonder about that, don't you?"

As lightning crackled to life around him, Queenbee gave a terrified scream and pulled herself free of him, retreating as her body instinctively reacted to the electrical power, a response that was a result of Gates' overuse of the restraints built into her.

Omega drew the Zweihander, the blade glowing as electricity danced along its length. He lifted one hand and beckoned her on.

"Then come at me with everything you have. If you think I'm truly bluffing, then attack me, and crush my lies with your full power! Only then will you get a chance at the release you so hope for!"

* * *

**[Cue Music: Metal Gear Solid- Battle in the Base]**

Explosions tore through the Excalibur's inner decks, in hot pursuit of their creator.

Craft thundered down the metal corridors, tossing grenade after grenade in his wake. His cannon, useless in these small spaces, was safely stowed on his back. Any Raider foolish enough to get in his way met a swift end at the hands of the massive combat knife in his grip.

The commando risked a quick look out a passing window. Sure enough, he could make out the sight of his bike, its autopilot still leading the enemy gunners on a merry chase. Once the fighters had made their appearance, he had simply removed his cloak and fastened it to the handlebars of the bike, making it seem as though he was still riding it. After that, it had simply been a matter of ambushing a low-flying fighter and hijacking it.

He grinned as he remembered the rather spectacular entrance he'd made by driving it straight into the docking bay, neatly escaping before the inevitable explosion went off and wiped out all of the other fighters still inside.

Then he'd just gone on a lobbing spree, chucking grenades at anything that seemed particularly important. Now, though, he was out, meaning that his weapons now came down to his cannon, and the combat knife.

Fortunately, all of this was still a part of the plan.

Craft smirked as he heard the sounds of numerous Raiders all charging off towards the damage wrought by his grenades. Promptly heading in the opposite direction, he leapt up a flight of stairs, heading for the command deck.

"Now…" he muttered, "Time to make the rats abandon ship…"

* * *

Celtis swept around to Gates' back, both O-Sabers cleaving downwards in an attempt to split him in two. A flash of light, and he disappeared again, reappearing behind her in the blink of an eye. The back kick that Celtis slammed into his gut quickly put paid to any thoughts of an attack, and he vanished with a grunt of pain, firing an array of Erasers in retaliation. As the powerful beams scarred the desert around her, Celtis nimbly leapt around them, a terrible laugh escaping her throat.

"Come on, come on! Is that the best you can do, you insect?"

She skidded to a sudden halt, a mortified look crossing her face as she clapped a hand over her mouth.

"What in the…Why did I say that?" she panicked.

A vein pulsed in Gates' temple.

"Mock me, will you?" He yelled angrily, rearing up. "All right then, try this!"

A flash of light, and suddenly one of the Excalibur's fighters appeared, flying straight out of the transfer and hurtling towards Celtis. Gates had pulled it out of the battle and into his own without so much as batting an eyelid. Celtis gave another wild laugh and lunged to meet it, the violet energy of her O-Sabers flaring eagerly.

"Don't mind if I do!"

In a single, speedy motion she leapt up, landing atop the fighter's fuselage. Without even slowing down, she charged forward, her sabers dragging across the steel body of the machine as she ran. As it fell apart in pieces behind her, Celtis launched herself into the air, hurtling towards the startled Gatemaster.

"What the-!"

Gates didn't even have time to react as she slammed into him, knocking them both out of the air. Fortunately, the force of the fighter's explosion had propelled her a little faster than she had expected, so instead of getting skewered by the two blades, Gates merely got two slashes across his sides before smashing into the ground at full speed.

Celtis burst out of the dustcloud and rolled across the ground a few times before bouncing back to her feet and skidding the rest of the way. She looked up, grinning arrogantly.

"How's that, ya bastard? You wanna throw stuff at me, you better bring a frigging _asteroid_ if you want a chance of taking me down!"

There was a pause.

"Goddammit!" Celtis yelled, whacking herself across the face. "Why does that keep happening? Omega, your frigging Biometal's defective or something!"

Every single time she leapt into battle, it was like her personality changed. She knew it was still her, but now she was talking and acting like the arrogant bastard called the God of Destruction! Yelling taunts she'd never dream of saying out loud normally and fighting with moves that she _knew_ she'd never have been able to pull off…all of this was because of her momentary lapses in resistance towards Model O. It was like the Biometal's real personality, i.e. Omega, was bleeding through and mixing with her own.

Celtis sweatdropped and looked across at the burning wreckage of the fighter she'd just destroyed.

Yeah, that might explain her doing crazy shit like that. Normally, she'd have just run like hell.

Gates picked himself up again, shaking his head to clear the ringing in his ears.

"Frigging…you'll pay for that, you little maggot!"

Snapping one arm out to the side, the air behind him glowed with life as he readied another wave of Erasers. Celtis dropped into a crouch, ready to dodge again.

Minutes passed.

A tumbleweed rolled past idly.

"Sooo…"Celtis said finally. "Are you going to attack or what?"

Gates started to sweat. "I'm…trying?"

Nervously, he tapped his communications line. "Excalibur? Where's my cannon support?"

* * *

Five minutes earlier…

The bridge staff of the Excalibur readied their weapons nervously, all aiming at the entrance to the command deck. As the numbers atop the elevator continued to grow ever closer, the tension in the air grew thicker.

When it finally gave the telltale 'ding!' of having reached its destination, there was a mass yell from the Raiders and they opened fire, a practically solid wave of bullets and lasers slamming into the elevator doors. As the metal surface was pounded into ruin, energy eating through the doors as if they were paper, they bent and twisted, half opening with the force. Even then, the Raiders didn't let up, pouring a concentrated blitzkrieg of destruction into the interior.

It wasn't until a full three minutes had passed before they finally stopped. Satisfied that nothing could have possibly survived their assault, they cautiously moved in to inspect the remains.

It was at that exact moment, when all of their attention was focused solely on the ruined elevator, that a ceiling grate behind them shifted aside and Craft's massive cannon emerged, closely followed by its owner.

Hanging upside down from the vent, the stoic commando thumbed the priming button on his cannon and allowed himself a small smile as the still unaware Raiders appeared in his targeting system.

**[Insert Metal Gear Solid noise of discovery]**

"Fish in a barrel…" he murmured, and cut loose.

Now, after the carnage had finally settled down, he reclined in one of the bridge chairs, watching in amusement as Gates frantically tried to raise any of the bridge crew he'd left behind.

The rest of the Raiders were currently occupied in fighting their way through a ship whose defenses had suddenly turned against them, locking them in and cutting off their communications.

"Let's see how well you can fight without those pesky Erasers of yours to back you up." Craft muttered, and turned his attention back to redirecting the main guns against the fighters that were even now hammering the massive ship, attempting to destroy it now that it lay in enemy hands.

* * *

Celtis grinned at the look of impotent fury on Gates' face, Model O's arrogance bleeding through again.

"Looks like you're out of guns, Gatemaster!"

An explosion of rocks and debris, a flash of roaring lightning, and the massive form of Queenbee smashed up towards them, breaking through the rocky edge of the canyon rim with a heart-wrenching scream of pain. Her weapons-carrier scarred and ruined, she crashed along the ground, fragments of panzer plating trailing in her wake. As Gates whirled, stunned, the battered crimson figure of Omega pulled himself up over the edge of the cliff, the edges of his coat tattered and torn.

"That's more like it!" He yelled triumphantly. "That's the kind of fight I was expecting out of you! Hell, I think you probably killed me about three times with that last set of attacks!"

Queenbee stared up at the sky overhead, her mind whirling in bewilderment. She had no idea what had just happened down there. She had simply charged in headfirst, wanting nothing more than to wipe the floor with this arrogant stranger, who claimed that even with all of the suffering she had endured, she still had no right to be begging for death.

And now as she lay here, battered and bruised, she began to feel a strange sensation running through her body. For the first time in the weeks she had been Gates' slave, the Pseudoroid felt truly alive again. Even the lightning imbued attacks he had struck her with, although they had damaged her body, it felt as though somehow, it was healing something deep within her.

This man…she managed to lever herself up on one hand, to stare at him as he stood there, laughing aloud, his massive violet broadsword hefted over one shoulder. Even though he alone had seen her true form, the terrible creation that Gates had built, he showed no signs of disgust. Not even caring about that, his only goal was to fight her, to urge her onwards until her mind had broken free of the terrible darkness that Gates had buried her in.

As her mask cracked slightly, revealing the human eye beneath it, Queenbee managed a smile, another unfamiliar ability of this new body. Now she realized what he had been saying. Even though her body might be broken and tormented under Gates, so long as he could not break her 'soul', the very essence that made her Queenbee, he would not win. He had done that already, but now, this one man, this crimson-clad stranger who had faced her head on, had given her back something that she had thought dead a long time ago. He had taken the tiny spark that still burned within her, and fanned it back into a brilliant flame.

"You useless piece of scrap metal!" At the sound of Gates' furious bellow, Queenbee stiffened, her body instinctively reacting to the tone of voice. Moments later, the pain of Gates' control chip slammed into her, the Pseudoroid's back arching in pain. Now though, she gritted her teeth, refusing to cry out.

"You're a fucking Pseudoroid! Modified by me, Donovan Gates, one of the greatest scientific minds of the century! What the FUCK do you think you're doing, losing to some no name piece of shit like this?"

As the pain faded, Queenbee slumped back against the ground. Panting, she tilted her head back until she could see the hated form of her master, floating in the air with his arms folded.

"Go…to…hell…" she gasped.

Gates stiffened.

"WHAT was that?"

When Queenbee didn't respond, he growled and cranked up the voltage.

"I asked you a question, bitch!" The Gatemaster snarled, his voice almost inaudible over the sound of the raging electricity.

"And…gh! You…heard my…answer!" Queenbee screamed.

Gates' eyes widened. "You dare defy me? The one who made you what you are?"

He turned the power up to the maximum and hit her again and again, all reason lost within his blinding rage.

"I made you a miracle of technology! I gave you power! I gave you strength! I gave you a body that was a masterpiece of weapons technology! And this is your response?" He thundered, furious. "Still you choose to defy me?"

Even through the teravolts of agony coursing through her, Queenbee felt the strange muscles of her unfamiliar new face twist into that odd thing called a smile again.

"No matter how much…pain you…cause me…! This is no…Nothing…! Compared to…his power!"

She remembered the crimson-clad hero again. Perhaps that had been his goal all along. By fighting her with the immense power of his own lightning-based attacks, power that far overshadowed anything Gates had hit her with before, he'd given her the ability to withstand the Gatemaster's punishment. Without that threat hanging over her head anymore, the former Pseudoroid could find the strength to stand back up on her own feet, and to defy her master.

She shut her eyes and screamed her rebellion as loud as her damaged voice would allow her.

"I WILL NEVER OBEY YOU AGAIN!"

Gates roared in outrage at her response. Before he could hit her with another blast of electrical punishment, another voice interrupted him.

"ENOUGH!"

There was a brilliant flare of red light, and a tremendous impact smashed across Gates' jaw, sending the world spinning crazily around him as the Gatemaster was brutally bashed out of the air. As he crashed into the floor, the electricity cut off, interrupted by the force of the impact. Queenbee collapsed, her chest heaving as she gasped for air. Both she and Celtis turned, looking towards the voice's owner.

Omega still stood at the cliff's edge, his shoulders shaking with exertion. One fist was still extended in front of him, clenched tightly.

"Wait…" Celtis gasped. "If he's still over there then how did he…?"

Turning, she saw it. Floating there in the air where Gates had been, one of Omega's gauntlets hovered serenely. Its fingers clenched into a fist, the jewel at the center of the palm glowed brightly. Celtis looked back at Omega, who was now wearing a similar look of surprise. He looked down at his still clenched fist. Sure enough, the white, oversized gauntlet was gone, leaving him only with the normal crimson one he had always worn as the God of Destruction. He opened and closed the fingers, watching in amazement as the one that floated in the air did the same.

It was as though his body had simply been waiting for it. At the instant when Queenbee had finally defied Gates outright, he had felt a surge of power, the same as when Leos' former gauntlets had changed into this new, familiar form. Instinctively, he had channeled that power, and all of his anger towards Gates into one single outlet, an overwhelming desire to simply punch his lights out. There had been a flash of red light, his hand automatically lashing out, and then the next moment, his gauntlet had done just that.

A gesture to the left, and then another to the right and Omega grinned as the floating gauntlet copied the motion. Holding out one hand towards it, fingers outstretched, his grin widened as it returned to him, sliding back over his arm and clicking back into place.

He lifted it up and flexed the fingers in amusement.

"Oh, you are _screwed_, teleport-boy!"

An unholy roar and the ground exploded. As the unleashed power of Gates' transfer control distorted the world, rocks and debris floating up into the air, the Gatemaster slowly rose to his feet, eyes burning with anger.

"Well, look who just woke up!" Omega grinned.

"You compromise my battleship, you destroy my troops, turn my own slave against me, and then even dare to lay a hand on me personally…!" Gates snarled. "Truly, it seems as though Phoenix's expectations of you were not as undeserved as I first thought!"

He lifted himself into the air, lines of energy glowing to life over his armor.

"Fortunately, I still happen to have a few cards of my own to play!"

* * *

Reaching one hand down the panel that held the controls for Queenbee, he typed in a complex code.

Around the startled Pseudoroid's waist, the clamps holding the now useless weapons carrier in place disengaged, before the entire carrier self-destructed. Queenbee disappeared, reappearing before Gates in another transfer, his iron grip clamping around her throat.

Now Ace and everyone else could see the extent of the modifications Gates had made. Where once Queenbee had possessed nothing more than an insect-like abdomen, now she possessed a pair of long, slender legs, fully covered in ridged, spiked armor.

"What the hell…?" The Commander muttered. "She looks almost no different from a regular Reploid body…"

"Sir!" One of the operators suddenly turned, a sickened look on her face.

"It's her body…the readings we're getting from it…they're…"

Ace clutched at the railing, leaning over.

"What? What is it?"

The operator couldn't continue. It was one of her companions that did, a grim expression on her features.

"It was shielded by the energy signature of her weapons carrier, but there's no mistake now. We're reading…" she hesitated for a moment.

"We're picking up readings of Legion registered implants."

Ace frowned. "Legion registered implants…? But aren't Legion citizens the only people who…"

The blood drained from his face. Next to him, even Marino looked pale, taking a step back as she unconsciously moved closer to Cinnamon, who had pressed both hands to her mouth.

Ace gritted his teeth, forcing back the nausea.

"Any matches in the missing persons database…?" he managed to ask.

The operator's sorrowful expression was answer enough for him. The steel railing bent and twisted as his terrible grip suddenly snapped it in two, red-hot rage staining his vision a bloody crimson color.

"Gates, you fucking SON OF A BITCH!"

Gates heard the Scarlet Phoenix's anguished howl of rage and smiled thinly.

"I see you've finally realized the truth, Ace. You always were a little slow to catch on."

"You…How could you have fallen so far, to even think of something like this…?" Ace snarled.

Gates merely chuckled, ignoring Queenbee's weak struggles.

" 'Something like this'? Don't make me laugh, Ace. This is the way all science advances. There must always be those outcast geniuses, like me, who are willing to throw away petty things like morals and ethics for the sake of further advancement! And always, there are weak-minded fools like you who cast us out and label us as monsters and freaks. Just imagine, a Pseudoroid, a warmachine capable of facing even a Chosen One head on, modified to become an artificial Chosen One itself! But instead of using a true Biometal, to be able to call on the power of a Pseudoroid!"

"What are you saying…?" Ace growled, his eyes narrowing. Gates smiled, his eyes glittering with madness.

"Ah, so you are interested, after all! Imagine, a human whose body has been merged with that of a machine, truly transcending the barrier between Reploid and human, instead of the mere implants and other such foolishness that passes for biotechnology nowadays. In itself, that would of course be an amazing accomplishment, would it not?"

Gates clenched his free hand in front of his face, his features burning with manic excitement.

"But no, that was not nearly enough for me! I craved still more knowledge, seeking to go where no other scientist has ever gone before! I sought to surpass even the greatest of them all, the legendary Magnum Phoenix!"

There was an audible gasp from the personnel within the A.C.E command center. Following the conversation from the bridge of the Excalibur battleship, Craft stiffened and leaned forward. Even Celtis stepped back, stunned by the mention of that name.

"What? But that's…that's insane!"

"Insane?" Gates snorted. "HAH! What's truly insane is to simply stay here in ignorance, relying on the myths of the past and our own ignorance to guide us forward! The Magnum Phoenix's knowledge was so great, he became almost a god! Space, time, or even alternate realities, nothing could stand in his way! Years later and we still can't even come _close_ to matching his genius!"

Gates gestured dramatically to the crimson handgun at Celtis' side.

"That weapon, for instance! It's power relies on being able to strip the very matter from the surroundings, and to condense it into bullets that can be fired at incredible velocity! Even today, there isn't a shred of Legion technology that stands a chance of duplicating that ability!"

Celtis looked shocked as the truth of his words hit her.

"You mean…this is…"

"A Phoenix Artifact." Ace said grimly. "I had hoped to tell you the truth at a later date, but it seems as though my hand has been forced."

Gates sneered. "Again, your cowardice rears its yellow head! Instead of accepting the power of the Magnum Phoenix's technology, you Legion dogs try everything in your power to bury it, hiding it away from the world!"

"That power almost annihilated every living thing in existence!" Ace snarled.

"Because he was a fool!" Gates roared. "I am not! I will surpass even him, taking this world forward into the real future, one ruled by science and intellect!"

"With you as its leader, right?" The Scarlet Phoenix snapped.

"Of course!" Gates laughed insanely "After all, as the one who made it all possible, why shouldn't I be its ruler?"

His face darkened with anger.

"But enough talk! I'll show you the power of my research, that which is sealed within my greatest creation!"

Lines of programming suddenly streamed across Queenbee's eyes. She screamed aloud, and started to jerk and struggle, desperately fighting against the program that was invading her mind, stealing her body from her control. Gates tightened his grip around her throat, his eyes burning with insane lights.

"Enough! You WILL serve me, whether it is by your own choice or not!"

As Queenbee's mind was finally locked away, she could only watch mutely from a corner of Cyberspace as an automatic command program assumed control of her body.

Gates released her, and watched as the Pseudoroid's body drifted upwards and away from him, outlined in a blazing halo of golden energy. The world around her suddenly distorted, the barrier between Cyberspace and the real world being forced apart.

The Gatemaster grinned as new armor began to form around the Pseudoroid's body.

"By merging a human body with that of a Pseudoroid, instead of a normal Reploid, I was able to create a being that was not only a Pseudoroid, but with the capability of a human's mind and nervous system, a being that could take the power of that Pseudoroid and magnify it to even greater extents, becoming a weapon without equal!"

"…Holy crap." Omega said, staring up at the thing forming within the supernova of energy.

"Commander Ace! We're picking up a staggering amount of energy radiation from the Pseudoroid! It looks almost similar to that of a Megamerge!"

"What?" Ace whirled. "A Pseudoroid that can use a Megamerge protocol?"

"Not quite!" Gates smiled. "By using my mastery over Cyberspace, I created an advanced form for her, far superior to that of the original Pseudoroid! Now, I give you, Queenbee Mark II: Model Vespa!"

The glowing sphere of hexagons shattered, revealing the true form of their opponent.

As before, Queenbee's upper body and arms remained relatively untouched, except for her forearm armor, which was now designed to resemble wide, flaring sleeves, the ends of which were divided into hexagonal shapes, much like that of an open honeycomb, the open ends of it pointing forward, around her wrists. The strange shoulder armor which both Ace and Ashe had noted before, had finally revealed its purpose. They had expanded and opened, locking into place as supports for a _massive_, rectangular array of hexagonal containers, much like the ones that had previously been installed on Queenbee's weapons carrier. There were two such arrays, one on each shoulder, both as tall as the carrier had been, only now they were wider, and in a flat, rectangular shape instead of a spherical one. At the back of each array, the conical, bulky muzzles of over a dozen booster rockets came to life with a high pitched whine. Behind her, her wasp-like tail had been altered, now twice its original size, and surrounded by a flaring, design similar to that of her 'sleeves', the conical tip of her stinger emerging from the center of it. Her legs were the same as they had appeared before, only now they were smoother, each section looking more rounded and oval than the spiky armor she had worn before. The mouths of four hexagonal tubes, much like the ones arrayed around her wrists and tail, jutted from the outer sides of her thighs, just below her hips. Finally, her lower legs were covered in the same flaring design as her wrists and tail, almost hiding the armored high-heel like boots at the center.

Its transformation complete, Vespa lifted its head and gave a shrill, buzzing screech. Gates levitated before her, a proud, arrogant smile on his face.

"Just look at you, my dear. Truly a sight to make a father proud."

Vespa lowered its head slightly, its eyes blank as Gates patted its head. He turned back towards Omega and the others, an amused smile on his face.

"Don't worry about Vespa here betraying me now. Her personality's been locked away, so now all that's left is a computerized attack system, loyally awaiting my commands. I'll admit, it's a bit boring, but I certainly can't fault its efficiency!"

His eyes narrowed, triumph written all over his face as he stared down at his enemies.

"Now then…if even a Chosen One has difficulty fighting a normal Pseudoroid, I wonder, just how difficult it will be for you to face a Pseudoroid whose power surpasses even that!"

Celtis looked around as she heard footsteps. Omega came to a stop next to her, his Zweihander slung over his shoulder as he stared speculatively up at their foes.

"Hmm…Yeah, I think you're gonna have to deal with Gates. I doubt you'd last two seconds up against miss Vespa up there."

"Gee, ya THINK?" Celtis snapped, and then promptly slapped a hand over her mouth in embarrassment. Omega raised an eyebrow. She caught the look he was giving her and shot him an annoyed one in return.

"By extension, this is YOUR fault." She muttered. Omega sweatdropped.

"Yeah, okay, I don't even want to know."

Turning his attention back to Gates and Vespa, Omega brought the Zweihander's tip down to rest on the ground.

"Sniper-boy's probably still busy wiping out the rest of this guy's fleet, so we probably can't expect any help from him for a while." He paused for a minute.

"Don't die, Arcana."

Celtis started, surprised. "Wh-what?"

"You managed to tame a Biometal containing my powers, with nothing more than your own willpower and the determination to prevent it from winning again. I'll be interested to see just how far those naïve ideals of yours will take you…"

With that enigmatic statement, he was gone, charging forward to the attack. Gates laughed madly and snapped one hand forward, the earth around Omega suddenly cracking and breaking apart as his transfers distorted their component molecules.

It abruptly ceased as a Hades bullet slammed into Gates' head, knocking him off balance. Angered, he whirled to see Celtis, both Busters already charging. He gritted his teeth.

"All right, then, so be it! Vespa! Destroy the one in red! I'll take the girl!"

"**Confirmed.**" Vespa droned, boosters firing as it moved forward.

* * *

A/N: HAH! Didn't see any of THAT coming, did you? *punches the air triumphantly* Score another notch for the man called "World's Most Unpredictable!"

…Okay, so I haven't _actually_ been called that, but you get my point anyway.

Yes, this chapter had a bit more dark and serious stuff in it, mostly involving Gates' twisted experiments on a human and Pseudoroid merger. I _may_ have gone a tad bit overboard with that last bit about 'every night' but, well, what I'm trying to convey is a sense of utter disgust and horror, and other such dark emotions, and to me, that is one of the worst crimes I can ever conceive, and I despise anything to do with it, so I was kinda hoping it would convey the same effect to you guys. I apologise if it seems repetitive, particularly after I used a similar schtick twice on Pandora in the last couple of chapters, but I'm trying to emphasise here so I'll use it anyway.

For those of you who think that I blew Queenbee's hysterical tirade out of proportion, I'll put it this way:

Imagine having your own body disassembled. All the while, you will remain conscious, and capable of feeling every agonizing sensation. Unable to die, unable to black out and unable to resist, all you can do is watch. Then you get to see another body being taken apart, in a similar manner to your own, with the owner screaming and cursing in exactly the same way you probably can't anymore, thanks to the loss of your voicebox and lungs. Fortunately, that other person is granted the lucky escape of death. Unfortunately, that corpse's parts are going to be added to you, recreating your body by incorporating these new 'parts' into your original form.

Now, some of you may argue that this is basically just transplantation, and that this goes on all the time in hospitals for things like livers, kidneys, etc etc.

At this point, I'd like you to consider Queenbee herself. Created as a Pseudoroid, she is accustomed to a body of steel and fire and circuitry, designed solely for military firepower and little else. Not only that, but as a Pseudoroid, she can consider herself entirely separate from humanity, all of whom possess bodies and appearances much different from her own, and also much weaker. Living her entire life in that shell of steel, capable of 'feeling' only through what her sensors change from physical information into electronic data, to be analysed and deciphered by her computerized mind. Emotions, aside from the evil ones she was more familiar with when she joined Albert and fought Ashe and Grey would probably be wholly incomprehensible to her, as much as strange things like 'smiling' or having expressions, etc, etc.

Now, picture being born that way, living like that for your whole life, and then suddenly having your body merged with another that is completely different, made of different components, and capable of picking up a far wider array of sensations and also to experience these sensations in an entirely different way from what you're used to. The body moves differently, feels different, and is different. Worse still, you know that parts of it are from a person who just moments ago was clinically and coolly butchered by the same maniac that just fit them to your body. A new, unfamiliar thing called a heart, of flesh and blood now pounds in your suddenly soft chest, augmented by the fusion core that now powers the strange combination of organic and mechanical technology that now comprises your internal workings.

And there is still worse to come. Even with all of these unfamiliar, frightening sensations, in a body that your mind knows how to move in theory, but hasn't the slightest idea of how to control in practicality, there is still more torture ahead.

…I'm not sure if I managed to convey the entire image properly just now, but with a little luck, I managed to convey just enough for Queenbee's mindset to be justified. So no, this will not be one of those fics where the previously inhuman character gets a new, perfectly working human body, just so the writer can be justified in using them in a relationship with another character. If I'm doing that, I'm doing it MY way, with as much logic and realism I can put into it without going overboard.

Accompanied of course, by my now no doubt familiar method of altering and twisting plots, storylines, science and technology to suit my own purposes. As an example, I give the Gilgamesh Factor. From what it once was in various other animes and series, which I will not go into now, I combined it with the Megaman universe's ever present transervers, threw in a little of that chaotic ingenuity of my own to create transfer tags, and well, you know the rest.

If you understand what I'm saying, then great! You, my good person, kick sixteen different kinds of ass!

If not, kindly refrain from flaming, or I will obliterate you. Believe me, I've got a bigger flamethrower.

However, LEGITIMATE questions and queries will be accepted, as well as any form of CONSTRUCTIVE criticism.

…Huh. I don't remember ever making this much of a fuss for anything before. * scratches head in confusion *

Meh. Must be a side effect of getting over a hundred reviews. Makes me realize just how big this is getting!

Well, whatever. Either way, enjoy the read!

DarkShift Out!

P.S. Before you ask, no, Gates is NOT Gate from X6. Any similarities between the two are simply in name, and in the mad-scientist part of Donovan Gates' character.


	19. Chapter 18: Legendary Weapon

**Chapter 18: Legendary Weapon**

Disclaimer: Me vs. Capcom = Capcom wins.

And here it is at last! Just as promised, four weeks to the day since I released the last chapter, here's the newest one! The final part of the three chapter war against Gates, and the climactic conclusion of it all!

By the way, for all of you who keep asking, no, Phoenix Magnion, a boss from MMZ2 and the Magnum Phoenix here are NOT the same! Their names just sound similar, that's all!

But anyway, enough standing around talking! As a great man once said "Less talk, MORE EPIC!"

On with the story!

* * *

Craft glanced at the screens on the Excalibur's bridge and frowned. From the looks of things, the sheer number of failsafes that Gates had installed into the mainframe of the massive ship would set any kind of hacked self-destruct command back by at LEAST an hour.

"Well, so much for that plan…" he muttered. Then his eyes fell on a locked directory, one that seemed to have far more than the average level of security. He made a few exploratory attempts at approaching it, only to be instantaneously cut off by a stupidly powerful system lock.

Craft raised one eyebrow.

"Now this looks interesting."

With a quick glance back at the screens to make sure the Raiders were still duly occupied with fighting off their own defense systems, Craft opened up a line to the A.C.E Control Center.

"Ace, I need some help here."

The Scarlet Phoenix was instantly on the alert. "What've you got, Craft?"

"I've taken over the Excalibur's bridge. I've been locked out of the propulsion systems, so this rust-bucket won't be going anywhere, at least not by my orders, but I do have control over some of the weapons and the internal defense systems. More important than that, though, I was searching the database when I came across a locked directory hidden in the mainframe. I can't get even a glimpse of what's inside, but whatever it is, it's got more defenses than the data-banks you use to store and download your anime files."

There were several whistles, and one or two voices of amazement from the operators.

"Wow, that's a lot!"

"Yeah, even Legion's main database doesn't have that much security!"

Ace had the good grace to look slightly embarrassed.

"A-hem. Yes, well, it always pays to protect the important stuff, right? Either way, we need whatever's in there."

Craft nodded in confirmation.

"Exactly. I'm sending the files now."

Almost immediately, a completion bar popped up on the screen and started ticking away, filling up as more and more files transferred.

Ten minutes later…

"Jesus H. Christ, WHAT IS THE HOLDUP?" Ace threw his hands into the air, yelling in outrage.

The bar had just reached 51%

"Well, we're trying, sir, but to be frank, we're not getting our full power! Something else seems to be diverting a huge chunk of the processors' capability!"

There was a long pause.

"Something's…diverting…it…?" Ace said slowly, doing his level best to keep a cool, calm demeanor. At his tone, every pair of eyes in the room suddenly turned towards the Scarlet Phoenix. They _all_ recognized the familiar sound of Ace's 'oh-shit-I'm-in-trouble' voice.

Ace started to sweat.

"Uh…Er…Hmm, I wonder what could, um, be causing that…" He said shiftily, clearing his throat.

"Er…I'll, uh…I'll be right back…"

There was a flash of scarlet, and Ace Phoenix was gone, tearing down the corridors of A.C.E as he fled for his office at breakneck speeds.

"FFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCKKK!"

Marino sighed and covered her face with one hand, a vein pulsing in her temple.

"That…complete…jackass…!" she muttered. Opening her handheld computer, she tapped out a series of commands, granting her access to the A.C.E server. After a few moments, a new message popped up on it.

**CANCEL DOWNLOADS? Y/N**

Her eye twitched.

"I knew it." She grumbled. "He's got a whole server, just for his exclusive use, and yet he always manages to sneak onto the main one down here…"

She tapped the handheld screen once more and waited.

Five seconds later, an anguished scream reverberated through the whole facility.

"NOOOOOOOOOO! MY EPISODES!"

Marino snapped the screen of her handheld closed again, an oddly pleased look on her face as the files on the Command center's wall screen suddenly began to transfer much faster.

"I love my job."

Ten minutes later, the doors slid open again, and Ace staggered in, the very picture of a broken man.

"That was three whole seasons of Medabots, gone right there…" he mourned. "Four hours of downloading gone up in smoke…"

He threw Marino a dirty look.

"When this is over I am SO revoking your access privileges."

Marino shrugged.

"That's fine. I'll just steal yours."

There was a momentary pause while Ace considered that.

"I hate you so very, very much." He muttered eventually.

And then it was back to business. He stomped forward to the front of the observation deck.

"All right, Craft. We've got the files now, so we'll contact you the minute we have something. Until then, see if you can get that battleship of yours to provide some kind of support for the other two. Because from the readings coming off of that Pseudoroid, they're going to need every bit of help they can get."

Craft nodded. "I'll see what I can do. Craft out."

As the monitor returned to its previous display, showing the live satellite feed coming in from the battleground, Ace turned his attention to the operations personnel below him.

"All right, ladies, listen up!" he shouted. " That data may or may not have anything to do with this battle at the moment, but all the same, it's chock full of Gates' research and information and probably everything he's been up to since I kicked his ass out of here! Whatever's in there is still a bonanza of enemy intel, so I want it regardless of the cost!"

"Now, as I'm sure you're aware, I have recently suffered a great loss," here he shot Marino another dirty look, to which she responded by whistling innocently and looking up at the ceiling, "so at the moment, I have very little patience for sitting around and waiting! Therefore…"

He hesitated for a moment, then shook his head. '_Oh, to hell with it!_'

"Therefore…!" He went on, "The first person to get me the information in those files will be treated to an all expenses paid dinner at the finest restaurant in all of Legion City, accompanied by a date of the winner's choice!"

There was dead silence in the Command and Control center. You could have literally heard a pin drop _and then_ hear it bounce a few times too. Finally, one of the operators piped up nervously.

"Er…_any_one, sir?"

Ace nodded firmly. "Anyone. The faster that intel gets decrypted the better." He paused for a moment, an amusing thought occurring to him.

"Hell, if the winner picks me, even I'll go along with it!" he laughed aloud.

His voice echoed out over the suddenly still room. As one, the operators turned and looked at one another, identical thoughts occurring to each and every one of them.

Seconds later, the entire command Center burst into frantic motion, a whirlwind of voices, hammering keyboards, and humming terminals. Papers were tossed carelessly into the air, raining down around the utterly bewildered Scarlet Phoenix as he watched his operations personnel suddenly get to work with a speed and intensity that surpassed anything he'd seen from them before. He gaped at them, the massive wall monitor flickering as line after line of code suddenly started streaming past, the defenses of Gates' secrets being picked apart at an almost inhuman speed.

Ace looked around, suddenly nervous.

"I think I'd better get in on this myself…" he muttered. Hurrying off towards his personal console, he didn't notice Marino nonchalantly pull out her handset again. She looked around quickly, just to make sure no-one was looking, and pulled the code up herself.

Not because she was interested in the 'date' part of the prize of course, as she would have hastily assured anyone who asked. After all, that'd just be, erm, silly, right…?

The famous thief caught herself glancing sheepishly over in the direction Ace had gone, and shook her head fiercely.

"As if!" she muttered, ignoring the slight heat on her face.

* * *

Vespa howled and fired almost two dozen of its carriers' weapon containers. As the desert exploded in a holocaust of destruction, the released energy as brilliant as a second sun, Omega leapt out of it, smoke and flames trailing from his battered form. Flinging the Red Ripper after his opponent, he gritted his teeth and followed it up with a furious blitz of Buster shells, his mind racing.

Gates hadn't been kidding when he'd said the new Queenbee was tougher! That blast had been enough to almost literally atomize anything caught in it. It was a far cry from the attacks she'd been using earlier, these new weapons looking as though they were more suited to being mounted on a battleship of some kind instead of being used as personal weapons like this! Omega didn't even waste time considering the thought of attempting to exhaust its ammunition supply. From the rate it was firing at, Vespa wasn't even _trying_ to conserve ammunition, instead focusing only on glassing everything in its way as it swept its weapons around after Omega.

The Red Ripper struck home, a glancing blow across Vespa's head that knocked the entire Pseudoroid off balance.

"Score!" Omega yelled, seeing an opening and charging in.

Vespa's legs moved closer together, light dancing around them. Then there was a brilliant flash, and where her legs had been, now a single, long, armored particle cannon existed. As Vespa's upper body tilted backwards, it brought the cannon up towards Omega. Spotting the telltale glow of light brightening inside the three meter long barrel and hearing the steadily increasing hum of its firing generator powering up, Omega skidded to a halt, his eyes widening.

"Oh, _balls_-!"

From a distance, all that could be seen was a single, pencil thin beam of light. It whipped out, drawing a line across the desert floor, before it flickered and vanished. There was a second of silence, and then everything blew up. A line of mammoth explosions erupted into life, shaking the earth for miles and sending brilliant plumes of red-orange fury exploding sixty feet into the air.

Nearby, Celtis was knocked off of her feet, an almost solid wall of ash and debris slamming into her with breathtaking force as the ground quaked beneath her boots. Landing, she rolled twice before managing to stab one of Model O's sabers into the ground, anchoring herself down.

"Omega!" she yelled desperately, searching for some sign of him amidst the roiling clouds of dust and flames.

Gates, having teleported safely out of range, laughed madly as he saw his creation's handiwork.

"Impressive, isn't it?" he cackled. "Vespa's Longsword packs enough power to all but obliterate anything in its path! Even battleship armor can't stand up to this weapon! Sure, it may be a bit slow, but all of her other weapons are more than enough to compensate for that! My Vespa is the undisputed queen of ranged combat, and with her heavy armor, you don't stand a chance of winning!"

"Oh, is that so…?"

Gates froze. "WHAT?"

A tremendous blast tore apart the clouds of smoke and slammed into Vespa, knocking it backwards as it attempted to stop the attack.

"Then I'll just have to pull out a trump card of my own!"

As the remaining smoke cleared away, it revealed Omega standing there, his tattered coattails blowing in the wind and a devilish smile on his face. And there, encasing his right arm and supported by his left, was the unmistakable shape of the Supreme Buster, the remastered Praetor Railgun he had captured and used during the battle against Granz.

"Wha…but didn't he break that thing over a Golem's head back then?" Celtis gasped.

"Yeah, he did actually." Ace's voice came over the connection, "So that's why I had Kitara repair it and then add it to his Arsenal. I left Craft with instructions to give him the code for it in case the battle started to get out of hand."

"Well, it certainly did that…" Celtis muttered.

"All right then, you overgrown insect!" Omega yelled, the Supreme Buster already warming up for round two. "Let's who's really got the most firepower here!"

Vespa's Stinger fired at the same moment Omega's did, both attacks slamming into one other with devastating force. The explosion lit up the desert for kilometers around and knocked both combatants off their feet. In the chaos, Celtis leapt at Gates, O-Sabers weaving an intricate pattern in the air as they rained blow after blow down on him. Gritting his teeth, the Gatemaster whirled around and kicked her away, only to see her land on a piece of flying rock and then use it to launch herself back at him. As Omega and Vespa both recovered, they steadied themselves, now ready for the recoil, and opened up. Blast after blast fired from their individual weapons, slamming into one another again and again in an insane contest of firepower.

As even the very air seemed to burst into flame around him, the legendary God of Destruction bared his fangs in a savage smile, his eyes blazing with demonic glee as he saw Vespa's shoulder mounted carriers beginning to open, hex plate after hex plate disengaging as the Pseudoroid readied its full arsenal for attack.

"Fine then!" He laughed madly, howling even over the hellish nightmare of flames and energy that still crackled around him.

"Two can play at that game!"

As the orange flames of hell around him dimmed, their lights diminished by the brilliant, terrible red glow that now filled the world behind him, Omega raised the massive cannon in one hand and roared his answer.

"GATE…OF…BABYLON!"

Gates staggered sideways as he felt Vespa's carriers cut loose, ripping the very air apart with their power. This was very rapidly becoming an exceptionally bad place to fight, as laser beams, missiles, warhammers, swords and practically every other kind of weapon imaginable, suddenly filled the air, transforming an area of almost 200 meters radius into a lethal killzone. Spotting Celtis, he growled in anger.

"I've had just about enough of you!"

Lunging forward, he caught her by surprise. Landing a powerful roundhouse kick, he knocked her backwards, straight into an open transfer. Leaping after her, he arrived just in time to see her smash into a cliff wall, now over a mile away from Omega's battle. As she tried to recover, he landed a devastating series of punches, before seizing her by the throat and leaping through a portal into a spot a hundred feet in the air. Using three more transfers to accelerate, he hurtled towards the ground and slammed her into it facefirst. As the ground around them exploded in a massive crater, Gates felt an iron grip latch onto the front of his suit. Before he could react, the telltale blue gem of Celtis' helm emerged from the smoke and slammed into his forehead, propelled by a very angry and very pained female Hunter's skull.

As the Gatemaster stumbled backwards, clutching at his face, Celtis staggered unsteadily to her feet. Dizzy and still recovering from the series of attacks Gates had just landed, it was only the instincts lent to her by Model O that let her leap towards her opponent again, dual sabers flashing. Gates caught the flash of light from her blades and desperately snapped one hand out towards her. A burst of transfer light, and suddenly an unfortunate Galleon bore the brunt of Celtis' attack, materializing between her and Gates.

Spotting her unsteady movement, Gates grinned and leapt back.

"It seems you're not as invincible as I thought!" he smirked, "Now, let's just see what you can do against this!"

At his gesture, over fifty Mavericks appeared, pulled from their places on standby in the Excalibur's holding bay. Arrayed in measured ranks, they formed an almost solid wall between her and Gates, Galleon Buster arms already coming down to aim at her, while Mechaniloids like the Crushpactor merely growled menacingly.

It was at that moment that Gates stopped, a startled look appearing on his face.

"What in-?" he spun around, to look back towards the nuclear holocaust that was still enveloping Omega and Vespa's arms war. Then without another word, he vanished, teleporting back towards the battle and leaving a surprised Celtis alone with his troops.

She took a hesitant step back, lifting her swords.

"Well, this is going to suck…" she muttered.

* * *

Gates teleported back just in time to witness the battle of the millennium.

**[Cue Music: Comatose- by Skillet]**

His body battered and smashed into ruin by countless attacks, Omega thundered forward, smashing his way through a literally solid wall of opposing fire. The crimson gates having long since closed to recharge, they had nonetheless served their purpose, hammering Vespa's offensive lines back as the God of Destruction continued to advance. The right sleeve of his coat was long since gone, blown away by the powerful recoil of the Supreme Buster's repeated fire. Gates could see the synthetic skin burning away, the superheated steel glowing red hot from the heat of the monstrous cannon.

And still he would not stop. Still firing, the ground shattering away behind him from the tremendous force, Omega kept coming.

Vespa's carriers fired again and again, desperately cutting into him as they tried to halt the onslaught. Lasers and energy beams carved the ground into ruin, missiles erupted in an inferno of destruction, and the legendary God of Destruction stormed through it all.

This wasn't any kind of ordinary fight. This was a plain and simple knock-down, drag-out, in-your-face WAR, the two fighters competing to see which of them would fall first. Neither of them bothered with a single iota of defense, instead concentrating their full power on simply obliterating the foe before them. While Omega seemed to have sustained the most damage by far, the Gatemaster was stunned to see his prized machine battered and scarred, remnants of the Gate of Babylon still lodged in its armor.

"What the hell is he thinking?" Gates gasped, "Is he trying to destroy himself? It's like he's deliberately taking all of that damage!"

Vespa, he could understand, since there was no room in its programmed mind for anything other than attack. Retreat was a completely alien option, unless Gates himself ordered it. But for this one man, a mere no-name Hunter to be simply wading through this firepower and taking every last hit, (and _deliberately_ to boot!) it was simply incomprehensible…! He was standing up to an onslaught of attacks that would have grievously wounded, if not killed outright, any normal Chosen One caught in their path, Megamerged or not!

Too late, he caught the crackling glint of thunder in the air, flickering through the clouds of smoke. The Gatemaster whirled desperately towards his servant, frantically yelling a warning.

"Vespa, WATCH OUT!"

Omega's Red Ripper emerged from the inferno behind Vespa, lightning crackling through its twin blades. As it shot past the Pseudoroid, it caught it a strike across the back, knocking it off balance and stunning it with a burst of electricity. Omega grinned, his brilliant white hair whipping around his face as he saw his weapon returning.

"It's SHOWTIME!"

Seizing it by the handle, he went with the motion, spinning his body around and extending the handle into a long spear-like shape with his free hand as he did so. The unmistakable shape of the Triple Rod in his hand, he raised it over his shoulder, drawing it back as lightning crackled around the tip.

"Hey guess what?" He laughed madly, "I finally figured out what this thing's good for!"

Taking a single step forward, he whipped his arm forward, putting the full power of his monstrous strength behind the throw. The very air split apart in its passage, a tremendous sonic boom rattling the world as Omega roared his new weapon's name.

"FLY, MY RICOCHET SPEAR!"

Gates snapped out one hand, his eyes narrowing in anger.

"I don't think so!" A flash of light, and suddenly, the bolt that Omega's Ricochet Spear had become vanished, disappearing into Cyberspace.

"Sorry, but if that was your last trump card, then-" Gates stopped as a familiar crimson glow lit the air. Turning, his eyes widened in shock as he beheld the full glory of the Gates of Babylon, countless weapons emerging from its depths. Framed by the crimson world behind him, Omega stood tall, a savage smile on his face.

"Guess who just finished reloading, bitch."

"Vespa! Open fire!"Gates yelled in a panic.

Too late. Vespa, its' movements slurred and sluggish from the disruptive effects of Omega's electrically charged Red Ripper, managed to lift itself up and fire all of its weapons at once. Or at least it tried to.

Omega had timed it beautifully.

As the Gate of Babylon's attacks smashed home, aiming specifically for Vespa's activating weapons, the countless blades sank into the metal, jamming and damaging each and every single weapons container. When Vespa fired seconds later, its programming still mindlessly following Gates' order, it was not a pretty sight.

Both of the shoulder mounted carriers erupted, detonating in twin miniature nuclear explosions, as Vespa's much vaunted Longsword Cannon backfired, smaller blasts bursting from its surface as the pent-up energy sought new avenues of release.

"What have you DONE?" Gates roared, his voice almost drowned out in the explosions.

Omega leveled one finger at Gates, grinning.

"I'm not done yet, pal!" His smile widened.

"Look behind you."

Too late, Gates, realized that Omega's accusing hand was missing its trademark gauntlet. His eyes widened and he whirled, to see the missing gauntlet hovering right behind him, palm-mounted trans-server glowing menacingly.

Seconds later, the Ricochet Impaler, following its' master's summons, shot forth, blasting a hole straight through Gates' left shoulder and slamming point-first into the floor at Omega's feet.

And then the shockwave rolled over them, hiding everything from view.

When it had finally settled, Omega stared coolly across at Gates, who was barely standing, one hand pressed to the gaping hole in his shoulder.

"What…how did you…?" he managed to say.

Omega shrugged. "Easy. Once this sword of mine goes into Cyberspace, regardless of the form, I can call it back from these." He hefted his claws, the trans-servers glinting in the light.

"I figured you'd try to interrupt, so I set a little trap for you." The God of Destruction grinned as he saw Gates stagger slightly.

"And from the looks of things you fell for it hook, line and sinker."

Gates managed a mocking smile.

"You say that, but in reality, you fell into one of mine as well!"

Omega's eyes widened as he heard the sound of metal shifting.

"What…?"

From the wreckage of Vespa, a new form was rising. The carriers broke apart and fell away, along with much of the additional armor that had materialized on Queenbee's body with it. Now, the only thing that was left standing was Vespa's main, humanoid looking body, what Queenbee had looked like when Gates had first pulled her from the destroyed carrier. It still possessed the insect-like tail, and the trademark flaming wings of Queenbee, but Vespa still had the strange, hex-shaped vents that had been built into its limbs as well.

The God of Destruction gritted his teeth in annoyance.

"Damn, I knew I should have hit the main body more…!"

Gates chuckled nastily. "Yes, you should have. Instead, you're so intent on looking for a way to 'save' her from my control, you made an error that will quite likely be the end of you!"

"Save her?" Omega gave him a strange look. "The hell are you talking about?"

Gates stopped, a surprised look on his face. "Wait…what? What do you mean you're not trying to save her? What was all of that stuff earlier about then?"

"Easy." Omega grinned. "Fighting an opponent whose heart isn't in the fight isn't any fun at all. I just want to snap her out of it so I can really cut loose! Plus…"

He paused for a moment, a wicked smile crossing his face.

"It'd be a shame to destroy such a prize, so I've decided to claim her myself!"

Gates' jaw dropped.

"You…decided what?"

In Cyberspace, still helplessly watching all of this, the real Queenbee's reaction was much the same.

"You heard me, punk! Trash like you isn't nearly worthy of possessing a prize as great as her! Scum like you, who can't even get people to follow you out of their own free will, but instead have to rely on cheap tricks like slave programs to brainwash them, or to force them to follow you, you don't deserve to possess anything, much less to have servants as interesting as this! Therefore…QUEENBEE!"

Inside her body, still locked away but aware of everything that was happening outside, the consciousness of Queenbee started in surprise.

"Now listen up! Ordinarily, I wouldn't give a shit, but you've managed to catch my attention! You managed to stand back up against this piece of crap with nothing more than the words of a complete stranger to urge you on, even to the point where you'd be locked away inside your own body. In recognition of that, I've decided that you're worthy of the interest of one as great as myself! As a result, I'm going to give you a choice!"

Omega grinned.

"Once this guy bites the dirt, you'll have two options: If you still want to die, then fine, I'll gladly grant you that! If not, however…"

His smile widened.

"Then...Do you want to come with me?"

There was a moment of silence following his outrageous speech. Gates finally broke it with an eruption of laughter.

"Ha ha ha! You fool! Even if she could hear you, there's no way she could respond! Vespa belongs to me, body and soul! As if I'd let some piece of no-name trash like you simply walk in here and decide to take her!"

"Oh, but I'm not taking her," Omega replied coolly, "It's her choice. Either she dies, or she comes with me. Either way's a win, since they're both going to end with me gutting you like the pig you are."

Omega hefted the Zweihander menacingly to prove his point.

Gates' hands clenched, his features distorting into a mask of rage.

"You…arrogant…little prick…!" he gritted, rising back into the air. "How DARE you look down on me like that…? I'll show you the folly of that insolent tongue of yours, dog of Legion!"

Omega merely grinned and flipped him his now-patented Birdie of Justice. Believe us, it deserved the capital letters. AND the patent.

"Fuck. You. Douchebag."

The last sane remnants of Gates' patience snapped, drowning in a tidal wave of red fury.

"VESPA!"

Vespa gave its customary buzzing screech of response. Gates clutched at his temple, breathing hard as he reined in his temper.

"Activate Swarm Mode." He snarled, glaring down at Omega with nothing but pure hatred in his glare.

"**Swarm Mode confirmed.**" Vespa replied.

It fired its wings, lifting itself into the air. Coming to a halt, it raised its arms and leveled them at Omega, the hex shaped vents arrayed around its wrists pointing directly at him. In response, the God of Destruction brought his Zweihander up to a ready position, preparing to counter any attack Vespa might launch now.

But even he was caught off guard by what emerged from the vents all over her body.

It was literally a swarm. A neverending wave of gold-plated micromachines, each no bigger than a grain of sand, their armor flashing and glinting in the light as they danced around their queen.

"Son of a…" Omega stared at the whirlwind of gold as it spiraled around Vespa. "…The hell are those things?"

Gates grinned. "Allow me to demonstrate! Vespa, **REGEN COMMAND**!"

Vespa's eyes flashed. Almost instantly, the motion of the whirling swarm changed. Now it moved in closer, tightening around the Pseudoroid. Omega could barely make out anything through their swirling bodies, but the single glimpse of the new luster forming over Vespa's previously battered and cracked armor told him all he needed to know.

"Oh, HELL no you don't!" he snarled. With a swing of his Zweihander, he sent a crescent wave of lightning hurtling towards the golden tornado. Vespa nimbly dodged the attack, however, some of its servants were not so fortunate. As they sparked and fell away, they revealed Vespa once more, only now it appeared in _considerably_ better condition. Omega gritted his teeth in annoyance.

"Shit…I should have known!"

"Yes, you should have!" Gates sneered. "My Vespa's body is a manufacturing plant for all of those little drones, able to create dozens of them in less than a second! They're then stored inside of her until they're needed, at which point they will follow any commands given to them by their queen! On their own, they may not amount to much, but in the incredible numbers that my Vespa can produce them, they become a force that cannot be stopped! By sacrificing themselves for raw materials, they can use their own bodies to repair any and all damages Vespa may have taken!"

Omega growled and drew his Buster. As he opened fire, Gates lifted an admonishing finger, a cruel smile on his face.

"Ah ah ah…! I don't think so!"

With another dramatic gesture, he gave his servant its next order.

"**BASTION COMMAND!**"

Just like before, Vespa's eyes flashed in confirmation and the swarm moved again. Dozens of its drones broke off, forming solid, hexagonal panels in midair, each individual panel materializing directly in front of an oncoming Buster shot. As Omega watched in disbelief, his shots were stopped easily, the plates crumbling away afterwards as the destroyed mechaniloids disintegrated. Cursing, he dashed sideways, firing blast after blast as he circled Vespa.

Not a single one managed to make it through, hex shaped plates materializing in the air wherever he aimed. If he wanted a chance at getting through that, he was going to have to pull out the big guns!

"All right then!" He yelled, the air thrumming as he swung the Supreme Buster around. "Eat this! SUPREME BUSTER BLITZ!"

Explosions erupted as his cannon's blasts slammed into Vespa's defenses. After almost a dozen shots, he finally gave it a rest, lowering the barrel as he inspected his handiwork.

Vespa was still there, relatively unharmed. Her swarm on the other hand, Omega was pleased to note, had diminished considerably.

"Looks like that defense of yours isn't all that great after all!" he grinned, pulling the Buster up again.

In response, Vespa merely lifted her arms, and the swarm buzzed to life again, new units being released to take their fallen comrades' place. Omega's grin faded.

"Fuck."

"Indeed." Gates smirked. "Now, for the coup de grace! Vespa! **ASSAULT COMMAND!**"

As Vespa's eyes flashed again, Omega cursed.

"I had a feeling this was coming…" he groaned, as the entire mass of the swarm reared up and plunged down towards him. Only his insane speed saved him as he threw himself sideways, out of the oncoming swarm's path. The gigantic boulder behind him was not so lucky.

There was a sound like a million tiny buzzsaws scraping against gravel, and suddenly the rock was gone, eaten down to a smooth, polished stump. Omega stared at it blankly for a few moments, then looked back up at the swarm as it came around for another pass.

"Well, shit." He grimaced, and leapt out of the way again. This time, though, the oncoming swarm met the crackling edge of his lightning imbued Zweihander going the other way. Hundreds of the tiny drones died instantly, littering the ground with their marble-like shapes, but still more, far too many more, survived, returning to circle their queen protectively.

"Brilliant, isn't it?" Gates smiled. "A swarm of obedient machines, capable of carrying out any of the three most important functions of battle: Defending their queen, healing their queen and, of course, attacking any and everything their queen designates an enemy! With me to back her up, you don't stand a chance!"

A glimpse of motion caught Omega's eye, and he grinned.

"Oh good. So as long as you're occupied, I can take her on no sweat?"

"What?" Gates said suspiciously, "Why the hell…?"

"Oh, no reason. " Omega grinned. "It's just that you're going to have your hands full for a bit..."

* * *

Several minutes ago…

Celtis cursed as she watched Gates vanish, no doubt heading back towards the battle between Vespa and Omega. Now she was stuck way to hell over here, with about fifty Mavericks blocking her path towards Omega. Until she got rid of these schmucks, Omega'd have to survive on his own against both Gates and Vespa.

Celtis considered that for a moment, then hung her head in shame.

Who was she kidding? If anything, _she_ was the one who needed help right now! Not only was she outnumbered fifty-to-one, but Gates had hit her with some major damage before he'd left, so right now she was in crap condition too!

Celtis' pessimistic train of thought was interrupted by a roar from the massed enemies as they charged towards her, apparently unwilling to give her any more time to depress herself further. In response, Celtis swore in frustration and switched from the dual sabers to the dual Busters. As she brought them up to the attack, the spirals in her eyes blazed to life again.

"Alright then…" she breathed, her Eyes already finding targets in the onrushing mob.

"Let's GO, punks!"

What followed next could be described as little more than pure mayhem. Celtis ducked and weaved through the press of enemies, her hands moving on autopilot as they brought the O-Busters to bear on target after target. All Celtis had to do was pull the trigger.

She whirled around, one Galleon in front of her and one behind her dying instantly as her attacks caught them in the head and chest respectively. Swinging her back hand around, she fired three more times, all three shots hitting an oncoming Mechaniloid in its vital spots. It crashed to the ground, twitching as it crushed a dozen smaller mavericks under it. Crossing her arms in front of her, Celtis turned, sweeping her arms out as she did so, firing a wide arc of shots as she did so. As the opponents crumpled lifelessly crumpled to the ground, she brought her right arm hurtling upwards to slam up into the gut of a wolf Mutos as it leapt at her face. Its angry snarl was cut off by a piteous yelp as the Buster blew it nearly in half with a semi charged shot.

Still following her Eyes, Celtis whipped her other hand around, firing at the next target. When the bullets ricocheted off of it, however, she spun around in surprise to face the unseen opponent. Looking up at the annoyed visage of the Crushpactor as it loomed menacingly over her, she gave a panicked "Meep!" and ran for it as the massive roller smashed down.

Still fleeing for her life as the huge machine bellowed and charged after her, Celtis desperately looked for its weak point.

"Come on, come on…I could use a little help here…!" she muttered, hastily scanning it, before her eyes lit up.

"There it is!"

Then, when she discovered that said weakpoint was on its head, twenty feet in the air, her face fell.

"Well, that bites…Nothing I have's going to scratch that from here, superpowerful handgun or not. And if I use close-range weapons, I'm doubly screwed, since I suck at those, and my Eyes don't work with melee weapons! So how in the-"

Celtis' eyes fell on the smaller satellite looking mechaniloids that hovered crazily in the air as they fired at her. Looking back down at her Busters, she thought back to how she had seen Omega using it when they'd first engaged Gates' troops.

She considered the insane idea forming in her head, briefly.

"If I do nothing, I die. If I do this and it doesn't work, I'm dead anyway. If it does, there is a slight chance that I won't die, but it'll just hurt like a bitch…"

She paused a moment longer, then groaned.

"Great, now I'm even _thinking_ like him! Oh, to hell with it all!"

Yelling that last part in exasperation, she dug in her heels, skidded around 180 degrees and charged straight back the oncoming Crushpactor.

"Here…goes…nothing!" she gritted.

Leaping into the air, she got one foot on top of one of the satellites. Pointing one Buster straight down, she destroyed the Mechaniloid with a single shot, kicking off of it as she did so. She did the same for the next two leaps, using the satellites as stepping stones as she continued to go ever higher. Continuing to dodge the enemy bullets still whistling past her, she leapt for the last one, only to have it dart out of the way.

"SHIT…!" Celtis cursed, panicking. Flailing desperately as she hurtled down past it, she caught the edge of its wing in one hand. Model O's automatic combat reflexes kicked in, moving her body in a way that turned the downward motion of her fall into a upwards swing, using the unfortunate satellite as a support. Catapulting back up in an ungainly arc, Celtis finally saw the Crushpactor's head appear below her. As she felt gravity beginning to pull her down again, Celtis gave a panicked grin and drew her Buster back, power building around its muzzle.

"WHY DID I EVEN THINK OF THIIIIS~!"

With that (not so) epic battle cry, she brought her arm shrieking forward to slam the Buster straight into the Crushpactor's skull.

The brilliant, blue-white beams of energy that exploded into life a second later did the rest, almost completely obliterating the giant Mechaniloid as they erupted in huge pillars of light around Celtis' point of impact.

As the massive explosion sent a fireball of smoke and dust high into the air, Celtis came down, landing gracefully…

KRAAAANG!

On her head.

She picked herself up unsteadily, one hand pressed to her skull as she stared at the burning wreckage that was her handiwork.

"That was…Awesome!" She said eventually, "Let's never, ever do it again."

Then, as she saw the front ranks of the remaining Mavericks slowly becoming visible through the flames of the ruined Crushpactor, she gave a groan. From the looks of things, there were still almost thirty of them left. And in her current shape, Celtis rather doubted that she could pull off another stunt like that. To be honest, she had no idea how she'd even done it once to begin with!

Suddenly, a little sign blinking on her HUD caught her attention. The HUD was a useful little thing that had appeared in her vision from the moment she had opened her eyes in the completed Megamerge. It showed all kinds of important things, like her current energy level, which was looking rather low at the moment, Celtis noted nervously, as well as showing what weapons were available. Now, though, there was a new tab.

"EX Skills…?" she wondered aloud, and opened it. In the new window, a single icon blinked, the symbol on it dimmed as if to indicate its inactivity. Highlighting it, she was rewarded by the words:

**EX Skill: SHINESPARK BLACKBIRD.**

**ACTIVATE Y/N?**

Celtis stared bleakly at the wave of oncoming enemies.

"Well, what else have I got to lose…?" she groaned, and confirmed the activation.

The icon flashed to life, its former dimness brightening as it accepted the response. At the same instant, a series of images flickered through Celtis' surprised mind, taking less than a second to grant her the necessary information.

And just like that, Celtis knew what the Shinespark Blackbird skill was, and how to use it.

And she was not happy.

"You have GOT to be kidding me…" she groaned. "There is no way in hell I'm doing that! Why the hell do I even have this move anyway?"

Any further speculation and/or complaining on her part was cut off by a Crushpactor laser cannon cutting through the air she had been occupying seconds before. Spitting out sand, Celtis got back to her feet and cursed when she saw that the remaining Mavericks had cleared the wreckage and were now beginning to open fire on her again. She looked down at the scorch marks left by the laser and sighed.

"On the other hand, it's either this or get lasered into a stain on the landscape…"

Celtis hesitated a moment longer, then turned towards the oncoming enemies. She took a deep breath, ignored all of her common sense, and charged headlong straight at the Mavericks.

Celtis gritted her teeth as the enemy fire suddenly increased drastically in response to her move, laser fire streaking past her face only inches away. Cursing, she focused everything she had on running faster and faster.

'_Come on, come ON! Move faster, dammit, or I'm toast!_' she thought desperately. To activate this move, she needed to be moving at a certain speed or else she'd just smash facefirst into the enemies before her.

As the second Crushpactor leading the Maverick charge suddenly loomed before her, dark and imposing, Celtis' mind froze up. For one brief, terrifying instant, she thought she hadn't made it.

Then, one final, desperate step forward, and she felt the power humming to life within her.

As the air around her suddenly crackled to life with thundering electromagnetic power, Celtis gave a wild, uncontrolled yell and leaned forward, letting Model O's instincts take over. Within seconds, her mad, uncontrolled charge had turned into a streamlined, controlled dash, hurtling her forward at unheard of speeds. At that instant, as the world around her blurred, raw lightning ripping the air apart before her, Celtis felt it. Even bound in its chains, Model O couldn't help but give a triumphant howl of victory, one that was echoed by the one now resounding in Celtis' own voice.

"SHINESPARK..._**BLACK-BIRD**_!"

A thunderous crack, as if the air itself had split, and the ground shattered.

In that instant, Celtis vanished.

As the Maverick's skidded to a halt, their processors frantically trying to figure out what had happened, lightning flickered through the air around them, and suddenly they knew.

Celtis reappeared, fifty meters behind them, a long molten streak trailing from the soles of her steaming boots. She stood there for a moment, her eyes wide with a mixture of shock and awe, her shoulders trembling from the adrenaline rush. Slowly, she looked back over her shoulder, to see a single, massive hole blown straight through the center of the Maverick line. Anything that had been standing in the way of the track of molten rock that marked Celtis' passage had met a similar fate, the electrically charged field of plasma generated by her dash melting through steel armor as if it was nothing.

As well over a dozen Mavericks finally gave in and exploded, Celtis felt a smile that was not entirely Model O's alone spreading across her face. She remembered the strange reaction that had occurred when she had touched the remains of Gallidin's arm, and now she understood. That was his signature move and now, somehow, hers too.

"All right then…" she cracked her knuckles, Model O's arrogance bleeding through again, "Time to fry, punks!"

Celtis hesitated for a minute, still not entirely happy with this new attitude, then shook her head. Just this once, she decided, grinning, she didn't mind it.

* * *

**[Cue music: Needless OST2- Girl Force]**

Now, Gates' Mavericks lying totaled behind it, a streak of crackling lightning roared across the desert, locked squarely onto the form of the stunned Gatemaster.

"Show's over, Gates!" Celtis yelled, a determined look on her face

Omega grinned.

"Looks like you've underestimated my Servant Number One, trash!" He laughed mockingly.

"Don't get so cocky just from one little thing like that!" Gates gritted, and snapped a hand out towards the onrushing Celtis, summoning a transfer gate in her path. Without even halting or slowing down, she thundered onwards, smashing straight through it as if it wasn't even there, completely unaffected by its appearance.

The Gatemaster's eyes widened in shock.

"What?"

Shaken, he summoned another portal. And again, Celtis defied it, blasting through the shimmering air completely unaffected.

"What in the…?" Now Gates was using both hands, the first beginnings of cold, irrational panic stealing over him.

"What- What is this?" he yelled, opening gate after gate in a futile attempt to halt the approaching nightmare.

"Why can't I stop you? Why won't you just vanish already?" He screamed.

Celtis' Buster materialized in her hand, energy beginning to collect within the barrel already.

"No…! No, stay back! Stay back, damn you!" Gates howled, his suit's powercells beginning to overload with the strain he was putting on them.

"It ain't gonna work, pal." Omega sneered up at Gates. "No matter how good your trans-server tech is, there's no way in hell you're gonna catch something moving at that speed."

Feeling the mockery of Omega's words, Gates staggered backwards, unconsciously backing away from the approaching thunder. Desperate now, he activated his own teleport, trying to escape. A flash of violet, and suddenly Omega's lightning imbued Chain Saber lashed around his leg, channeling as much power as its master could generate into it. Gates jerked, his transfer interrupted by the high voltage of power.

"NO! Let go of me!" Gates screamed, struggling to break free.

His Chain Saber held in one hand, Omega tore the Gatemaster free of his escape, an insane laugh ripping from the God of Destruction's throat, even as Vespa's mindless Assault Command tore the ground around him apart.

"I don't think so asshole!" He roared.

"ARCANA!" The God of Destruction thundered, using his servant's name for the very first time.

"HE'S ALL YOURS!"

Somehow, even through the supersonic wall of lightning surrounding her, Celtis heard him. Realizing that Omega was putting everything he had on the line to give her this once-in-a-lifetime chance for attack, she tightened her grip on the O-Buster in her hand, feeling it shaking under the tremendous power of the charge within it, and she clenched her teeth in determination.

"All right…!" she gritted.

Kicking off of the ground with every ounce of strength she could gather, the artificial Chosen One of Model O went airborne, hurtling straight towards Gates at a speed close to Mach Three. Seeing his panicked expression, she hesitated for the briefest of microseconds.

Then she remembered Queenbee's pitiful form, and the sadistic enjoyment in Gates' eyes as he tortured the unwilling Pseudoroid, and her eyes hardened. Clenching her fingers tightly around the grip of the O-Buster, she brought it shrieking forward, the air howling around it as she hurtled towards Gates.

"GET…BENT!"

With that unorthodox battle cry, she slammed the glowing muzzle straight into the Gatemaster's chest and pulled the trigger.

For the briefest of instants, there was nothing, the lightning dissipating from Celtis as Gates was pushed back, his chestplate disintegrating.

And then…

A colossal shockwave rent the air in two, blasting outwards from the Buster's point of impact. A tremendous blast of white light, and Gates practically _vanished_ from before Celtis, the force behind the impact launching him backwards at a speed that rendered him almost invisible to the naked eye. He smashed into the front of his battleship and disappeared inside, still smashing through bulkhead after bulkhead as explosions burst into life around his passage.

The Excalibur shuddered, feeling the damage from the terrible impact. It listed slightly to starboard, but remained in the air still, not quite out for the count yet.

Celtis plummeted towards the ground, too exhausted even to feel elation at what she'd just accomplished. A sudden jerk, the hum of antigrav generators, and suddenly she felt her fall come to a halt.

She looked around startled, to find Omega's gauntlets holding onto her jacket as they lowered her slowly to the ground.

Their master skated across the ground to come to a stop near her. As his gauntlets deposited her neatly back onto a solid surface, Celtis collapsed, exhaling in relieved disbelief.

"Omega? You can keep your Biometal, thanks. I've had too many near-death experiences for one day…"

The God of Destruction smirked.

"Whaaaat? Can't stand a little excitement in your life?"

"Excitement, I can take." Celtis said flatly. "The insane crap I keep doing because of YOUR Biometal? Nuh-uh. I'm good, thanks."

"Well too bad, kiddo!" Omega grinned at her. "Cause right now, you're stuck with it!"

Celtis stared morosely up at the damaged battleship.

"…I'm doomed." She groaned, pressing a hand to her forehead. Then, as another thought struck her, her eyes widened.

"Oh CRAP!" She looked wildly up at the Excalibur again. "Mister Craft was on that!"

"Sorry, did I miss something?" A ripple in the air, and suddenly Craft's camo-cape swept aside to reveal its owner standing right next to her.

"AAARGH!"

The commando gave a slightly bemused look at Celtis as she clutched at her chest, wheezing as she recovered from the shock.

"Is something wrong?"

"Stop…DOING that…!" Celtis managed finally. "How the hell did you even get down here anyway?"

"I jumped." Craft said simply, as if it was the most normal thing in the world. Omega nodded sagely, while Celtis simply gaped at the seven-foot tall Reploid.

"Ah, the old standby, huh?"

"Indeed. Say what you will, sometimes the easiest way is also the simplest."

Celtis simply stared blankly at the two of them, who were acting as though leaping from an airship floating several hundred feet above the ground was as normal an occurrence as hailing a taxi.

"Insane…"she muttered finally, pressing a hand to her head, "They're all batshit _insane_…"

_And what about you?_ A treacherous little voice spoke up inside her head. _Last time we checked, you just punched a guy through a battleship at Mach Two._

"Oh shut up, you!" Celtis snapped. "That wasn't me and you know that!"

"What?"

She looked up to find Craft and Omega staring at her strangely. It then occurred to her that she'd just been yelling at thin air.

"Er…sorry, I'm just a little stressed…"

Omega shook his head disdainfully.

"Yelling into thin air…how sad. Looks like she's going nuts."

Next to him, Craft folded his arms and nodded in agreement.

"Yes, it's such a shame when that happens, isn't it?"

"OH LIKE YOU'RE ANYONE TO JUDGE, YOU PSYCHOPATHS!" Celtis yelled angrily.

Any further conversation was cut off by the sound of a low, vibrating hum that resonated through the air, growing louder with each passing moment. Omega's eyes narrowed as he turned around.

"Tch…I thought I'd given that damn thing the slip…"

Craft readied his cannon as the three of them stared into the oncoming tidal wave of Vespa's Swarm mode.

"Ace and the others are currently disassembling Gates' files. If we can hold out long enough, he should be able to provide us with a method to take her down for good."

"Oh goody." Omega rolled his eyes. "When was the last time that knucklehead managed to get anything done in time for it to be useful?"

"Er…well…"

Several hundred miles away, the Scarlet Phoenix sneezed.

"Well…" Omega shrugged, working the kinks out of his shoulders, "You know what they say, no pain, no gain, right?"

"When you say that, you mean other people's pain, don't you..." Celtis grumbled.

"Duh, obviously!" Omega gave her a weird look, "What the hell else would I mean?"

Celtis groaned again and pressed a hand to her face.

"…Just…go and kill something, will you?"

But Omega was already gone, charging headfirst into the fray as he always did. Craft gave a whistle, and his massive bike roared over a nearby dune, skidding to a halt in front of him. As he mounted it, he glanced back across at Celtis.

"Leave the melee fighting to the God of Destruction. You and I will draw her attention from outside her range. I'll go this way, you go that way. Whatever you do, don't let that swarm touch you."

Celtis nodded fervently.

"You don't have to tell me twice!"

"Good." Craft nodded. "You may possess the Biometal of the God of Destruction, but your body is still weak, much weaker than his. It's unlikely that you'd be able to tolerate even half as much punishment as him."

Celtis remembered the Mavericks she had fought earlier and grimaced. "Yeah, you're right about that."

"All right." Apparently satisfied, Craft gave one last nod and thumbed the starter button. As his bike rumbled to life beneath him, he hefted his cannon in readiness.

"Good luck, Arcana!"

With that, Craft roared off, already firing blast after blast towards the swarm that circled Omega and Vespa. Behind him, Celtis looked down at her Busters and groaned.

"The hell with this…" Dispelling them, she drew the Hades. Throwing herself into a sideways dash, she started shooting, the Hades' solid rounds ripping through the swarm as if it were paper.

Leaping out of the way as a wayward cloud of Vespa's drones chewed a chunk out of the ground, she gritted her teeth.

"Why the hell do I always go along with these plans?" she groaned.

"That psycho Commander had better come through this time!"

* * *

'That psycho Commander' was currently taking a moment to settle the nausea in his stomach.

They had just gotten a major chunk of Gates' files decrypted. Unfortunately, as it turned out, Gates had been in the habit of keeping a video log of his experiments.

If Ace hadn't despised every fiber of that maniac's existence before, he most certainly did now.

Fortunately for him, Cinnamon hadn't been in the room at the time, so that saved them the trouble of worrying about preserving her innocence, particularly when the experiments had been displayed on the big wall screen in all their horrific detail.

Recovered now, he got back to his terminal, determined to get his hands on the key to stopping the out of control Pseudoroid before it was too late. He looked back up at the screen, his jaw tightening as he stared at the three who were battling Vespa and the might of her unleashed swarm.

"Just hold out a little longer, you guys…" he muttered, his fingers flying over the keyboard in a blur.

"I'll definitely find a way to stop her!"

* * *

**[Cue Music: Wake Me Up-by Evanescence]**

Omega's Zweihander wove a crackling, brilliant streak through the air, the lightning cascading through it leaving a brilliant golden blur in its wake. It sang through the air, moving in its master's grip as if by magic.

The buzzing, droning swarm that surrounded him on all sides pressed in, mindlessly continuing to carry out their queen's orders. Even in their vast numbers, so great that they towered around him in the walls of a giant tornado, they could not touch him. The thunder that crackled and howled around him incinerated anything it came into contact with, the residual charge spreading from drone to drone, a single strike taking down dozens of them. And yet they continued to attack, Vespa summoning still more of them.

Craft's cannon thundered, launching blast after blast of blue-white energy into the seething golden cloud. The signature hexagonal shields of Vespa's Bastion Command sprang to life, intercepting each attack as they drew near. Dissipating the energy of the beams, the drones sparked and died, absorbing the power even though it destroyed them to do so. The missiles he launched did little better, the ravenous swarm simply devouring them before they could hit anything.

Celtis alone was the only one having any luck getting through. The Hades bullets, solid projectiles unlike Craft's energy beams, were able to actually able to punch through the Bastion walls. The sheer brute force of the Hades' firing was what made it work, the ridiculous momentum and force of the solid bullets smashing apart any of the drones trying to block it. Hers were the only shots that could actually reach the main body, but even that was not good enough. Their speed and force severely weakened by the number of obstacles they had broken through, they couldn't deal any serious damage to Vespa. And what damage they did do, Vespa's Regen Command quickly took care of.

Omega's face was grim as he realized the true magnitude of the enemy they were facing. Attack, defense and self-repair…Gates hadn't been exaggerating the power of Vespa's minions after all…! Here they were, three on one, and these damned insects were comfortably holding them to a draw!

"Okay then…" he growled, "Let's try something else…!"

Spinning his O-buster around his fingers, he brought the charge up to full and smashed it straight down to the ground at his feet. As the brilliant lights of his regeneration attack punched upwards, forcing the wall of drones back, Omega whirled the Zweihander through the air, transforming it into the Ricochet Spear once again. Drawing his arm back, he felt the electrical power beginning to build around it, just like it had the first time. His eyes narrowed as he pushed his sensors to their limit, striving to pierce the shimmering swarm around him.

Finally, he saw it. The vague shadow that lurked just out of sight behind the wall of drones. As the lights of his regeneration field finally faded, and the swarm cascaded in, intent on burying him once and for all, Omega slammed one boot down on the ground and leaned forward, concentrating every fiber of his being into this one strike.

"LANCE…MJOLNIR!"

With a titanic roar, he hurled the blazing spear forward, launching it straight at the target he had finally found.

It blasted straight through the oncoming tidal wave, the sonic explosion of its passage, the colossal air pressure and the howling lightning surrounding it, all combining to blow a six-foot wide hole through the gold-plated swarm. The weapon flew straight and true, directly towards its target, the Pseudoroid that now lay revealed before it. Vespa made a single last ditch effort to block it, a six layer Bastion wall appearing in the Spear's path.

From the instant it struck the first one, all hell broke loose.

A brilliant flash of light, and suddenly the entire mass of the swarm was blown apart, raw electrical power rampaging through the surroundings as a hurricane of wind suddenly raged to life.

Celtis staggered back, blinded by the sudden brilliance. Shielding her eyes with one hand, she tried to make out what was happening.

"What the hell is that…?"

The first layer gave way, splintering apart before the colossal pressure. Then, the second shattered, also unable to withstand the force. Then the third layer went, and then the fourth. Bit by bit, the Ricochet Spear drew ever closer to its target, striving to fulfill its master's objective. But with each layer it shattered, it lost power, the force behind it bleeding off as it pushed forward.

Finally, the last Bastion wall stood before it, the only remaining line of defense between Vespa and the point of the Spear. The Pseudoroid gave a wordless screech and leaned forward, putting everything it had into this one last defense.

The Spear continued to push onwards, cracks racing over the last Bastion. And then, slowly, as Vespa screeched again, its movement began to stop. Bit by bit, the cracks began to close, as Vespa's overwhelming army began their counterattack.

"Dammit…!" Celtis cursed aloud, "It's not working!"

Lifting the Hades, she tried to fire, only to have a bolt of lightning smash into the ground near her, knocking her off her feet with a startled yell. The Hades clattered out of her grip as a decent sized boulder smashed into her temple, sending the entire world spinning dizzily around her.

Seeing her fall, Craft swore and brought his cannon up to bear, only to stop in amazement at the sight playing out before him.

Vespa's triumphant screech was cut off by an angry squawk as twin impacts shook its frame. Looking down, it beheld two familiar white armored gauntlets clamped down onto its arms, the antigravity drives inside them howling as they held the Pseudoroid's arms stretched uselessly out to either side of it. As Vespa struggled desperately, a new voice shook the world, thundering even over the maelstrom surrounding the battle.

"COMBINED STRIKE!" Omega roared, launching himself into the air. As he plummeted down towards the trapped Vespa, he drew one hand back, the unrestrained violet power of a fully charged O-Knuckle combining and mixing with the brilliant light of a Thunder element charge.

"OMEGA IMPACT-!"

He clenched his hand into a fist, the blazing energy suddenly intensifying.

"IN-!"

History's greatest King of Destroyers lunged forward, a supernova blazing in his crimson eyes, his nightmarish red coat whipping out behind him like the wings of an avenging angel.

"LANCE MJOLNIR!"

The full force of a raging titan behind it, the God of Destruction's super-charged fist smashed into the base of the Ricochet Spear, combining the power of both his O-Knuckle and his Spear into one unstoppable deathblow.

The last Bastion Wall vanished, atomized before the legendary might of Omega's unleashed power. The Ricochet Spear rocketed forward, a supersonic missile that shot through the useless defense and pierced Vespa to the core.

Then it was gone, punching clear through her body to smash into the wall of the canyon with the force of a ten megaton bomb, the world vanishing in a hellish detonation of fiery destruction.

As the shockwave rocketed past past him, his cloak whipping in the raging winds, Craft's eyes narrowed as he stared into the inferno.

_'…God of Destruction…It seems that your power is indeed as great as I had heard, possibly even more than that. It will be interesting to see just how far you can go now that Weil no longer controls you…_'

In the Command Center, Ace stared at the tremendous fireball now occupying most of his wall monitor.

"What in the bloody fucking HELL was that?" he demanded.

At that moment, the communications line crackled to life.

"Phoenix, you had better have that data unlocked right now, or I am going to be SERIOUSLY annoyed with you."

"Saber?" Ace started, "Is that you? What the hell did you just-"

"It doesn't matter." Omega cut him off. "Get me the info on how to break this bastard's control now, or else."

Omega cut the connection and stared down at the figure on the ground before him. A two foot wide hole blown through her midsection, her armor battered and cracked, her tail section lying on the ground a few metres away, Queenbee coughed weakly, blood pooling around her.

Her mask cracked and fell apart, revealing her face again, a mane of rusty red hair spilling out around it. Omega smirked.

"Good to have you back with us."

The Pseudoroid stared back up at him, her eyes cloudy with pain. Even with that, the corners of her mouth twitched upwards slightly.

"You're…a strange one…you know that…?"

"I get that a lot." Omega replied.

"You fight…without any care…for…what happens…to yourself…You…don't care about right…or…wrong…You almost…destroyed yourself…to defeat both me and…Gates…and decided to save…me…just because I…interest you…"

She gave a weak laugh.

"Not exactly…the kind of rescuer…a girl expects…"

Omega chuckled. "You talk a lot for someone who's dying, don't you?"

Queenbee managed a bitter smile. "After…Gates…you sort of…get used to it…"

The God of Destruction's face turned serious.

"So…what's your choice to be, Pseudoroid?"

As she turned to face him, Omega repeated the words he had spoken earlier.

"Do you still want this pitiful escape of death, or will you choose another fate?"

As the flames of destruction still continued to burn around them, silence reigned, the sounds of the fiery world enclosing them the only interruption. Queenbee stared at the man before her, his words running through her mind.

His long white hair falling loosely over his shoulders, the entire right arm and shoulder uncovered from the effects of the Supreme Buster, Omega stood there casually, his tattered crimson coat whipping in the hot wind as he matched her stare. As she lay there, the strangest sensation passed through her and somehow, she knew that his words of his past enslavement were true. She didn't know how or why she knew, she just did.

Looking at him now, she also knew that he didn't really care about her either. It was only because he'd seen something in her that had caught his interest that he was even going out of his way to offer her this choice. As if he were a king, finding a hitherto unexpected treasure in his path, he had gone out of his way to investigate it, simply for his own amusement.

And yet…

There was something different about him. A kind of innate greatness that set him apart from people like Gates. A free spirit, one who was completely honest to his true nature, and didn't give a damn what the world or anything else had to say about it.

In one fight with her, he had seized her by the throat and roughly dragged her back up from the bottomless abyss of despair Gates had cast her into, giving her back her soul as a living thing. He had done it not because of some fleeting emotion like pity or empathy, but simply because he was interested in seeing whether or not she would use that gift, or simply crumple back down into the broken doll she had been reduced to before.

All just for his own amusement.

But now, lying here on the ground, feeling the warmth of the flames around her, and the wet heat of her own blood beneath her, the Pseudoroid called Queenbee came to the realization that she didn't want to die.

Not here, and not now.

He had given her a glimpse of the world, shown her just what lay out there waiting for her. He had beaten Gates, just like he had said he would and had given Queenbee back that most precious commodity of all living things, human or Pseudoroid, Reploid or Maverick.

He had given her hope.

As Queenbee stared up at the smoky sky, she felt a strange sensation in her eyes. She blinked rapidly, and felt something wet sliding down her cheek.

"What…is this?"

"Tears." Ace's voice suddenly sounded over Omega's communicator, disbelief and awe in his voice. "She's actually…crying…?"

Omega gave a knowing grin.

"Then that means she's made her choice."

He stepped forward, walking towards her motionless form. Reaching her, he dropped down to one knee, crouching over her body.

"Well?" he smirked, "What's it to be?"

Queenbee looked up at him, knowing she was dying, and suddenly trying to fight against it with everything she had left, spoke the words Omega knew she would.

"Take me…with you…"

The God of Destruction's arrogant smirk widened.

"I love it when I win!" With that said, he leaned forward. But at the last second, he paused, grinned, and cut off the feed to A.C.E.

* * *

The Scarlet Phoenix threw his hands into the air.

"Oh what the hell, man! Where'd the screen go?"

"Um, sir, we've lost the connection. We think he cut it himself."

"Aw, dammit…"

There was a momentary pause while everyone gave him a suspicious look.

"Er, I mean…That could be dangerous, right? Who knows what could be going on over there!"

"Suuuuure, Ace." Marino grinned. "We believe you."

Ace banged his head on the desk.

"God damn it all…"

* * *

As Celtis stumbled through the remainder of the smoky fog that still covered the battlefield, she caught sight of a familiar crimson coat.

"Omega!" she yelled and ran forward, relaxing. "Oh good, I thought you-"

Her voice died in her throat as she stared in complete disbelief at the scene before her.

Moments later, Craft trudged into view. Spotting her, he walked over.

"Any luck finding him?"

"Agh-ack-uh-wha-buh-" Celtis could only make strange, gibberish sounding noises. Craft raised an eyebrow.

"What's wrong with you?"

In response, Celtis gave up on communicating vocally and jerked one hand out, pointing a shaking finger ahead of her. The baffled commando followed it and recognition dawned on his face.

There was a moment of silence.

"Oh." He said eventually.

Some distance away from them, surrounded on all sides by death and destruction, the landscape itself burning around them, the legendary God of Destruction and the Pseudoroid human created by Gates, were in the middle of one of the most passionate kisses Craft had ever seen before. It wasn't until he saw the wounds on her body beginning to slowly close and heal themselves up, that he caught on.

Shaking his head in amusement, Craft rifled around under his cloak until he found the spare Sub Tank he always kept on him. He tossed it to Celtis and raised an eyebrow when it merely dinged off her helm, Celtis herself seeming to still be in shock.

"Well, I was going to ask you to give him this, since they'll probably need it after, but I guess I'll do it myself then…" he muttered, picking it back up.

Leaving Celtis still standing there in shock, he strolled over to Omega.

The God of Destruction looked up as the full Sub-tank dropped to the ground next to him. Queenbee fell back, her head lolling as she gasped for air, her cheeks flushed.

Omega raised an eyebrow at Craft.

"Thanks. Apparently this whole 'healing' thing's a lot harder than I thought."

"She'd probably disagree with you." Craft commented dryly.

Omega looked down at the panting woman in his arms, her body trembling. He looked back up at Craft again, a guilty look on his face.

"Too much?"

Craft stifled a chuckle.

"Probably."

* * *

Ace stared blankly at the information on the screen.

"So…" He said finally. "This is it? All of it?"

"Yep!"

"You mean to tell me that all of Gates' security, defenses and all, that my entire operations staff, me included, couldn't break, you somehow managed to?"

"Uh-huh!"

Ace stared at the screen again for a few moments, then pressed a hand to his face.

"No, no, don't ask…" he muttered to himself, "You REALLY don't want to know, Ace..."

Spinning around in his chair he came face to face with the bright-eyed face of Cinnamon.

"Um…good job, I guess?"

Cinnamon bobbed her head cheerfully.

"Thank you! Does this mean I won?"

The entire operations staff was suddenly very attentive.

"Um, I guess so, yeah." Ace said helplessly, completely at a loss.

"Yay!" Cinnamon clapped her hands together in delight, completely oblivious to the death-glares coming from every single one of the operators. Just then, the terminal in front of Ace blinked again, as it began to sound an alert. As he read through it, Ace's eyes widened.

"Oh, SHIT."

Now he knew how Gates was controlling Queenbee.

"Get me Saber! Now!"

* * *

Omega finished draining the power from the Sub-tank and heaved a sigh of relief as he stood up.

"Damn that felt good…" he grinned.

Next to him, Queenbee had managed to sit up, leaning back against the rock behind her. She stared up at Omega in amazement.

"What was that?" she asked, still breathless. Omega raised an eyebrow as he looked back at her.

"Oh, not much." He replied airily. "I just used my repair system to regenerate your injuries. Basically, my nanomachines will heal anything in con-"

"N-Not that." Queenbee said hesitantly. "I know what it did, b-but…I…"

She stopped, feeling another strange sensation. She reached up to touch her suddenly warm features in bewilderment.

"…What does this mean?" she asked, and blinked in surprise when Omega burst out laughing.

"Oh…Oh man…am I going to have fun with you…!" he chuckled.

It was then that he heard Ace come back on the line, yelling frantically.

"Saber! I know what he's using to control her!"

Omega stared.

"Hey Ace?"

"Yeah?"

"You almost made it that time."

"What do you mean I-" Ace suddenly caught on. "Oh, FUCK DAMN IT!"

Queenbee was shaking, her eyes shut tightly in pain, clutching at her shoulders as a strange purple-black aura began to seep out of her. Composed of nothing but fragments of corrupted data, it wasn't only coming from her body, but from the fragmented armor remains of her previous forms, as well as the corpses of the Mavericks that Gates had been commanding.

As all of the warped data slowly began to spiral into a single mass above Queenbee, it shrank inwards, condensing itself into a solid black sphere. As Craft and Celtis thundered up next to him, Omega never took his eyes off of the sphere.

"So…that's what's controlling her?"

"Bloody hell…" Ace breathed. "Is that…It is! I don't believe it! How the hell did Gates manage it?"

Celtis stared up at the sphere, utterly lost for words.

"What is it?"

"The origin of destruction." Omega said coolly. "The one thing responsible for a whole century of bloodshed."

Craft's eyes widened.

"You don't mean…"

"The Sigma Virus." Ace said grimly. "The _original_ form, one that's not been seen on the planet for over a hundred years. Somehow, Gates managed to synthesize it and infected her with it. Hell, from the looks of things, he infected _all _of his mechanical troops with it. By cutting Sigma out of the loop, he was able to make it into, for lack of a better name, the Gates Virus."

The last of the virus had finished collecting itself. With a quick almost disdainful tug, it freed the last of its connections to Queenbee, who collapsed onto all fours, breathing hard.

"So what's it doing now?"

"Looking for a new host." Ace said grimly. "Probably whoever defeated the old one. And that means…"

"It wants ME!" Omega yelled triumphantly, and leapt forward, Zweihander howling. Ignoring Craft's warning yell, he split the whole thing in two with a single strike.

"How'd you like THAT, asshole?" he grinned. Then a strange pulse of light emanated from the thing, energy crackling around it.

"What in the-" The Virus core exploded towards him, black bands of shadowy purple material lashing out and binding him. Omega thrashed angrily as it tightened around him, pinning his arms to his sides.

"Get off of me you worthless-!"

As Craft tried to intervene, it launched another array of black shadows at him, smashing the commando off his feet. Celtis met a similar fate as she tried to bring the Hades to bear on it, even her accelerated reflexes not enough to outdo the Virus. All interference out of the way now, the shadowy mass that was the Virus moved towards its prey, intent on claiming its new host.

Said host, on the other hand, had other things in mind.

His arms bound tightly to his sides, with no room to swing his Zweihander, and with both of his legs lashed firmly to the ground, a vein pulsed in Omega's temple.

"First that hacked Biometal and now this Maverick Virus wannabe…!" He growled, struggling futilely. As it drew closer, Omega, pissed off beyond all reason, used the only weapon he had left.

"GO GET YER OWN FUCKING BODY!" He snarled and bit down hard, his powerful jaws sinking his fangs deep into the Virus core.

There was a moment of dead silence as everyone else stared aghast at the sight.

"Did he just BITE it?"

And then, a miracle.

The black mass staggered backwards, a high keening wail escaping it. The restraints around him suddenly brittle and fragile, the God of Destruction smashed his way free of them easily. A small trickle of corrupted data escaped the corner of his mouth, and Omega wiped it off, a dangerous look in his eyes as he regarded the black mass, its form now wavering in the air.

"You know, I've always wondered what the Sigma Virus would be like." He said nonchalantly.

"And now that I've finally had the opportunity to meet it…"

He stabbed his Zweihander into the floor, and cracked his knuckles.

"I've discovered a very interesting fact."

Omega gave a demonic smile, his fangs glinting evilly in the sunlight.

"**It tastes just like chicken.**"

If the erratic black mass could have broken out in a cold sweat, it would have done so now. Then, before any of the others could finish recovering from the greatest "WTF?" moment since the discovery that Lumine was actually a guy, Omega had charged straight at the Virus Core.

In retaliation, it launched countless streams of the black material at him, desperately trying to stop the oncoming crimson juggernaut.

Needless to say, it failed.

Hadrian Craft, Ace Phoenix, Celtis Gisborne-Wingates Arcana, Marino, Cinnamon, and the entire staff of the ACE command center watched on in stunned disbelief as a single man, his real name unknown to all but Craft and Celtis, faced a sample of history's greatest Virus, one that had plunged the world into chaos for centuries, and promptly tore it apart and _devoured_ the entire thing, using nothing but the claws on his hands and the razor sharp fangs in his mouth.

Omega straightened back up and rubbed a hand across his mouth.

"DAMN, that tasted good!" he grinned.

Everyone stared at him in disbelief.

"Did…did anyone else just see that?" Ace said weakly.

The stunned looks on the faces around him answered that question.

"Oh. Okay then. "He said faintly. "Just thought I'd…er…check that…"

Omega clenched his fists, feeling new power running through his body.

"Oh, hell YES!" He whooped, lightning bursting into life around him. "Now this is what I'm talking about!" He channeled more power into it, suddenly feeling as if he was completely invulnerable. He didn't really know why he was doing this, but damned if he didn't care!

He'd punched out a mad scientist, gotten to use a massively oversized cannon, blown up a Pseudoroid three times, brought said Pseudoroid back to life as his newest servant, had then _made out_ with said servant AND now he'd just had the best tasting meal he'd had in ages, one that had apparently given him a boost of power that was through the roof!

Seeing that Queenbee had gotten back to her feet again, Omega seized her by the hand and pulled her in, delivering another mind-melting kiss to the stunned Pseudoroid. Breaking it off, he grinned widely at her, his hair floating up behind him.

"You, my dear, have given me the best day I've had in YEARS."

Queenbee, her head still spinning, realized that she was standing in a field of electricity, in contact with a man currently conducting about three million volts of said electricity. However, instead of the usual pain that she would have gotten from that, the pain was now far overshadowed by a much, much greater feeling of pleasure. To her complete surprise, she found herself rather enjoying the sensation.

Then Omega kissed her again, and suddenly she forgot about everything else.

"Well, well, well…Isn't this a touching scene?"

A familiar voice, now tinged with the tones of someone holding back a tidal wave of anger interrupted the scene.

Craft looked up, stunned as the massive form of Excalibur suddenly rumbled to life again, its engines burning brightly as it turned to face them.

"It can't be…!"

Omega gave an arrogant smile and looked up, straight into the outraged features of Donovan Gates.

"You just don't know when to die, do you?"

"I should be telling YOU that!" Gates roared, enraged beyond all reason.

"But it doesn't matter now…!" he growled, his hands flying over the keys of the Excalibur's navigation terminal.

"You won't be able to escape this!"

The Excalibur howled, its engines suddenly firing. It was Ace who realized what Gates was planning. His eyes widened in shock.

"He's planning to hit them with the whole damn battleship!" He whirled desperately towards the transfer section.

"Get them out of there right now! All of them!"

"We can't, sir! Donovan Gates is currently blocking any and all transfer signals coming in!"

"SHIT!" Ace cursed again. "All of you, get out of there!"

Celtis turned to flee, but stopped as she realized Omega wasn't moving.

"Omega?"

Omega stood unmoving, facing the oncoming battleship with a reckless smile. For the last several minutes, this new wave of power had surged through his databanks, racing down hidden pathways and revealing something new in its wake. A fearless grin on his face, he drew the Zweihander from the floor. Almost instantly, the violet blade changed, shifting from its customary purple color, to a brilliant golden one of pure light, lightning crackling from its surface.

"No…" He said finally, "I think its time this bastard learned once and for all what's the difference between us…!"

With that enigmatic statement, the crimson clad hero did the unthinkable. His tattered coat billowing behind him, the massive blade held firmly in a two handed grip he charged forward, straight at the enemy battleship.

_**[Cue Music: Fate Stay Night OST- Sword of Promised Victory]**_

"What is he doing?" Ace thundered, shocked beyond all comprehension.

Gates roared with laughter as he beheld the ridiculous sight before him.

"You sad little fool! What do you honestly expect that silly little sword of yours to do to my battleship?"

Omega's hair suddenly flashed, becoming almost like lightning in and of itself as a deep violet color spread through it. His bloodred coat faded to one as white as a ghost, his Redline Mode activating itself once again. In response, the blade of his Zweihander changed, transforming from its normal cross-shape, into a long, straight edged blade of golden energy. A raging wind sprung up, whirling around the glowing blade as if it were the center of a hurricane.

Ace stared at the screen, his eyes narrowing.

"No…I know that sword…It couldn't be…!"

He whirled towards the nearest operator.

"Quickly! Pull up the files on the Model O mission!"

As a smaller window opened up on the wall monitor, Ace finally saw the havoc wreaked by the powerful Zweihander as it tore apart Granz's troops. His face paled, and he looked back at the hurricane enshrouded golden sword in Omega's hands now.

"No, it can't be! Why…no, how does he have that sword?"

Marino grabbed Ace's shoulder, suddenly worried.

"Ace, what's going on?"

Ace looked at her bleakly for a moment.

"You remember that Saber guy had _two_ swords at the ending of the Model O mission?"

"Yeah…?"

"And now he only has one, right? But he can still change that sword into any of the others that he used during that mission! _It absorbed his second sword_!"

Marino looked taken aback. "What? But…what does that have to do with…?"

Ace's face was grim. "If it possesses the second sword's data now, who's to say it didn't already have the data of another sword built into it already!"

"You're saying that's a _third_ weapon in there?"

"Not just any weapon…!" Ace growled, staring at the screen again. "Technically, he's in a Thunder-Element form now, right?"

"Yes?"

"Tell me, what's the most powerful lightning imbued sword you can think of?"

"Wha-Er…none, really…"

"Here's a hint…lightning was once referred to as 'holy light from the heavens'." He stared at his aide, the brilliant golden light of Omega's howling sword illuminating the room.

"In all of history, there's one holy sword whose name stands out above all others..."

As he saw the blood drain from Marino's features he gave a nervous smile.

"Now you know why I'm so worried."

* * *

The sword in Omega's hands was warm to the touch. He could feel the howling wind singing over its surface, making it vibrate in his grip. The wind intensified around him, the power within the blade still growing. As he stared forward at the massive colossus of the Excalibur, its engines blazing as it hurtled down to crush him, he brought the tip of the glowing sword down to drag through the rocky ground. The blade flashed, and suddenly extended, the pointed tip disappearing into the earth behind him. And still he continued forward, the glowing line of light slicing through the ground as if it was a hot knife through butter. The lightning that danced around Omega's charging frame suddenly vanished, sucked into the sword in his grip. And now mere moments away from clashing with the Excalibur battleship, the true form of the weapon in the crimson clad hero's hands revealed itself.

It exploded into a brilliant, blazing beam of light, one as massive as the Zweihander had been when Omega had first ripped it free of Cyberspace. Golden light blasting outwards from between his clenched fingers, the entire sword transforming into nothing more than a colossal beam of energy, Omega heard its mental cry, an actual voice that resonated through his mind.

_Say my name, master! Release my power!_

"With pleasure…!" Omega grinned dangerously.

As Gates' massive battleship loomed before him, mere meters away, the legendary God of Destruction took one final step forward, clenched his fists tightly around the blazing energy, and brought it swinging upwards with a thunderous roar.

"EEEX-"

"History's-no…" Ace said quietly, "_Humanity's_ most holy sword of legend…"

"**_CALIBUUUUUUUUUUR__!_**"

The brilliant golden beam, the sword of history's greatest King of Knights came sweeping up, a long flash of light that reached even to the distant horizon. The armor of Gates' battleship was no match for it, the unstoppable sword splitting the massive ship in two, and continuing upwards, even into the heavens as Omega completed his swing. The colossal battleship, the Gatemaster's personal warship, separated, falling away into two halves, severed straight down its spine by the godlike power of the very same blade that was its namesake.

"The Golden Sword of Avalon…" Ace's eyes narrowed.

"Excalibur."

At the instant the massive wall of energy overwhelmed Gates, one of the operators gave a yell of triumph.

"We have a signal!"

Ace didn't waste a second.

"HIT IT!" he bellowed.

As the once mighty Raider battleship crashed down around them in a flaming, molten fireball of destruction, Omega, Celtis, Craft and even Queenbee vanished in a flash of light, teleporting to safety.

* * *

**A/N:** Aaaaaaaand there you have it! I hope this extra long chapter made up for the length of the previous two!

Now, I'm sure a lot of you are wondering about several things in this chapter. And I'm sure I can predict what the three main questions will be:

How/where the HELL did Omega pull a new move out from, and what did Ace mean about his sword having another one built into it already?

What does Ace know about Omega's sword? Has he recognized him as the God of Destruction?

Who in the blue blazes is this Magnum Phoenix guy?

And possibly, a fourth question, namely: What's the deal with the Excalibur sword?

Rest assured, my loyal readers, all these questions and more shall be answered in the next chapter which will be a nice, loooooooong one, with lots of talking! Oh, and Ace gets in another fistfight.

But you could care less about that, right?

Sayonara for now!

DarkShift Out!


	20. Chapter 19: Truth of the Destroyer

**Chapter 19: Truth of the Destroyer**

Disclaimer: All your base are belong to Capcom. Except for my characters. MIIIIINE!

* * *

Celtis stumbled off of the trans-server pad, her head spinning. Somehow, she realized, she'd returned to normal. Model O's armor and attitude problems were nowhere to be seen. She didn't know how or when that had happened, but all she knew was that the room was most definitely _not _supposed to be spinning like that.

"Whoa…what happened…?"

"Sorry about that." Marino apologized, as the female Hunter finally lost her balance and crashed into a pile of deactivated computers.

"It was a bit of an emergency transfer, so we didn't really have much time to fine-tune the process. You might experience some slight…disorientation."

Omega stomped off of the platform, weaving slightly.

"God…damn…it…" he growled. "Where the hell is that moronic Commander? I'm going to- aw crap."

BONK.

Wall: 1, Omega: 0

The God of Destruction lay flat on his back and stared up at the ceiling.

"Okay, you know what? I'm just going to lie here until the world stops spinning, all right?"

"Would you like me to keep you company, my Master?"

Omega looked up.

"Oh, hey. Looks like you got your mask back." He commented, staring up at Queenbee. She touched the blank, insect like helmet in response.

"Yes, it seems to have been restored by my auto-repair systems, thanks to you."

Omega gave her a thumbs-up and grinned.

"Any time!"

Queenbee's face colored behind her mask.

"Um…any time?"

Omega could already see her mind racing off down the gutter, and made absolutely no effort to stop it.

_'Well, what do you know…'_ he grinned.

Ignoring them completely, Marino walked up to Craft, who was still standing exactly where he'd appeared, not moving.

"What's up?" Marino asked, curious at his strange behavior.

"…Let's just say I would prefer to keep my dignity intact and leave it at that." Craft replied, staring straight ahead.

"Ohhhh." Marino nodded in understanding, "It screwed you up too, huh?"

Craft nodded, winced as the world went haywire, then stood very still until it went away.

"I'll be here for a while, so I suggest you move on to more pressing things, like stopping Saber from making out with his new 'servant'."

Marino blinked and turned around.

"Oh."

There were several minutes of silence. Marino folded her arms and cocked her head slightly, a speculative look in her eyes.

"…He's got decent technique, I'll give him that...Got the helmet off pretty fast, too…" She murmured critically.

Craft shut his eyes and gave a resigned sigh.

"Thank you, Marino, I really needed to know that."

"Any time, big guy." She replied companionably and patted him on the shoulder. Walking away, she heard the loud crash of Craft overbalancing and grinned.

* * *

When everyone had finally recovered from the debilitating effects of the forced transfer (and Omega had finally finished enjoying Queenbee) they started heading for the elevator that led back to Legion HQ.

"So…where're we going now?"

"Ace had to return to his office. He said something about an emergency appointment." Marino frowned for a moment. "At any rate, he said to meet him there. He says he had something important to explain about the last mission."

"The hell with that!" Omega grumbled. "I want my damn EC!"

Marino stifled a smirk as she remembered what had happened the last time Ace had 'paid' them.

"Don't worry, I don't think he'll stiff you this time. For one thing, he's got no excuse for it this time around."

The Phoenix's aide paused as her communicator went off. Sighing, she pulled it out.

"Sorry, one minute-Hello?" She listened for a minute, then relaxed. "Oh hey Grey. What's up?"

There was the sound of more talking from the other side, and all of a sudden, Marino stopped dead.

"Wait, wait, wait…That person you went to meet was _who?_"

More talking. The famous thief paled.

"And they went _where?_"

Some more talking. Marino nodded a few times, then clicked it off, a numb look on her face.

Omega and Celtis exchanged confused looks.

"What's going on?"

Marino took off down the hallway.

"I'll explain later! For now, just RUN!"

After a moment's bewilderment, the others did just that. After several minutes of having to save Queenbee from tripping over her own feet, Omega groaned.

"You never learned how to walk properly, did you?"

"Er…no…"

Craft raced forward until he was keeping pace with Marino.

"What's going on?"

"World War Eleven, Twelve and friggin' Thirteen all rolled into one, that's what." Marino said grimly. "I found out who Ace's appointment was with."

Craft took one look at the expression on her face and groaned.

"Oh no."

Marino simply nodded.

"How much did we have to renovate last time?"

"The whole damn floor." She growled.

Craft sped up.

* * *

When the door finally opened on the corridor leading to Ace's office, they stumbled out of the elevator, Craft and Marino hastily scanning the corridor. Omega stomped out behind them, highly pissed at this point.

"All right, what gives? What the hell has you two so messed up?"

Marino heaved a sigh at seeing the corridor relatively untouched.

"Oh good." She said, relieved, "Maybe they haven't started killing each other yet."

"Hey!" Omega yelled, annoyed. "What the hell-"

CRASH!

He was interrupted by the sights and sounds of a whole bookcase being thrown through the wall.

"-was that?"

Marino groaned in despair. "So much for that feeble hope."

There were the sounds of angry yells, some more crashing, and suddenly a crimson figure hurtled after the bookcase, taking another chunk out of the wall along the way.

Ace Phoenix hit the ground hard and bounced back up in time to slam straight into the opposite wall with a colossal impact, enough to crack the concrete surface. He slid down it slightly with a groan, before shaking his head. Looking back up, he gave a mocking grin at his unseen opponent.

"Oi, oi, oi! Is that all you got?" He laughed, wiping a trickle of blood from his jaw. "Chosen One or not, you still hit like a girl, buddy!"

"Oh yeah?" an unfamiliar voice growled. "Then how about this?"

Ace barely had time to swear before a figure leapt at him, slamming into his midsection with enough force to wind him and to smash both of them back through the wall. Omega caught a glimpse of a blue jacket and long dark brown hair before both combatants disappeared into the next room.

There was a moment's silence.

"Okay, what the HELL was that about?" Omega asked no-one in particular. Marino and Craft ignored him, running to where the Security Commander had disappeared.

Following them, Celtis finally got a good look at the Scarlet Commander's opponent and her jaw dropped.

His long brown hair whipping out behind him, his signature blue jacket flaring up around him, Vent, one of the two original Chosen Ones, hero of the battle against Slither Inc and possibly the greatest of all of Legion's heroes, gave an angry yell, smashing Ace straight across the jaw.

"Phoenix, you JACKASS!"

**[Cue Music: Shadow the Hedgehog OST- Never Turn Back]**

As Ace staggered backward, Vent reared up, a look of anger twisting his normally handsome features.

"What the hell did you think you were DOING? Didn't it occur to you that we locked that thing up for a reason?"

Ace gritted his teeth and dug his boots in. Regaining his balance, he catapulted forward towards the famous Chosen One, taking Vent by surprise. Before the hero could react, the Scarlet Phoenix had slammed one knee straight up into his gut, folding him almost in half, before slamming one elbow straight down onto his spine.

"Don't give me that shit, Vent!" He growled. "You assholes decide to hide away a fucking BIOMETAL, don't tell ANYONE about it, and then want to get all bitchy when we accidentally stumble across it?"

"Gee, I wonder if this could have all been avoided if you'd just FUCKING TOLD ME THE DAMNED THING WAS THE DEVIL INCARNATE?" Ace roared, headlocking Vent.

The Chosen One gave a growl of anger.

"Don't you DARE pin this on the Guardians!" Ace's eyes widened as he felt Vent grab him around the waist.

"The reason we didn't say anything…" Vent gritted, his muscles straining, "Was EXACTLY to prevent this sort of crap from happening!"

With a feral yell, he straightened up, lifting the panicked Phoenix up and over his shoulders before dropping down backwards, slamming the Scarlet Commander down through a table with bone-crushing force.

"I wonder…" Vent growled sarcastically, getting back up, "How'd they know exactly when and where to attack you? _Surely_ it couldn't have been from, oh my, LEAKS in your forces, right? You know, THE SAME DAMN PEOPLE WHO'D HAVE FOUND OUT IF WE HAD _SAID_ ANYTHING!"

Ace growled and leapt back to his feet. Whirling around, he lashed out with his right leg, landing a punishing blow into Vent's block, one that sent the Chosen One skidding across the ground, steam rising from where the Phoenix's kick had struck him.

"You couldn't have known that!" Ace countered. "And even if you did, was _this_ the best you could come up with? Oh wow, let's just pretend it doesn't exist and maybe it'll magically disappear! REAL fucking bright, asshole!"

"It's better than your idea!" Vent snarled, lunging forward. "You _find_ the Biometal, almost get killed when it summons enough Mavericks to make Ouroboros look like a little sissy, almost get killed _again_ when it tries to take over your body to manifest an ancient God of Destruction, and WHAT is your brilliant solution? Hey, let's dig it up and bring it into Legion City! Yeah, GREAT plan there Ace! How many blocks did it blow up again?"

"You know what?" Ace yelled, a vein pulsing in his temple.

"FUCK…"

"YOU!" They both roared at the same time, launching two killer punches at one another almost simultaneously. Their fists struck one another, and the impact sent a massive shockwave of air blasting outwards. Celtis winced as it raced past her, hair whipping in the wind. As it died down again, she opened her eyes to see that neither Ace nor Vent had stopped, lunging right back into the fray.

This couldn't even qualify as a brawl, she decided, watching in amazement as Ace's powerful left hook was returned with a devastating roundhouse kick that knocked him clear off his feet. He hit the ground hard, rolled twice and recovered, his armored boots kicking up sparks as they grated across the floor. Finally coming to halt, he spat blood and charged straight back at his opponent. A punch from Vent rocked his head back, but he didn't stop, instead slamming a savage uppercut straight up into the Chosen One's jaw. As Vent reeled backwards, Ace gave a wild yell and whirled on the spot, blasting Vent backwards with a powerful spinning kick.

Omega was grinning as he watched the fight. "Oh, this is pretty good…!"

The Chosen One recovered even faster than Ace had, barreling straight back at the Scarlet Phoenix, one hand already drawn back in preparation for his next attack.

"COME ON!" he roared.

"With pleasure!" Ace snarled in response and charged forward to meet him head on.

Both punches slammed into each other, but now, with almost twice the power behind them, they glanced off and continued forward, both of them smashing into each other's jaws with enough force to knock both Commander and Chosen One backwards.

"A perfect cross-counter…!" Omega whistled.

Even as both fighters staggered backward, they were already launching their next attacks, punches and kicks slamming into one another at a breakneck pace. As soon as one of them was forced backwards, they came right back in, hammering away at the opponent before them. Not even bothering with the slightest modicum of defense, the two fighters simply smashed blow after blow into one another, intent on nothing but the defeat of the foe before their eyes. Not even a brawl, this was just two fighters simply bashing the hell out of one another with everything they had.

Celtis watched in awe, remembering the argument between Ace and Ashe when she'd first met them.

_"Hah! You and I both know you'll need that Biometal just for this to qualify as a fair fight!"_

"…Holy crap…" Celtis whispered. Ace hadn't been kidding. Even in human form, Chosen Ones were considerably stronger and tougher than normal people, a result of the Biometal's effect on their bodies. And yet here stood Ace Phoenix, by all accounts one of those 'normal people', holding one of the most powerful of all Chosen Ones to a draw!

"Unbelievable…He's actually matching him head-on!"

It wasn't until she saw the worried look on Marino's face that she realized that she was wrong. Omega shook his head, his eyes narrowing critically as he stared at the brawl.

"No…not quite." He said finally. "That Commander's losing. He just won't admit it yet."

"What?" Celtis looked at him, confused. Omega sighed and rolled his eyes at his servant's ineptitude.

"Look at the two of them. The blue guy keeps healing, while Phoenix just keeps taking more and more damage."

Looking back at the fight, Celtis' Demon Eyes confirmed Omega's statement. As she watched she saw that, bit by bit, Vent's cuts and bruises were repairing themselves, yet another effect of his abilities of a Chosen One. Ace's injuries, on the other hand, were doing no such thing. Now she could see the darker stains on his prized coat that marked where he'd bled. And still, even with every new attack that struck him, he returned to the battle, smashing into Vent again. Now that she knew the truth, Celtis could see all of the little details that gave away the Scarlet Phoenix's condition. In all of their clashes, he was always thrown further back than Vent, the Chosen One always putting out more damage than Ace. And still the Commander got back up every time, ignoring his battered body as he leapt to the attack once more. Now Celtis could see him beginning to slow down, his damaged form beginning to falter under the weight of his injuries.

"Wait…shouldn't we stop them?" She asked, suddenly worried. Craft shook his head wordlessly.

"Not yet. This is a matter of pride for Ace. He and Vent are both the best of friends, and the worst of enemies. This is the only way they've found to settle their differences. We only step in if things start to go too far."

"But he's getting the living crap kicked out of him!"

That's what always happens." Marino said grimly, "Ace is just too goddamned stubborn to back down, even when he's outclassed. Even against a Chosen One, he'll just keep getting right back up, until he can't move any more. It's a match of his 'determination' against Vent's 'power'."

Another cross counter, and then another, before Vent seized a nearby flatscreen monitor and smashed it down over Ace's head, hard enough for it to come down to his elbows, pinning his arms at his sides. Cursing, he struggled to break free as he staggered backwards.

Looking up he was rewarded by the sight of Vent leaping into the air towards him. Drawing both legs in, the Chosen One snapped them out again, slamming them straight into the pinned Phoenix's chest, and launching him straight through the wall behind him. Judging from the subsequent crashes, he'd made it through several other walls as well.

Vent charged after him again, disappearing into the smoke. He was rewarded by the same flatscreen (broken now) smashing him across the face. As he reeled, he caught sight of Ace barreling towards him again, his right arm drawn back in an unmistakable pose. Swearing, Vent tried to dodge it, only for Ace to close the distance and bring his right hand forward in a devastating punch that slammed straight into Vent's stomach, the scent of gunpowder heavy in the air.

"PHOENIX…_**BLAST**_!"

Ace's explosive glove detonated with incredible force, blasting the Chosen One right back the way he had come, clear across the room into the opposite wall, cracking it.

Vent coughed slightly, the front of his jacket blasted to hell and back.

"You and your tricks…" He grinned bitterly. "I should have known you couldn't take me in a fair fight."

"The same…goes for you, bastard." Ace smirked, one hand pressed to his chest, his breathing ragged, "Last time…I checked, you had…a Biometal augmented body. You'll…forgive me if I have to…find ways...to even the odds...!"

"Fair enough-!" Vent growled and charged at him again. A new glove on his hand, Ace got ready to meet him, before his vision suddenly went blue. Eyes widening as Vent's thrown jacket hurtled at his face, blinding him, Ace never saw Vent coming. Dropping down he kicked the Phoenix's legs out from under him in a lightning fast sweep, before leaping back up into the air.

"Then try this one on for size!" He hurtled down, slamming into Ace with a devastating elbow drop that smashed him into the floor hard enough to crack the tiles. As the Phoenix roared in pain, Vent rolled away again, getting out of range. The Scarlet Commander got to his feet, before crashing down onto all fours, coughing blood as he struggled to rise again.

"Shit…!" he cursed. "Definitely…gonna feel that one later…!"

Gritting his teeth, he clenched his fists, forcing himself back up. He stood there for a moment, breathing hard as he glared at Vent through one good eye, the other forced shut by the blood running down his face. He was pretty sure a couple of his ribs were goners from that last hit, but what the hell…

"All right then, two can play that game…!" he growled, steeling himself.

With a yell that steadily increased in volume, he threw his protesting body into a headlong charge forward, rocketing straight at Vent. Ducking under the Chosen One's waiting left hook as it whistled over his head, he dropped down and skated around to his back. Vent's eyes widened as he felt Ace's arms lock tightly around his waist.

"Oh, hell no…!" he swore.

With a wild howl, Ace lifted the struggling Chosen One clean off of his feet and into the air.

"PHOENIX…"

Keeping both legs planted firmly on the ground, he threw his upper body backwards, bringing Vent hurtling headfirst towards the ground behind him.

"_**SUPLEX!**_"

WHAM.

This time, several tiles were actually catapulted into the air with the force as Ace smashed Vent into the ground, hard enough for even Omega and the others to feel it through the floor.

After several moments, both combatants staggered back upright, murder in their eyes.

"You…and your damn Guardians…" Ace panted, his legs unsteady, "Always think you know what's best for everyone, don't you?"

"And we're usually…right…too!" Vent huffed, one hand pressed to his bleeding scalp, the wound already beginning to close, "At least _we_ don't have traitors in our organization!"

Ace's temper snapped.

"Oh, that is IT! I'll fucking paint the WALLS with you, you stuck-up asshole!"

"Same to you, you know-it-all otaku freak!"

"RRRAAAAAAAAGH!"

Both men charged at one another again, fury on their faces.

"Model X…!" Vent growled, blue light flashing around his right arm.

"Scarlet Skin…!" Ace roared, the scarlet hex-shaped Ceratanium scales of his armored overcoat flashing to life as they powered up.

"All right, that's enough out of you two!"

**WHAM-O!**

Omega, Celtis and Queenbee stared blankly as both fighters bit the dirt hard, their respective attacks fizzling out. Marino poked Ace's twitching form idly with the toe of one high heel, before looking up and across at her opposite number.

"Nice to see you too, Aile."

The second of Legion's two most powerful Chosen Ones, and Vent's twin sister, heaved a sigh as she looked down at her brother.

"You know, just once I wish we could meet without these two trying to kill each other."

Marino shrugged expressively.

"Well, you know what they say: Opposites attract, and likes try to eradicate one another."

Aile gave her a strange look.

"Who the hell says that?"

Marino gave another shrug.

"Beats me. I just made that up."

Omega turned to stare at Craft.

"This happen often?"

The commando sighed and rubbed a hand over his grizzled features.

"Every single time."

* * *

Ten minutes after that, they were all in Ace's office at last. Just like his aide's office, this too was a bonanza of posters, comics, manga, games and DVDs. Only a small island remained free around his desk, just enough for a couple couches and seats for any guests.

The man in question was currently sprawled uncomfortably behind his desk, wincing as Cinnamon treated his injuries. He shot his arch-rival a dirty look, as Vent was currently standing with his arms folded, an equally irritated look on his face.

"Yeah, laugh it up, punk. You and your damned auto healing…"

"Hmph, at least I don't have to rely on tricks and gadgets to win my fights!"

"Oh yeah, suuuuure. No, instead you just rely on your bloody godmoding, right?"

Marino whacked Ace in the ribs, forcing the still healing Phoenix to yelp and jerk away.

"Knock it off you two." She interrupted, "We're here for business, not to watch you two kick the crap out of one another."

Aile shook her head despairingly as Vent shoved his hands in his pockets and looked away, grumbling to himself.

"And you actually tried to Megamerge, just to take him on…Honestly, just when I think you're getting more mature, you go and chuck it all straight out the window."

She turned.

"And you!" she scolded, hands on her hips. "You were supposed to make sure nothing happened until I got here!"

This last one was directed not at Vent, but rather at the small, fist-sized object floating in midair next to her brother. Blue lights dancing over it, the unmistakable figure of Model X gave her a sheepish look.

"Err…sorry about that…I sort of lost track of time when I was browsing around through the Legion database. The first I knew of anything was when he tried to Megamerge."

Aile pressed a hand to her features and sighed.

"Oi…You really need to stop spending so much time online, X."

With all their playful banter, neither of them noticed that they had an audience. His red eyes burning, the legendary God of Destruction's gaze had not left the cerulean Biometal even once since it had drifted out of Vent's pocket. There was no mistaking it, not even a slight chance for such an error.

It was X.

Omega would quite willingly bet two arms and a leg (not his own of course, as that would be silly. After all, that's what he had Celtis for.) that the small, insignificant looking object floating before his eyes was none other than the infamous Megaman X, the original Reploid, and one of the only two beings in all of history that he would admit to being on par with him.

So he had been right. These… 'Biometals', were not just based off of _any _legendary heroes from the past. They were based off of _the_ legendary heroes, the ones who stood head and shoulders above the rest, the ones who had almost single-handedly changed the course of history.

The one before him was X, he was certain of it. And the annoying little one who had been flying around Ashe and Grey was probably based off of the irritating, shapeshifting little pest who always hung around with X. What was his name again…? Right, Axl! That was it!

Omega felt a feral smile begin to spread across his face as he realized where this train of thought was heading. Axl always followed X. And wherever X was, then there was only one other being that would always be one step ahead of him…

A new voice interrupted the conversation.

"Yo, sorry I'm late."

At that instant, everyone in the room felt it. A single bolt of blood-chilling power that coursed through the veins, a silent howl of elation and delighted triumph.

Aile and Vent whirled, startled.

"What in- Oh, it's just you." Aile said, relaxing.

The crimson form of Model Z simply stared back at the rest of them, matching their stunned gazes with a curious one.

"What gives? You guys look like you just saw a ghost."

"No…It's…" Ace looked around, a confused expression on his face. "Uh…never mind…"

Celtis, on the other hand, was shivering. One reason was from the terrible tidal wave of madness and bloodlust that had surged anew within her, Model O stirring to life inside her again. Swallowing hard, she forced it back, willing herself to blot out the chaotic, insane images that had flooded her mind. She suspected she knew why it had suddenly reacted so violently.

Model Z…That could only mean that this Biometal was the one based off of history's greatest Red Knight. One of the two most powerful Maverick Hunters of all time, and hero of two eras, it could only be Model O's arch-nemesis, Zero.

And that, she believed, was the second part of the reason behind this frightening sensation. Part of it was from the Biometal sealed within her, but the other?

Pure, unadulterated fear. And Celtis knew exactly what the source of that fear was. Slowly, steeling herself, she worked up the nerve to finally turn her head, looking towards the origin of that terrible sensation.

Omega stood there, hunched over slightly, one hand pressed tightly to his face. The other hung down at his side, the fingers curling into claws. His entire body trembled, vibrating with a repressed emotion. The icy white mane of hair that fell around him hid his features from view, but as he shifted for an instant, Celtis saw it and she staggered backwards involuntarily.

His red eyes glowing like twin supernovas, his lips pulled back in a positively satanic smile of pure insanity, it took everything the God of Destruction had to restrain the rampaging madness that now thundered through his veins. It was _him_! The one man who Omega craved to fight more than anything else! The only warrior in history to ever defeat him! The only being that Omega considered worthy enough to be his arch-rival!

_**ZERO!**_

"Uh…Saber? You okay over there?" Ace raised a curious eyebrow.

And suddenly it was gone, Omega smiling innocently back at Ace as if nothing had happened, as if the world had not just come within an inch of total apocalypse a few seconds ago.

"Nope, nothing's wrong over here! Just a few after-effects from the transfer, that's all."

Ace raised an eyebrow at Omega's suddenly abundant cheerfulness.

"Um…Okay then?"

Celtis watched nonplussed as Omega started to hum a tune under his breath, looking for all the world like a man who was utterly at peace with the world, one for whom everything was just suddenly going completely and utterly_ right_.

"Da dana da dana da dana dan dan…Cannon Ball, baby!" Omega hummed quietly, a happy smile on his face.

And somehow, the sight of an innocent and happy-looking Omega scared his servant even worse than the madman she'd seen just a few seconds ago…

Reclining on one of the couches, Craft casually reached under his cloak and drew his cannon, resting it on the ground. As a forethought, he double-checked to make sure it was primed and ready to go. Along with a dozen grenades. And two combat knives. And another six grenades.

Just…y'know, as a precaution…

Vent growled impatiently, tapping his foot on the ground.

"Well? You planning to start talking some time this year, Phoenix?"

Ace shifted slightly, testing his newly healed ribs, before giving an appreciative nod to Cinnamon.

"Thanks, Cin. Sorry for all the trouble, again."

"Oh, it's no problem Ace!" Cinnamon smiled happily. "I'd gladly do anything to help you out!"

For his part, the Phoenix coughed and looked away, his face coloring. Sometimes that innocent personality of Cinnamon's could let her say some really outrageous things…

"Er…ahem, right…Uh, thanks. Um…" For a moment, he remembered that Cinnamon had won his little 'competition' earlier, and he briefly wondered who she was taking along with her if she ever decided to collect her prize.

Then he realized where _that_ train of thought was heading, and he sputtered, desperately searching for some distraction.

"Vent! Right!" he said loudly, gratefully seizing the avenue of escape. "Yes! Um…yeah, we can't start yet, since I'm still waiting for a few more people to show up!"

While Marino gave the Commander an odd look, suddenly suspicious about his odd demeanor, Vent raised an eyebrow.

"And these would be who, exactly?"

At that moment, there were the sounds of voices from outside, and the door opened. The still laughing figure of Model A catapulted through it, pursued closely by a worried Grey.

"Argh, wait up, Model A!"

To his surprise, Model A suddenly skidded to a halt, Grey smacking facefirst into the back of the Biometal. He stumbled backwards, both hands pressed to his smarting nose.

"Oww! I know I said to stop, but that's a bit- Huh?"

He realized that Model A was frozen in shock. Following its gaze, a similar look appeared on his face.

"What…but that's…She's…!"

Before anything further could be said, there was the sound of a door slamming shut in the outer office, followed by a steadily approaching tirade of angry swearing.

"-That lousy little…When I get my hands on that worthless Commander, I'm gonna…!"

BAM!

The door slammed open, propelled by the pissed-off hand of Death itself.

Well, not really, it was only Ashe. But with the state she was in, Death would have been an improvement. There were dark circles under her eyes, her ponytail was a mess and her clothes looked disheveled, as if she'd put them on in a rush.

"_**Aaaaaaaaaaacccccccccceeeeeeee…!**_" She hissed.

The Scarlet Commander gave a panicked squeak and pulled Marino in front of him.

"You've got exactly ten seconds to explain why the HELL you called to drag me out of my nice warm bed, to come up here and-"

She stopped as her hungover brain, which had been jumping up and down trying to get her attention for the last few minutes, finally gave up, stuck a note in her hand and ran for it.

She stared across the room at Omega, who looked as though he was struggling to keep from breaking out in a fit of laughter and then across at Vent, who grinned and waved.

There was a moment of silence as she half raised a hand to return Vent's greeting.

"Um…I'll, uh…I'll be right back…"

The door slammed closed.

Ashe fled, skidding to a halt before a nearby mirror.

"Dammit,why the HELL didn't Ace tell me that bastard would be here too?" she cursed, hastily straightening her outfit and running a frantic hand through her hair.

Of course, the only reason she was doing this was so that she wouldn't be in such an embarrassing state in front of that arrogant bastard Saber, who by the way, she had taken a strong dislike to! That was all! NOT, because she, say, wanted to look particularly appealing to him, of course. As if she could ever want anything to do with someone so irritating...

...Even though he had _such_ a magnificent body...or those incredibly handsome features...or such a muscular physique...

Ashe snapped back to reality to find out she had been spacing out for the last few minutes. She went bright red, and shook her head rapidly, dislodging all of her body's treacherous fantasies about the annoying man in the next room.

"...Okay, fine..." She grumbled, still red in the face as she finished tidying herself up. "He _is_ pretty hot...B-but his attitude still sucks!"

Somehow Ashe felt as though she was trying to convince herself of that, rather than simply stating a fact.

And worse still, she was beginning to get the feeling that she wasn't entirely succeeding, either...

Twenty seconds later, the door opened again, normally this time, to reveal a completely different looking Chosen One.

Ashe raised a hand and waved, a cheerful smile on her face, sparkly lights dancing around her.

"Hi guys!"

Her hair now perfectly groomed, clothing rearranged and neatly smoothed down, Ashe looked nothing like the walking death she had moments ago.

As Vent finally fell over laughing his head off, Ashe stared at the unimpressed looks of everyone else in the room and sighed. Pressing a hand to her face, she shook her head in disbelief.

"All right fine…Look, just pretend that none of this ever happened all right?"

A hand stuck out from behind Marino, waving a camcorder triumphantly.

"I got it on tape!"

"Wha-ARGH! ACE, YOU'RE A DEAD MA-Wha?"

Ashe's headlong rush was halted by Grey grabbing her arm.

"What-Grey, leggo! I'm gonna murder him!"

"No, Ashe, look!"

Ashe followed his pointing finger and stopped in shock.

"What in…You...how…"

Queenbee tilted her head sideways, regarding them curiously.

"Hello."

Ashe was rendered temporarily speechless.

It didn't last long.

"WHAT IN THE HELL IS _SHE_ DOING HERE?"

"Oi…" Ace banged his head on the table, "Aaaaand we're off again…"

**One explanation later...**

"And as a result of that whole mess with Gates, I've decided that she should be allowed to remain functional, and to be placed under the supervision of Saber, who will be responsible for her and any of her actions." Ace finished.

"Are you nuts?" Ash snapped, "She's a Maverick! She was working with Albert!"

"That was then." Ace replied coolly, "This is now."

"But-"

The Phoenix groaned and pressed a hand to his face.

"All right, you want to know the real reason behind it? Fine!" He turned to Queenbee.

"Sorry about this, but would you mind taking off your helmet?"

Queenbee folded her arms.

"No."

Ace's eye twitched.

"What?"

"I'll only take this off if my Master orders me to."

There was a dead silence.

"…Master?" Ace said weakly. "Uh…you do realize you're free, right?"

Queenbee shook her head stubbornly.

"A Pseudoroid must always have a Master. It's part of my programming."

"…Yes, but not to this extent…" Ace tried again.

Behind her mask, Queenbee flushed.

"…This master is…Different."

Ashe's eye twitched. "This is beginning to sound strangely familiar..."

"Queenbee, I order you to take off your helmet."

The Pseudoroid started in surprise at the voice. Ashe turned to see Omega lounging back on one of the couches, a knowing grin on his face.

"Ah…yes, of course, Master!" Queenbee responded, happy to follow his command. She knew that this whole thing about a 'Master' was just a remnant of Gates programming, but she didn't care. After what this man had done for her, she'd happily be his willing servant.

Ashe stared at Omega, a thoroughly annoyed look on her face.

"First that Syrene chick and now a Pseudoroid with a domination-complex…what is it with you? Do you just seduce every woman you fight?"

Omega matched her glare and grinned.

"Why, you wanna see for yourself?"

Ashe reddened. "Wh-Why you…!"

"Relax." Omega yawned and stretched back. "I don't seduce _every_ girl I meet. Just the ones that…" he paused, his smile widening, "_amuse_ me, shall we say?"

He reclined in the chair as if it were a king's throne, a smile of supreme arrogance on his face as he regarded her.

"After all, I am the world's greatest! Everything on this planet already belongs to me, so why shouldn't I simply claim interesting treasures like her for myself?"

Ashe's eyes widened. "You arrogant son of a-!"

She stopped as she felt someone grab her arm. She turned, startled.

"Vent?" she gasped. Her former romantic interest jerked a thumb over his shoulder back towards Queenbee.

"I think you should see this." He said tersely.

Ashe turned, and her eyes widened.

"Holy hell…"

As Queenbee's helmet dematerialized, Ashe understood the full extent of the 'modifications' that she had pointed out to Ace during his call. At the time, she'd thought that Gates had simply upgraded the armor and appearance, but this...she hadn't been expecting those upgrades to go _this _far!

"A human body…!" she whispered, staring at Queenbee's features.

Her skin was lightly tanned, a few shades darker than Ashe's own, looking almost bronze in the light coming from the massive wall-window in Ace's office. Her eyes were a bright orange color, with long eyelashes and fine eyebrows. Her short hair was a rusty red, falling to just above her shoulders in a neatly trimmed cut. But it was the strange, stitch-like scars that gave the lie to her appearance, a diagonal one running down from below each eye, and a considerably larger one running around the circumference of her neck.

Ace saw the looks on their faces and nodded grimly. Activating the blackboard sized wall monitor on the left of the room, he started to show footage from the most recent battle.

"Exactly. Gates took a living human body and combined it with that of a Pseudoroid, Queenbee, in this case. His goal was to create a war-machine that could surpass even you Chosen Ones and he very nearly succeeded. It was only through the intervention of these three..." He indicated Omega, Celtis and Craft, "...that Gates' plans were stopped."

"From what Gates said, Queenbee was the only one to survive the process. The human…" Ace hesitated, and that alone was enough to say it for him. Taking a deep breath, he went on. "Saber here was the one who rescued her, so I saw it only fitting to leave her under his care. At the moment, she has lost the weapons-carrying capability she had before, since they were all destroyed in the battle. All she possesses at the moment is that strange Swarm Mode of hers."

Ace gestured to the hexagonal vents in her armor.

"However, without Gates to supply power to her, it will not be at the same level as it was out on that battlefield." He paused for a minute, then groaned.

"You know, just once when an enemy switches sides, I really wish they wouldn't get nerfed! Why can't they stay at the same power level they did when they were evil?"

Realizing everyone was staring at him, he cleared his throat hastily and got back on topic.

"So yeah, that's about it. And since Queenbee has decided on Saber here as her, ahem… 'Master'…" Ace looked embarrassed at the mere thought of that, while Queenbee nodded emphatically.

Ashe, still not looking entirely happy with the way things had turned out, backed down as Queenbee rematerialized her helmet. Model X and Z watched her carefully, their electronic sensors poring over the data they were reading from her.

"Yeah, it definitely looks like a Megamerge, alright…Whoever this Gates guy was, he was good…" Z muttered.

X nodded, a worried look on its face. "Agreed. But what worries me more is what he was trying to do…He said something about trying to surpass the Magnum Phoenix…I know that name, like it's something I should remember…but…"

"It's part of your original self's memories, probably." Z decided. "Remember, we're just copies. We don't have their memories. Best to just forget about it for now."

Nearby, Omega's ears twitched. No memories? Oh well, lucky him! Just another way to keep his true identity secret!

"I'm not surprised that you wouldn't know that name, X." Ace said heavily. "The Magnum Phoenix is a legend known only to a few members of the Legion elite. To everyone else, it's just a fairytale, a name that survives as little more than a mere title. Only certain people, like myself, know the truth of that particular story."

Ace sighed and looked around.

"Well, everyone's here now, so we might as well get this started."

Vent's eye twitched.

"Wait, so we were just waiting on Ashe and Grey? Why didn't you just tell us that? We could've picked them up on the way!"

"We?" Aile interrupted, an irritated look on her face. "You barely had time to help me get our stuff unloaded, since you were too busy charging off to go maul Ace!"

Vent looked slightly embarrassed. "Well, you know…"

Ace shook his head. "No I wasn't just waiting for them. There was one other group of people I was waiting on." He paused, and then gave an amused grin.

"The leader of which has been standing behind you for the last ten minutes."

Everyone, with the exception of Omega, Craft and Marino, whirled in shock.

His impregnable purple armor glinting in the lights, history's most infamous Renegade Enforcer towered before them, almost seven feet tall in his armored boots. Vile grinned.

"I'd been wondering if you'd ever notice me here."

Aile looked up in awe. "Holy…you're from Unit V!"

"How the hell did you get behind me?" Ashe demanded, unnerved by the fact that someone wearing as much armor as this man could move so quietly.

"That would be my partner's doing."

As if on cue, the floor next to him shimmered and Rika emerged from it. Giving a quick bow, she returned to a standing position, her normal, cool expression on her face. In response, Ace leaned over his desk and frowned down at the ground.

"Yeah, yeah, nice entrance and all," he grumbled, "But wouldja mind making sure that's nice and solid before you leave? Last time you showed up like that, I got stuck halfway through the floor."

Vile hid a smile. "I'll be sure to make a note of that."

Ace leaned back in his seat and explained to the others.

"While this whole mess with Gates was going on, I sent the Unit here down to investigate some Raider activity on the seabed. The location is a place no doubt familiar to you two." He nodded to Ashe and Grey.

Now the monitor changed, showing a wireframe map of a section of the seafloor. Like Ace had said, both of Model A's Chosen Ones recognized it immediately.

"That's Albert's base!" Grey gasped.

"But how?" Ashe demanded, "We left that thing self-destructing under a couple hundred kilometers of seawater! How could anyone get to it?"

"They set up a field generator, creating an open area of dry land surrounding the wreckage." Vile replied. "With that, they were able to go in and excavate the ruins at their leisure."

"How'd they manage to set that up?" Vent wondered.

"It was Calam Krakatoa who was running the operation." The Renegade said flatly.

Realization dawned on the Chosen Ones.

"Oh."

"What happened?"

"We did." Vile said coolly. "The field was destroyed, and the entirety of the Krakatoa faction is now nothing but scrap metal."

Vent raised an eyebrow.

"Looks like they weren't kidding about your reputation…"

"While down there, he discovered the truth behind the code that allows Raiders to control and operate Mavericks. It's pretty much freeware now, so anyone could have it by this point. Because of that, there's no way we can track down the original creator using that." Ace finished, an annoyed look on his face. "Whoever this guy is, he's _really_ starting to tick me off…!"

"Now why would anyone want to do that?" Vent mocked. A vein twitched in Ace's forehead as he held up his right fist, the signature glove of his Phoenix Blast already in place.

"You want another one of these, moron? Believe me, I got plenty!"

Aile sighed and stepped in between them, before another fight broke out.

"Knock it off, hotheads." She looked across at Vile questioningly.

"Did you find out what they were looking for?"

The Renegade shook his head. "No. I suspect they were trying to see if there were any Model W fragments left over that they could steal. Other than that, it seemed to be a regular salvage operation."

Ace raised an eyebrow.

"Then what about that prize you were telling me about?"

Everyone looked at Vile.

"Prize?"

Vile sighed.

"…Yes. While they were digging through the remains, they came across an unexpected find. I took it upon myself to liberate that find from their clutches before making my escape."

There was an expectant pause.

"…Aaaaaaand?" Ace prodded.

The renegade gave a slight groan.

"Oh, this will go over _so_ well…"

He looked behind him, a resigned expression on his face.

"You can come out now."

There was a moment's silence, in which several of the people in the room noticed that Vile had two more feet than he should, two of which looked suspiciously feminine.

Finally after several more minutes, the infamous Witch of Lightning and Ice poked her head timidly around Vile's shoulder armor, her helmet held sheepishly in her hands.

"Um…h…hello…"

Ace's face went dead.

"Holy shit."

Silence reigned for some time.

Ten seconds later, every single Chosen One exploded into motion, going for their Biometals at a speed faster than anyone would have even believed possible. Even Ace and his agents were not exceptions, his Scarlet Skin crackling to life almost instantaneously, over a dozen beam knives shooting out into Marino's waiting grip and Craft's massive cannon humming to life as he brought it up. Celtis tried, only for Omega to trip her up and then plant his feet squarely on her back, an amused look on his face as he waited to see how things would play out.

Fast as they were, they weren't fast enough.

Before any of them had even finished, Vile had both of his arm Busters and his shoulder cannon up and waiting. Rika had morphed out an extra set of arms again, each one transforming into the double barreled assault cannons she preferred to use.

As everyone stopped again, Vile's eyes narrowed.

"Take this any further and you have my _personal_ guarantee that you'll find out exactly how I dealt with Krakatoa."

"Are you _insane_?" Aile yelled. "Do you have ANY idea who that is?"

"That's bloody Pandora!" Ace snarled. "What next, is friggin Prometheus gonna jump out of the woodwork?"

Pandora stiffened and clutched her helmet a little tighter, Ace's harsh words reminding her that her brother was still missing.

"..." Vile's eyes narrowed. After a few seconds, he lowered his left arm and shoulder cannon, returning them to disarmed states. Then before anyone could react, his right Buster fired once, the shell smacking Ace straight in the chest and catapulting him backwards, clear out of his chair.

In the shocked silence that followed, Vile calmly retracted his last Buster and raised his arm to block Marino's strike.

"Relax, I only shot him at half power." He said coolly. "That prized armor of his should be able to handle it."

And sure enough, accompanied by several coughs, and no small amount of swearing, one scarlet clad arm reached up and caught hold of the desk edge. Ace staggered upright, wincing as he pressed a hand to his scorched midsection.

"Ow…What the hell, is it 'Kick The Phoenix While He's Down' day or something…?"

"But that's every day!" Vent grinned. Ace leveled an unsteady finger at his amused arch-rival as Marino darted back towards him, a worried look on her face.

"You, shut up." He turned his gaze on Vile now, "You, you've got exactly ten seconds to explain to me what the hell is going on here before I go frigging _medieval_ on your as-"

"Leave him alone!"

For the second time in as many minutes, the room fell silent in amazement. Vile blinked, surprised.

Pandora was standing in front of him, a look of shaky determination on her face as she glared at the bewildered Scarlet Phoenix.

"He…He saved me from those Raiders…! If it…If it wasn't for him, I…"she faltered, realizing that everyone was staring at her.

"Um…I…I mean…" Pandora's voice failed her, her more timid personality resurfacing.

Vile sighed and rested one hand on her shoulder.

"It's fine, Pandora."

She looked up at him, surprised, his six-and-a-half-foot height towering over her petit five-foot own.

It was at that moment that Ashe found her voice.

"What the hell?"

"I'm with her." Vent said, jerking a thumb towards the silver-haired Hunter. "Would someone mind explaining to me what's going on here?"

"Yeah, uh…no offense or anything, but last time any of us saw her, wasn't she trying to kill us all?" Grey spoke up.

Ace collapsed back into his chair. Seeing Cinnamon's worried look, he shook his head.

"I'm fine, it's nothing I can't handle." He said reassuringly, wincing slightly. Turning to face Vile again, his eyes narrowed.

"I agree. I think an explanation is in order here…"

"She has no powers." Vile said simply.

Ace stared at him blankly. "Come again?"

"As near as I can understand, she and her brother both draw power from Model W. Since you've destroyed Model W, there's nothing to provide them with that power any longer. Essentially, she's just a normal Reploid now."

"So you saved her?"

"Yes." Vile nodded. "They found her sleeping in a capsule buried in the remains of Albert's facility. When she woke up, she could do nothing to defend herself, so I chose to step in."

Ashe and Grey both started at his words.

"A capsule? But when we left them, they were seriously wounded in the main Model W storage facility! How'd she get to the capsule?"

"I don't know." Vile said evenly, "But this was found in her chamber."

There was a gasp as Pandora summoned a familiar looking scythe.

"Prometheus…?"

"He carried her there, then…" Ace said grimly. "And what of Prometheus himself? Anything? Or is _he_ dead at least?"

Pandora's face fell as Vile sighed. "See, Ace, _this_ is why I shot you."

"Eh?" Ace looked from Pandora to Vile, confused. "What? What'd I say?"

Marino whacked him over the head in annoyance.

"Clueless as always." She looked up at Vile. "Nothing, then?"

Vile shook his head. "The room was sealed behind a wall of rubble, but there was no trace of him either inside or outside the facility."

"So, no-one knows what happened to him, whether he's alive or dead…" Vent mused aloud. Aile sighed, and stomped on his foot. As her brother yelped and hopped away, she shook her head.

"Sometimes I wonder if we're really related…"

Ace regarded Pandora speculatively for a moment.

"So you're taking care of her for the time being?"

"Yes." Vile nodded. "She's decided to stay with me for now. You can hardly complain now, can you? Without her powers, she's no threat to Legion."

"Yeah…about that no powers thing…" a familiar voice cut in. Vile turned to see Omega giving him an interested look.

"Let me get this straight..." he said, getting to his feet.

"You're saying that the reason she can't use any of her abilities is 'cause that Bio-whatever-it-is, is out of juice, right?"

"Uh...yeah...?" Ace said cautiously.

"I think I might be able to help you there."

Vile raised an eyebrow.

"And just how do you propose to do that?"

"Easy."Omega shrugged. "The way I see it, this thing's like a dead battery, so..."

He hefted his right hand, violet energy crackling around it. "I say we give it a little recharging!"

Before anyone could react, he'd stepped forward, and slammed his claw into the center of the startled Pandora's chest.

Vile whirled, shocked.

"What are you-?"

Vile's angry yell was cut off as a wave of power blasted outwards from Omega. Pandora jerked as raw energy cascaded through her systems, racing through her nerves and circuits and hurtling towards the dim, deactivated Biometal that lay at her core. The God of Destruction's eyes narrowed slightly as he felt his power slam into it, sensing something odd.

_'Something here seems...familiar...' _he thought, puzzled. Then, as he felt the Biometal beginning to respond, he grinned and dismissed the thought, concentrating on pulling this crazy idea off.

The empty Biometal crackled and jerked as Omega's power coursed into it, filling it to the brim with his overwhelming energy. Without any other influence to act on it now, to maintain its shape, the Biometal began to change, reforming into an image that reflected the one whose power now burned within it.

The shell that was Model W burned away, a pair of unmistakable crimson ridges emerging from the disintegrating chrysalis of its previous form.

Its transformation complete, the world's newest Model O fragment opened its blazing blue eyes and cut loose.

Omega himself was blown backwards off of his feet as Pandora threw her head back in a deafening howl, a solid shockwave of power blasting outwards from her body as it levitated upwards.

And then, just as suddenly as that, it was over, all of the light and wind abruptly vanishing, as Pandora's limp form collapsed back towards the ground, only to be caught by a charging Vile. As the Renegade crashed back down, Ace managed to get back to his feet. After wasting a minute laughing at Vent, who'd been knocked headfirst into a pile of manga and was now swearing and cursing as he tried to dig himself out, the Scarlet Phoenix turned his attention back to the situation at hand.

"Okay, what the _hell_ was that?" he demanded.

"We know." Model Z said grimly, "But we have no idea how it happened."

Aile rubbed her head painfully as she looked up at the Biometals, all three of whom were staring at Omega suspiciously.

"What? What happened?"

"He did something that should never have been possible." Model X replied tersely. "He not only reactivated the inactive Model W in her, but he overwrote the entire core data at the same time!"

"He WHAT?"

"Uh…could we get that in English please?" Ashe said weakly.

Ace explained, his eyes never leaving Omega as the God of Destruction rose to his feet again.

"The core data of a Biometal is what determines its appearance and powers. In other words, it's what makes Model X, well, Model X. To overwrite the core data…It's to change the entire Biometal itself. It's like erasing Model Z's core data and replacing it with that of, say, Model H. The Biometal's physical appearance itself would change to reflect the new core data, which is Model H. The powers and personality of it would then become Model H."

"So, by overwriting the core, the Biometal will then become a duplicate of whatever the new core data is!" Grey caught on.

"Exactly." Ace said grimly,"I don't know what the fragment inside Pandora has become, but it's safe to say that Model W is gone."

Vile looked down as Pandora's eyes slowly fluttered open.

"Are you all right?"

Pandora looked up at him for a moment, and her eyes widened as she felt a familiar energy pulsing through her body. Slowly, she lifted her hands up and stared in wonder as lightning and frost danced through the air.

"My…power…!"

"Oh great." Vent growled. "The Witch has her firepower back. _Now_ can we start shooting?"

"Shut it." Vile said evenly. He looked up at Omega who was watching them both with an amused smile.

"What did you do?"

"Not much." Omega grinned. "I just recharged that dead battery of hers. With my power fueling it, that Bio-thingy should have plenty of juice to keep her going for a long, long time to come!"

Pandora stretched out a hand, and her staff flew obediently into it. She heard the sounds of the Chosen Ones suddenly tensing, in preparation for her attack.

And suddenly Pandora realized that she didn't want to.

With Albert gone, and Model W destroyed…The Game of Destiny was finally at an end. There was no reason for her to continue fighting them. Back then, she had lived only for revenge, she and her brother not caring how many lives they had to sacrifice for that goal. But now…

She looked down at the staff in her hands, a sense of complete bewilderment stealing over her. She was free at last. Free of Albert and his tyranny, and of the defective body that he had cursed her with. She could feel it in every inch of her, the truth of this red-clad stranger's words. The built-in decay that had been caused by her incomplete Biometal fragment was gone without a trace, meaning that she no longer had to worry about returning to a capsule to be repaired. She was completely free.

And now, she realized, she had no idea what to do with that freedom.

She could go search for Prometheus, she supposed, but how? Pandora had never really been one for social interaction, and she had never really taken an interest in the world itself, other than that which was pertinent to their plan. As the reality and magnitude of her situation slowly began to sink in, Pandora began to feel more and more lost.

And then…

"Pandora?"

She looked up, into Vile's emotionless helm.

"What…do I do now…?" She whispered.

Vile stared. Now, just how in the HELL was he supposed to answer a question like that?

"…What do you want to do?" He said eventually, figuring that that was the best he could come up with.

Pandora looked up at him, and then away again, her eyes troubled.

"I…don't know..."

Vile sighed.

"In that case, would you like to stay with m-us?" Vile said quietly, wondering for a moment why the hell he had almost said 'me'.

"At least until you figure out what it is you want to do." He added quickly. Next to him, Rika nodded emphatically, hoping that her new friend would say yes.

Pandora stared down at her hands, and then back up at Vile. She was still lost, in unfamiliar territory, but the one thing she did know for sure, was the strange sense of security and safety that settled over her when she was with this man. She hesitated for a moment longer, then slowly nodded.

"I'd…like that…" She said softly. And to her surprise, she found that she meant it.

For a moment, Vile felt a smile cross his face, the reason unknown even to him. Even Rika looked happy, at least, insofar as Rika could actually have a different expression…

_'Wait for me, brother...!' _Pandora thought, as Vile helped her to her feet, _'I'll definitely come find you!'_

Ace and the Biometals however, noticed none of this, as they were still in heated discussions over what the hell it was Omega had done.

"Well, it's definitely not Model W!" Model A spoke up.

"Yeah, but it's nothing else either…" Z said, a frown on its face.

"It's closest to Model O, but Model O doesn't have any official lightning or ice abilities! It just has its Overdrive moves!" Model X murmured thoughtfully.

Ace, tired of the continuous argument, finally went for the direct approach.

"Saber! How the hell did you do that just now?"

Omega gave his best 'who me?' look at the Scarlet Phoenix.

"Beats me. It just sort of occurred to me, and I went along with it!"

"What? What do you mean 'just occurred to you' ?" Ace demanded, "You just recharged a freakin' BIOMETAL!"

"Did you ever try it?" Omega's sudden question caught the Phoenix off-guard.

"Wha-No! That's crazy!"

"Exactly!" Omega replied easily, "If you haven't done it, then who are you to say how crazy or impossible it is?"

Ace's jaw dropped at the crimson Reploid's answer. He looked mutely at Celtis for assistance, but she merely shrugged helplessly.

"Don't look at me. I gave up trying to understand him a looooooong time ago."

It was then that Ace caught sight of Vile and Pandora standing together. He took one look at Pandora's shy behavior, and the pink tinge in her cheeks as she looked up at Vile, and the Scarlet Phoenix's numerous years of anime addiction kicked in, immediately recognizing all the signs before him.

"So that's it…" he gave a slight smile. "Fanfiction sense, don't fail me now!"

"Pandora!"

The Witch started and looked towards Ace as he leaned forward on the desk, a piercing look in his eyes.

"Now that you're free, what do you plan to do now?" He challenged her.

"Will you try to resurrect Albert's Game of Destiny-?"

The bolt of angry lightning that sizzled past his face answered _that_ question.

"I'll, uh…I'll take that as a 'no', then, shall I?"

With her powers back now, Pandora felt her confidence returning as well. She remembered when Vile had protected her down in the ruins of Albert's base, and the overpowering feeling of helplessness as she had stood by, unable to do anything to help him. Now she had a chance to return the favor.

"I will…stay with Unit V…" she said, a measure of determination in her voice. She looked towards the four Chosen Ones, who suddenly looked uneasy at her attention. Pandora bowed her head slightly.

"I am…sorry for what my brother…and I put you through…during the Game of Destiny." She said quietly, "Thank you for…finally defeating Albert for us…"

"Um…okay?" Aile said, taken aback.

Vent scratched his head in embarrassment. "Uh, no problem, I guess…"

Ashe sniffed and looked away, "Yeah, well…I'd've taken him down anyway. I don't need your thanks for that!"

Grey scratched his cheek awkwardly. "Thanks…and um, sorry for leaving you guys behind…We barely had enough time to get out ourselves, so…"

An awkward silence descended.

"Well, ain't this sweet." Ace said finally, supporting his head in one hand as he leaned on his desk, grinning as he regarded the uneasy tableau.

"Umm…excuse me?" Celtis spoke up timidly.

"Yeah?" The Phoenix glanced towards her.

"About Model O…What happened to me when I used it?"

"Wait, what?" Vent cut into the conversation. "What do you mean you used it?"

"Oh, right." Ace snapped his fingers. "I never did the introductions. Celtis Gisborne-Wingates Arcana, meet Vent, the original Chosen One, hero of the Slither Inc. battle etc etc... Vent and everybody else, meet Celtis Winga-ugh, screw it-Celtis Arcana, artificial Chosen One for the Biometal version of fricking Lucifer himself."

Vent and Aile stared at Celtis, aghast.

"What do you mean you're the Chosen One for Model O? Model O doesn't have a Chosen One! It just devours anyone that uses it!"

Celtis sweatdropped.

"Um…yeah, about that…" She looked across at Ace, who groaned.

"Great, now I need to explain this crap aaaaallllll over again…"

**Yet ANOTHER explanation later…**

"And that's how she ended up with it locked inside her. Everybody clear now?" Ace growled, nursing a bruised jaw. As he'd expected, Vent had not taken the news about Link Serum well.

"Yeah…"Aile said, a troubled look on her face as she regarded Celtis , who had pulled her bangs back to reveal the unmistakable blue gem implanted in her forehead.

"But who on earth could have gone through that much trouble…?"

"That's what I'm working on right now." Ace said grimly. "Until I find out, though, I'm keeping this whole mess away from the Wise Men and anyone higher up than me."

The wall monitor now showed images from the battle against Gallidin.

"Now, I'm pretty sure you guys know about this, since it's probably what called you here." Ace gestured to the pillar of red light that was Model O's release.

All of the Chosen Ones remembered that. The sweeping tidal wave of power that had been felt even half a world away by Aile and Vent.

"So we were right…" Aile murmured. "That _was_ Model O that we felt."

"That's not all." Ace said. As the screen went on to show Model O's new dual wield capacity, Omega leapt up.

"Friggin' HAX!" he yelled angrily. Realizing that everyone was looking at him strangely, he cleared his throat sheepishly and sat back down.

"Yeah…um, never mind…"

"Right…"Ace gave him a weird look before turning back to the others.

"Okay, it definitely did NOT have that before." Vent said, an awed look on his face as he watched Model O cut through the falling building.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure Model O only had one Saber and Buster." Aile murmured.

"About that…It seems that because of its damaged condition, the software restrictions that determine the Biometal's weapon capabilities was severely compromised. It still possessed the information and data pertaining to the weapons themselves, but it lost the fragment of code that tells it exactly how many of those weapons it's supposed to have. As a result of that, it was able to duplicate them."

"Which means…?" Ashe prompted. Ace sighed.

"It means that so long as Celtis has one Buster, she can make two. This process only applies to the Buster, however, which means she can't just copy the O-Saber in the same way. You've gotta start from the Buster, and move on from there. Any more than two Busters at a time, and I don't know how stable they'll be."

"Fine, fine. Great, we got that part." Omega interrupted, an annoyed look on his face. "Dual wield, anytime, anywhere. Now get to the latest part, would you?"

Ace gave him an annoyed look, but complied anyway. The screen now began to show images from the new battle, the one fought against Gates.

"All we know here, is that Celtis somehow managed to force the consciousness of Model O back, allowing the Megamerge to be completed successfully. After that…well…"

There was a moment's silence as everyone saw the completed Megamerge, along with its new, erm, curves.

"Ah." Vent said finally. Next to him, Ashe coughed and carefully avoided looking at the Guardian leader

"Um, yeah…about that…"Aile reddened.

"Yeah, we've got nothing." Ace said, tilting slightly to get a better view of the screen before another whack from Marino put him back on track. "Er, right. None of our techs can come up with any kind of explanation for the altered appearance. And since this kind of thing never happened with the other Biometals before, I figured I'd better make sure there wasn't anything weird going on."

Vent groaned. "Of all the things it had to keep, it had to be _that_ protocol…"

Aile sighed. "Yeah, might as well get it over with…"

"Remember Model O's core programming?"

"The bit about 'assimilate new hosts'? Yeah, kinda hard to forget."

"Right. Well, let's just say…um, it…liked to be a bit active in _finding_ new hosts."

There was silence. Then, a loud 'Thunk!' as Ace's head dropped onto his desk, his shoulders shaking with restrained laughter.

"Oh no…" he snickered, "Don't tell me…"

"Uh…Celtis, was it? When you were using Model O, did you have any sort of, you know, weird moments?"

"Like you were acting different from how you normally would?"

"Yelling taunts?"

"Acting arrogant?"

"Sort of like another personality?"

"Um…" Celtis sweatdropped, "Yeah, actually. It just sort of…happened, from time to time."

Both siblings sighed. "Yeah, sounds about right."

Vent pressed a hand to his face.

"Model O doesn't _have_ a personality of its own, per se. Instead, it alters your own, making you more reckless, arrogant and other such faults. It also sort of, well, 'upgrades' your body as well." He gestured to the screen, and at Celtis' newly curvaceous figure.

"More curves for girls and for guys…erm…"

"Why don't you ask Ashe?" Aile smirked. "As I recall, you were quite close back then…"

Ashe was suddenly very interested in the ceiling.

"Um, yeah…it affects guys too, alright?"

Celtis tilted her head slightly, confused.

"I don't get it. What does any of this have to do with finding new hosts?"

Vent stared blankly at her. "You're kidding, right?"

Aile sighed and took over. "Let me put it this way. Model O doesn't need to go _find_ hosts. No matter what body it's in, it's capable of altering that body regardless of gender, and using the unsuspecting host to _attract_ possible new hosts for a more…erm, detailed analysis…"

She reddened and stopped, unable to continue.

Seeing Celtis' still clueless expression, Omega rolled his eyes and sighed. He leaned over to her and lowered his voice.

"Just remember that this is a Biometal based off of _me_. What am I good at, aside from death, destruction and casual genocide?" He muttered.

Celtis recalled the secretary at Legion's front desk, Vix, Kitara, Syrene and now Queenbee's reactions to Omega, and she went a brilliant shade of red.

"Oh."

Ace was practically dying now.

"Hee hee…Oh god, you have got to be kidding me…! A Biometal whose latent ability is to get the wielder laid! Bwahahaha! Oh…Oh man, this is too good!"

He fell off his chair, still laughing.

"That's not funny, damnit!" Vent yelled, flustered, "I kept getting calls from different girls, all saying things like 'Last night was amazing!' and 'When can we meet again?' and up to today, I still have no idea who any of them are!"

He stopped, and coughed awkwardly.

"Well, okay… I know one of them…"

Ashe was still staring fixedly at the ceiling. As Ace was getting back up, he saw the tell-tale blush on her cheeks and a wide smile of realization spread across his face.

"Oh no…wait, don't tell me…you two…! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

He went back down again, cracking up with laughter.

"Sh-shut up!" Ashe yelled, her cheeks flaming. "I was drunk at the time!"

"Uh…no you weren't, actually…" Vent said cautiously.

"Well, I probably _was_ drunk at least one of those times, alright?" Ashe snapped in annoyance, then stopped as she realized what she'd said.

"Oh, _damn_." She muttered.

Vent facepalmed. "Smooth, Ashe. Reeeeeal smooth…" he muttered.

"HAHAHAHA! No _wonder_ you two were always so unavailable for missions back then! BWAHAHAHAHA!" Ace was practically dying now. Oh, this was _beautiful_! He'd be rubbing this in Vent's face for _months_ after this was over!

Omega's shoulders shook with restrained laughter as he pounded on the armrest of his chair.

"Even as a Biometal, I'm _still_ the best ladies' man on the planet!" he snickered to himself, grinning evilly. "Hell yes!"

Nearby, Vile pressed a hand to his face and shook his head in disbelief at Omega.

"Ahem!" Aile cleared her throat, trying to steer the conversation back to safer waters. "Anyway, for a Chosen One, it starts simple enough: First it begins to affect your personality. At the beginning, it's nothing too serious, but it gets worse as time goes on. After long enough, it becomes different enough that it can almost be considered a split personality. It actually begins to cause slight gaps in your memory as it shifts your personality to the side and takes over completely. At that point, the lapses are not for very long. Eventually, though, it'll start to affect you even when you're not Megamerged. It starts out with loosening your inhibitions and restrictions, starting out with…well, you know which ones…"she blushed, before continuing.

"After that, it gradually gets worse and worse, attacking your morals, and completely destroying all of your restrictions, until even a senseless massacre becomes little more than an amusing game. You won't even notice the change from what you once were. Eventually, you'll just become an insane killing machine, bent only on destruction and carnage…"

She stopped, noticing the silence that had fallen over the room. All hilarity had gone out the window a long time ago.

"So that's why you locked it away again." Ace said quietly. "You realized what it was doing to you both."

Vent nodded.

"I used it more often, so I was the one who was affected the most. Aile merely used it five or six times so she got off lightly." His face clouded over, a sudden sadness descending on him.

"I almost went the same way of our old boss…"

"…" Model Z and X watched him silently, knowing what was going through his mind.

Ace turned his chair to face out the window, looking away from his rival. After a while, he spoke again.

"How did you know the full extent of what it would do?"

"What?" Aile looked across at him, confused.

"I'll assume you two managed to stop it before it fully corrupted you, so there isn't any way you would have been able to determine the end result of its power. At least…"

He tilted his head slightly to look back at Aile, the lower half of his face hidden by the raised collar of his overcoat.

"Not unless you'd seen it before."

Both Vent and Aile started at his words, realizing what he was saying.

"You fought a fully corrupted Model O, didn't you? One that had progressed all the way to the final stages."

Vent gave a low growl and looked away. Aile's face fell.

"…Yes, we did." She said finally.

"It was shortly after the battle with Serpent and the first of the Model Ws. The Guardians had detected a strange signal coming from within Area N, close to the area that Model W had first been sealed in. Both Vent and I went in to investigate. What we found…"

Aile hesitated for a moment, before finally continuing.

"There were the remains of what looked like a scientific installation. It looked fairly new compared to the rest of the area, as if it had been built much later. It wasn't until the Game of Destiny had begun that we realized just who had built that lab."

"It was Albert." Vent cut in. "He'd built it down there a few years before, exploring Area N long before any of us had a clue it even existed. But when we got there, it was to find everything destroyed and in ruins. Even the people who had been working there were dead, little more than rotting corpses. It wasn't until we managed to find a still functioning computer much later, after everything had been finished, that we were able to figure out what had happened."

"It seems that Albert had not been content with the Biometals that were already in existence. Having already altered the ones that had been left behind by Dr. Ciel and creating the powerful Model W, he sought to create one more. A mysterious eighth Biometal, built from the remnants of another sample that he'd found, sealed deep within Area N. This eighth, he claimed, would surpass even the original Biometals."

Vent gave a hard smile.

"He was certainly right about that."

Now Aile took over again. "His experiment failed. The power of the being he'd tried to seal within the Biometal was too great. It spiraled out of control, destroying anyone who came into contact with it, even special test subjects he'd created using his own DNA, which should have changed them into true Chosen Ones. They didn't even slow it down. As soon as the strain of Model O's power began to destroy its host body, it jumped to another, returning to full power each time. Nothing Albert had could stop it. Even a fragment of Model W couldn't hold it back, Model O's power overriding even that. His facility in ruins, and with the rampaging Biometal annihilating everything in sight, Albert decided that it could not be allowed to escape. If it fell into the hands of Legion, his entire plan could be discovered. With that in mind, he abandoned the lab altogether. Sealing all the doors and activating his most dangerous defensive systems, Albert fled, locking his failure away deep underground, far away from any prying eyes."

"That is, until we found it." Vent said grimly. "Turns out it had gone into hibernation, in order to reduce the damage done to its body. In that time, even the space around it had become distorted, almost as if its power was forcing the worlds of Cyberspace and reality to overlap. When we finally stumbled onto it…" He shook his head, unable to put it into words.

"Even now, after Ouroboros and everything else that's happened, I've still never seen anything that comes close to matching that thing's power. It was unreal."

Aile nodded emphatically. "I don't know who or what that thing was based off of, but it was no hero. This thing was living death, annihilating everything that came within its reach. Everything we threw at it did little or nothing to it. It just shrugged it all off and came straight at us, ignoring any damage it took…" She shuddered. "I can still hear that thing's laughter in my nightmares."

"If its body hadn't begun to break down on it, I doubt we'd have ever been able to truly defeat it." Vent said, an annoyed look on his face as he remembered, "It was only because it started to struggle with keeping itself together that we were able to get in close and finish it off."

"When that happened, whatever it was that was controlling it fled, leaving behind nothing more than a corpse. Without Model O, what was left of the original user's mind couldn't withstand the shock."

"So even after all of that, you idiots still went and tried to use that thing?" Ace growled.

"At that time, we didn't know that it was the Biometal that had caused it. Remember, we didn't uncover the secrets of the facility until much later, when we began to feel that something wasn't quite right with the new Biometal. After that, we decided to lock it away again, far underground where no-one could accidentally release it. _Supposedly_, it was a foolproof plan." Vent gave Ace an angry look.

"But apparently we didn't quite realize the caliber of fool we were dealing with when we hid it! Good job, Ace!" He snapped sarcastically. The Phoenix shot him a dirty look.

"Yeah, well maybe if you'd seen fit to tell us something, we wouldn't have tried to go after it!"

"Oh, is that so?"

"Why, you want another round, jackass?"

"Bring it if you think you can, Phoenix!"

As Marino and Aile restrained the two hotheaded fools from trying to kill each other, Celtis turned to look at Omega, who was staring into space, a thoughtful look on his face.

'_Well, now I've got the full story behind Model O…Even if it is a little…odd._' she thought, remembering the effect of it on her body. But from what she'd heard, it seemed as though her version of it had been too damaged to attack her mind and personality as badly as it had the other two Chosen Ones. Instead, it seemed as though the most it could do was to bleed through every now and then. Somehow, though, she suspected that mere damage alone had not been responsible for its inability to fully invade her mind.

Jet-black chains raced across her mind, their links rustling menacingly and again Celtis saw the crimson and gold gaze of the black-clad stranger. Now she understood the meaning of his words. He had bound it, but it had been up to her to take control of it, to face it down for control of her body.

She felt a small flicker of pride as she remembered her success. Well, she'd done that, all right!

'_But it still doesn't explain how Omega's still here…_' She thought, worriedly. '_Who put him in that capsule? If it was there when Albert found him, it means that someone had gotten there before him and left Omega in stasis! So who…?'_

While Celtis continued on, lost in thought, she didn't notice Omega's gaze suddenly harden.

CRUNCH.

Ace and Vent both stopped struggling, staring at the colossal violet-hued broadsword that had embedded itself in the wall between them. Slowly, they turned to see Omega still sitting coolly in his seat, one arm still extended from throwing the Zweihander.

"Now that I've got your attention…" His gauntlet floated off and seized the Zweihander's hilt. Freeing it effortlessly with a single tug, it returned to its master, bringing the Zweihander with it as it locked back into place over his extended hand.

"Let's move on to other things, shall we?" Omega smiled widely.

That is to say, there were many teeth showing. Sharp ones. Ace recalled watching this same man rip into a physical incarnation of a bootlegged Sigma Virus with those same fangs, and suddenly listening to him began to seem like a very good idea.

"That Gates guy…he said something about 'wanting to surpass the Magnum Phoenix'. Judging from what you said earlier, and from everyone else's reaction whenever that name's mentioned, I seem to be the only one with no idea who the hell that is. The bit about 'destroying every living thing in existence' sounds pretty promising, so I'd like to know what's the deal here."

Ace sighed.

"I suppose I'd better fill you all in, then, since this will probably concern all of you in the near future. Particularly _you_, Saber, and that sword of yours…" Ace's eyes narrowed as he stared at the glowing sword in the God of Destruction's grip.

Omega felt a slight flicker of surprise cross his face at that last part. This sword? But…this was the same weapon he'd used back during the Elf Wars! There was nothing special about-

He remembered Gates' battlecruiser splitting in half again, and he paused.

Okay, that hadn't happened before, he admitted to himself. HE hadn't even known where that whole thing had come from. He'd been running high on the aftereffects of devouring the Sigma Virus and apparently that had awakened that ability.

Now, _why_ the hell had it awakened that ability?

As Ace began his explanation, unraveling the incredible tale of the being known as the Magnum Phoenix, Omega decided he'd deal with that later, and settled back to listen.

* * *

**A/N:** Wow. That is a LOT of talking. First time I've ever had to split a non-fight chapter into two parts! So what do you think of the real Model O? I figured that I'd pretty much had enough of the standard Megamerges, where they just look like a carbon copy of the original, regardless of which Chosen One you're playing with. Come on, look at the official art of Vent and Aile using Model O! It's nearly impossible to figure out who's who there, since they both look practically identical! I wanted some kind of reason to create a Model that would actually change depending on the user. Like in the case of a male Model O, the user would become more like Omega, tougher, arrogant, more messy hair and of course just as much of a ladykiller as the Original Omega. In the case of a female Model O, well, the result would be similar to Celtis, but the armor wouldn't change as much as hers. Other than that, yeah, everything else would match. So I figured, hmm, if I want to do that, then there has to be a reason for it, otherwise I'll just be abusing my author powers to put in pointless fanservice. So then I wondered what possible reason I could have for this, and then it hit me. It would be used as a sort of natural lure, allowing Model O to bait in a constant flow of new bodies, giving it all the fuel it needed to respawn again and again, leaving behind nothing but the drained corpses of its previous hosts. The only reason it didn't abandon Vent and Aile was because they provided superior host bodies. However, it's not like O could turn off the natural lure, since it was already beginning to corrupt them, making them more like it.

And so, the devourer called Model O was born and much evil plotting began.

That's pretty much the summary of Model O and why it has that...'effect' on its users.

I TOLD you there'd be a reason, didn't I? Woo, I rock!

Sayonara for now! Next time, the legend of the Magnum Phoenix!

Stay tuned!

DarkShift Out!


	21. Chapter 20: Legacy of the Magnum Phoenix

**Chapter 20: Legacy of the Magnum Phoenix**

**Disclaimer:** Capcom owns their stuff, but everything else belongs to ME! Well, with a few exceptions...

* * *

"First off,"Ace said, a dangerous glint in his eye, "Everything I say beyond this point is classified beyond any and all comprehension. This information is only known by those on the level of the Wise Men, and even they don't have the full story. A.C.E alone has the closest thing to the truth at the heart of this story, for reasons which will soon become apparent. As Legion's one and only expert on the Magnum Phoenix, this is my undisputed territory, so I'm allowed to choose who I share this intel with."

"This all began in the pre-19XX era, before the creation of robots and the like." he began. "Before there was Dr. Thomas Light or even Dr. Albert Wily, there was another great mind, the one who paved the way for them. Very little is known about this man, as much of the data on those history files has been lost. All we know about him is the title he went by: Magnum Phoenix."

"No-one knows if that was really his name, or if it was just a title. But what we _do_ know, is that the man was a genius. With no past history, no paper trail to follow, not even a birth certificate to prove he existed, this man almost single-handedly led the warring world Earth had been, into the utopia that would eventually become the world of 19XX. His genius was unparalleled, as he pioneered countless new technologies, reopening avenues of scientific research that had lain dormant for centuries, abandoned while the various states of the previous world tore the planet apart with their ceaseless wars. It was this sudden burst of advancement that led to the Golden Era of robotics. The names of scientists like Dr. Light and Dr. Wily are names that are still known today, albeit for entirely different reasons, along with that of Dr. Cossack, a lesser known, but still important contributor to the world that we now know today. The Magnum Phoenix himself withdrew to the background, preferring to let others like them go on ahead, carrying out their advancements in the light of day, while he continued to support the world from the shadows. While, Light, Wily and Cossack continued to advance the science of robotics, each in their own ways, the Magnum Phoenix spread out into other areas of science, blazing brilliant new trails for others to follow. And always, he ensured that whatever he did, he did for the sake of the inhabitants of the world around him. Those who tried to manipulate and use him and his creations were always outmaneuvered and inevitably defeated, never even close to achieving their goals."

"During this period was when the first wars of this fledgling new world would begin, caused by none other than Dr. Albert Wily. I am sure many of you are familiar with the events of these wars, at least, those events which we have been able to recover from the annals of history. All during this time, there were traces of the Magnum Phoenix, still moving through the currents of civilization, still continuing his ceaseless race forward into the depths of science. Bit by bit, from what our best agents were able to find out about that time period, we here at Legion began to realize that there was more to the picture than you'd first think. It was only when we first began to unearth the relics that are now known as Phoenix Artifacts that we truly began to understand just how far he had gone on ahead of everyone."

"It seems that the Magnum Phoenix knew the dangers of unleashing such advanced technology onto a world that was not yet ready for it. So instead, he released his works at a measured pace, revealing them to the world bit by bit, always when civilization was ready for it. As a result of that, there were a great many creations that never made it to the light of day. It is these creations that are the Phoenix Artifacts; technology so advanced it surpasses even our modern day science, countless centuries _after_ these devices were created."

Ace gestured to the Hades handgun.

"Like Gates said, that weapon right there is a perfect example of a Phoenix Artifact. The ability to rip matter itself apart, and then condense it back into a form suitable for your purposes…" he shook his head. "There's nothing we have today that can duplicate an effect even close to that. Even though it's clearly human technology, it has advanced to the point where it's almost alien…"

"Yeah, we got that." Omega snapped, annoyed. "Everytime you mention that damned gun at least _one_ person's gotta say how amazing that tech is and that there's nothing that can come close to it! Move on already!"

Ace shot him a dirty look, but continued.

"And then, it all fell apart."

"It seems that there was more, _far_ more to the Magnum Phoenix than anyone had ever realized. Through the records we've found, there have been traces, mere fragments of data that all point towards still more advanced science, stuff we can't even begin to comprehend. It was only recently that we began to get an inkling of what it meant."

"You remember that Gates said something about the Magnum Phoenix being able to defy time and space?"Ace gave a cold smile.

"He was right."

"It seems that the Magnum Phoenix had unlocked the capability to defeat even those two restrictions, the ultimate boundaries which restrain all living beings. He had gone so far in his relentless pursuit of science, that not even the dimensional barriers that separate this universe from countless others could stop him."

"Wait..." Ashe cut in. "You're telling me...this guy could-"

"Move from one world to another, travel to entire other _universes_, as easily as we can walk from one side of a street to the other. Yeah. That's _exactly_ what I'm saying."

Ashe fell silent, the expression on her face mirroring that of the room's other occupants, all of them trying to come to grips with that thought. To be able to do something like that...To simply travel to an entirely different universe, to walk across the fields of thousands of different Earths, or even alien worlds. And to think that this had been discovered and used by one man centuries before any of them were alive, and the technology of their era still had yet to catch up to that.

"Who...who the hell _was_ this guy?" Celtis stammered, unable to believe that this was the truth behind the legendary name. Vent merely snorted and looked away. Apparently, he'd heard all this before.

"Who knows." Ace said, his tone suddenly bitter. He spun his chair to face out the window.

"Some say he was human. Others say he was an alien. And still others claim he was from the future. No one knows for certain, just who, or _what_ the Magnum Phoenix was exactly. With the number of worlds he could have been through, there's no way to know how long he's been around, or if time even flows the same for him as it does us."

Omega's eyes narrowed as he stared at the Scarlet Phoenix's back.

"What do _you_ say he was?"

Ace stared blankly out at the sprawling vista of Legion City for a moment, before a slight smile crept across his features.

"There's an old saying among science-types like myself. As we discover more and more of the world, the universe around us, and we learn ways to control that, the closer we come to becoming gods ourselves. There is no God, save for that which man shall become..."

"If such a God ever existed, then it would be the being known as the Magnum Phoenix."

A heavy silence followed Ace's words. After a few moments, he continued his tale.

"It seems as though this was the reason why we were unable to find any trace of him before his appearance, much less a paper trail of any kind. Nor does it appear as though we were the first ones to benefit from his generosity. It wasn't until we discovered the remains of his corporation's data storage facility, that we were able to start putting pieces together."

"Wait, wait, wait." Omega interrupted suddenly a suspicious look on his face. "He had a 'corporation'? Since when? You never mentioned anything about that!"

Ace blinked.

"I didn't?" He looked across at Marino who sighed and shook her head despairingly.

"Oh. Nuts, I hate when I forget parts of a story..."Ace frowned. "Anyway, yes, he did have a corporation of his own. How else do you think he was able to continually release such ingenious creations and not draw attention to himself? How else could a man like that remain so well hidden that only mere scraps of data would be the only clues to his presence centuries later? If we hadn't found that storage facility, we wouldn't have been able to figure even this much out! No..." Ace shook his head. "There was always one network at the heart of it all, hiding him away beneath layer upon layer of corporate camouflage."

Celtis cocked her head, an odd sense of deja-vu stealing over her. This was beginning to sound veeeeeery familiar...

"That's right."The Legion Commander continued. "There's only one corporation capable of that."

"A.C.E." Vile stated flatly.

The Scarlet Phoenix grinned.

"Bingo."

"WHAT?" Celtis cut in, startled. "But that- I thought...!"

Ace held up a hand and continued. "That's not the same as the one I now operate. He created what was, in many ways, the _original_ A.C.E, the first one to exist on this world. We're just, as usual, following in his wake...sort of."

The way Ace said that last part caught Omega's attention. Something about it seemed a bit...fishy, to say the least...

"Anyway, as I was saying..." The Scarlet Phoenix cleared his throat and went on. "We discovered one of his A.C.E's storage facilities, or what was left of it, at any rate, and from there we were able to start making some sense of things. It seems as though the actions of the Magnum Phoenix were sort of like those of an inter-dimensional ambassador, basically helping countless worlds like ours become more and more advanced, until we reached a level close to that of being a true Utopia."

"Okay, but...why?" Celtis asked, confused.

Ace shrugged expressively. "Nobody knows. For all we know, he could have just been doing it to pass the time. We at least know _what_ he was doing, we just haven't got a clue as to _why_ he was doing it. One theory is that he was grooming all of us for the day when he could finally grant us access to his dimensional technology, thus making it possible to connect all of these universes together, allowing countless more worlds to connect with one another, and slowly bringing them all together, growing and intermingling as they spread out into the multiverse, sharing technologies, culture, ways of life…Everything. If this plan was his goal, then had it succeeded, we would be sitting in a drastically different future right now."

"Impossible." Vile said heavily. "There's no way such a plan could have ever worked. Humans and Reploids fought for multiple centuries before they finally learned to coexist, and they occupied the same planet. Something like that would have only succeeded in bringing about the ultimate war, one which would consume every world it touched."

"A sentiment echoed by everyone in opposition to that theory."Ace said dryly.

"Yeah, okay, fine, so the guy was a multidimensional traveler with unlimited credit and a penchant for working pro bono. Great." Omega threw his hands up in exasperation, ignoring the noise of discomfort from Queenbee as she was abruptly displaced from her seat in his lap.

"Now, what I wanna know is...Why, exactly, is it that you said 'it all fell apart'. From the sounds of things, he seemed to be doing pretty well."

"I was getting to that. Shaddap." The Phoenix growled, to which Omega responded by nailing him in the face with one flying gauntlet.

"Son of a...!" A vein twitched in Ace's forehead before he reined his temper in, clearing his throat before continuing.

"As I was saying, his power continuing to grow as he traveled, learning more and more about the multiverse around him, and the forces which governed its continued existence, adding even more to his already ridiculous capabilities. As he moved on, he left his name emblazoned in the memories of the worlds he had saved from their respective conflicts, or had like us, simply benefited greatly from the products of his genius. He knew that the peace left behind would probably be fleeting, but simply being able to contribute like that was enough for him. However, it seems that there was still one law of existence that even he could not break, one that lay hidden just below the surface of everyday life."

"The laws of balance." The Scarlet Phoenix said quietly.

"It is the simplest of all laws, one that can be seen easily in practically every aspect of life around us. History has been dotted with countless examples of it, but for simplicity's sake, I'll just use Yin and Yang. Light and dark, male and female, good and evil…It's ironic that he, the one who had surpassed even the gods of space and time themselves, was still bound by this, the simplest law of them all. And yet, it was this one law that would prove to be his greatest undoing."

"Throughout history, there has always been a constant shifting of power between these two opposite sides. Whenever good rises to power, evil appears also, slowly working its way up until it can topple good from its seat and claim the position of power for itself. Wherever evil reigns, there will always be those who stand up to it, eventually destroying it and allowing good to reclaim dominance. And so the cycle continues, never ending, never ceasing, for all of eternity. Wherever there is light, so too must there be shadows. And the brighter the light…"

"The darker the shadows cast by it." Vile finished, his eyes narrowing as he stared at Ace's solemn expression.

"Exactly." The Phoenix said heavily, "It seems as though even a being as great as he...still possessed even more terrible foes."

"As the brilliance of the Magnum Phoenix's light spread through the infinity of the multiverse, it eventually gave rise to the deepest and darkest of shadows, one that would threaten to consume everything around it. As he continued onwards, surpassing the limits of humanity itself, his power growing as he gained mastery over the world around him, the blazing light of the Magnum Phoenix resonated through the multiverse, reaching out until finally, in response to that light, the ultimate shadow was born. We still do not know much about it, but like the Magnum Phoenix, we know its name."

"The Saber Draconis."

Celtis could have sworn she felt a sudden chill in the air as Ace spoke the name.

**[Cue theme: Invader Zim- In the Beginning]**

As if nothing had happened, Ace went on.

"It was a nightmare without rival. A genius intellect that matched even that of the legendary Magnum Phoenix and with power that not only equaled his, but could even be said to surpass it, power which could only be described as being on par with that of a god itself. It fought him head on, challenging him in a battle that shook the very foundations of reality. Nothing is known about the full details of that battle, however, we had a chance to experience it first hand."

"What do you mean?" Ashe asked, her eyes narrowing. Somehow, she _really_ didn't like where this was heading.

Ace sighed. "Somewhere along the course of that great war, their battle found its way here. The Magnum Phoenix, weakened, was forced into defense, barely holding off the power of the Saber Draconis. As a result of that, the Saber Draconis was able to wreak an impossible amount of damage on our world, while the Magnum Phoenix struggled to find a way to counterattack. The full details of that destructive rampage are also still unknown, but the effects of the mayhem that followed are still known today."

Seeing the confused looks on the faces around him, Ace sighed.

"Even today, it's still known as the greatest disaster in all of our history. A catastrophe so great that it wiped out an entire generation, and forever scarred even history itself."

Vile knew, and now he understood the magnitude of what the Magnum Phoenix had done, and the cost of his grand dreams.

"The Cataclysm." He said, his voice cold.

Now everyone else got it. Even Omega looked taken aback. Even he, for all his destructive nature, had never accomplished anything as insane as that!

The Cataclysm. The one disaster in history that was so great, not even records of that time had been left. It had effectively erased much of the world of 19XX, leaving only a few survivors to pick up the pieces, to rebuild their shattered planet. And to this day, no-one knew the true cause of it. Some people had theorized that it had been a thermonuclear war between countries, others said it was a natural disaster, and still others said it had been caused by madmen like Dr. Wily. But even with all that speculation, no-one knew the real secret behind the Cataclysm.

Until now.

"…One person…did all that?" Ashe gasped. Ace's expression darkened.

"That's only if you consider the Saber Draconis to truly be anything as simple as the normal definition of 'one person'. There are faded rumors, panicked gibberish from dying people and frightened refugees that describe its power. Capable of leveling entire cities with a simple gesture, a limitless arsenal of weapons at its command…" Ace shook his head.

"All tales that sound more fantasy than reality. It's impossible to know what really happened, but one thing we know for certain. Its power was unbelievable, defying the laws of time, space and everything in between."

"The only thing that stood in its way was, ironically, those very same three scientists that the Magnum Phoenix had entrusted the future of robotics to.."

"Dr. Cossack, Dr. Light, and even Dr. Wily put aside their differences, combining their forces to take a stand against a common foe. All of their most powerful Robot Masters, as they were called back then, and with all of their ingenuity put to the test, managed to hold even the living nightmare to a standstill in one single catastrophic battle. But even they could not defeat it."

" And then when it seemed as though the Saber Draconis would finally be the victor, someone else intervened." Ace allowed himself a grin.

"It seems that the Magnum Phoenix had finally found the opening he needed."

"Rising from the ashes just like his proverbial namesake, he hit the Saber Draconis head on. What he did is unknown, as usual, but it seems that this time, he'd come prepared for dealing with his foe's monstrous power. With the tides turning once again, the combined forces of the three Doctors joined the battle again, and this time, they won."

"Outnumbered, outgunned and being hammered with attacks from every side, the Saber Draconis was forced into a retreat, disappearing back into the complex maze of the multiverse."

Ace's face fell.

"However, even that victory was meaningless. The Saber Draconis had the last laugh in the end. With the last of its power, it caused the creation of the one thing that would ensure that his legacy of destruction would live on: The Maverick Virus."

"At the time, Wily had been working on a design for a prototype next-generation Robot Master, one based off of X's design. By corrupting the data, the Saber Draconis had gained the ultimate revenge. When Wily attempted to activate his prototype, unaware of this fatal defect, the prototype malfunctioned, its' flawed circuitry giving rise to the Maverick Virus. That prototype? The first Reploid. The name of that Reploid?"

Ace hesitated for a moment.

"Zero."

"WHAT?" Hearing the outraged yells of shock, Ace held up his hands placatingly.

"Yes, Zero, the legendary hero we all know today, was also the first Maverick. However, he lost that aspect when he re-emerged during the Maverick Wars a century later, as I'll tell you if you'd all just SHUT UP AND LET ME!"

At Ace's annoyed yell, silence fell again, save for Omega, who chucked a few bits of popcorn at him. The Phoenix stared at him.

"Where the hell did you-Wait, no, don't bother, I don't even want to _know_!"

Recovering his composure, Ace went on again.

"Battered and weary from the battle, none of them were prepared to deal with this new threat. Had they been fully rested, things might have turned out differently. Sadly, this was not the case."

"Zero destroyed everything, completing the Cataclysm. Of the three doctors, only Light is known to have survived for sure. Wily was killed when Zero went berserk, and Cossack simply…disappeared. Too late, the Magnum Phoenix realized what was happening. By the time he finally stopped Zero, the damage had been done."

Leaning back in his seat, Ace gave a sigh.

"Seeing the damage that had been caused by his failure to stop the Saber Draconis, it seems that the Magnum Phoenix had come to a decision. Entrusting Dr. Light with the future of this world, the Magnum Phoenix disappeared, vanishing back into the multiverse, to resume his endless pursuit of the Saber Draconis."

The Scarlet Phoenix let out a long breath.

"And that, my friends, is the last we know of the Magnum Phoenix. Nobody knows what happened to him after that, nor do we know the fate of the Saber Draconis. And with them went the first A.C.E, as the Magnum Phoenix disassembled the mighty corporation, breaking it up into smaller pieces that were gradually assimilated back into the rebuilding world. All that was left were the rare items we now call the Phoenix Artifacts, and a scattering of ruins, like the data storage facility we managed to uncover."

Omega raised an eyebrow when Ace had finished.

"That's one hell of a story." He said finally, "It seems awfully detailed, though, for something supposedly put together from fragments and bits of historical data..."

His eyes narrowed.

"What gives?"

Ace merely smirked. "My A.C.E's been collecting and storing Phoenix Artifacts since the day it was built. The rest of the world simply thinks of the Magnum Phoenix as little more than a myth, and those are the rare few who even remember the name at all, much like miss Arcana here." He gave her a curious look.

"How'd you know that name, anyway?"

"I, er, well..."Celtis scratched her cheek self-consciously. "I'm always searching through the database for mentions of Lost Tech, so I've seen the name pop up a couple times. Beyond that, though..."

"Right..." Ace gave her a skeptical look. "Marino?"

His aide nodded. "I'll have someone start tracking down those leaks as soon as I can."

"Good. The tighter a lid we keep on that info, the less chance there is for another Donovan to come along. I don't even know how he found out that much to begin with, but the last thing we need is a repeat performance."

Ace gave Queenbee a speculative glance. "Come to think of it, that's probably where he got the tech to successfully complete his Pseudoroid Megamerge, not to mention rewriting the Sigma Virus..."

"Anyway, as I was saying, A.C.E practically has a _monopoly_ on any and all matters pertaining to the Magnum Phoenix. We answer to the Wise Men alone, if we even have to answer to anyone at all. The rest of the story, well..." Ace gave a sheepish grin.

"Well, alright, some of that was me tossing in a little more drama to make it sound more epic. I mean, come on!" He raised his voice slightly over the sounds of the annoyed groans from his audience. "What's the point of reciting an old legend if you just quote it off word for word? You gotta mix it up a bit, make it worthy of sounding like a legend, not like something out of a history textbook!"

Vent pressed a hand to his face in annoyance. "Always with the melodrama, Ace. Can't you ever just tell people stuff normally?"

"Oh, you mean the way you do, where half the auditorium's asleep by the time you're done?" Ace responded dryly.

"All right, enough outta you two." Omega cut in.

"Now, what the hell does any of this have to do with this sword?" He hefted the Zweihander questioningly in one hand.

Ace rose to his feet.

"That sword," he said slowly, "is one of the Magnum Phoenix's greatest creations. There are only three such weapons ever known to exist, and they are one of a kind, classified _beyond_ legendary-class status. Much like the Hades, Dr. Weil attempted to create a version of his own, giving it to his most powerful servant, a being known only as the God of Destruction, to wield. In terms of raw power, Weil's version matched those of the originals, but not in their abilities. Think of it as a comparison between a flaming broadsword and a normal broadsword. Weil's would be the normal sword."

Omega considered that for a moment. It was true, the colossal sword Weil had given him had possessed a startling amount of destructive power, but that was all. Now though, while the weapon he now held in his hand seemed to be almost identical to his original sword, he could feel something strange lurking beneath the surface. It was as if it still had the same body, but now possessed a new soul, that of the so-called Zweihander.

"Anyway, that weapon in your hand is one of those three legendary originals. All three of them have been missing for as long as anyone can remember, having long since vanished into the mists of history. Of the three, only that one in your hand can be positively traced back to the Magnum Phoenix himself, as it's recorded within the files of the original A.C.E."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, get on with it!" Omega growled. "What is it?"

Ace took a deep breath.

"It looks different, but there's no mistaking that ability. That sword is none other than the Zweihander of Dominion."

The God of Destruction stared at him for a moment, then raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I like the name. Anything else?"

"As I've said, there are believed to be only three Zweihanders in all of history. Weil's own would be the unofficial fourth, but since that one was destroyed by Zero, it doesn't count. In appearance though, your own would be a perfect match for Weil's own, though…" Ace frowned for a moment, then shook his head.

"Whatever…Anyway, even if it is Weil's Zweihander, it possesses the core data, or 'essence' if you will, of the Dominion Zweihander, so there's practically no difference between the two."

Clearing his throat, Ace began to pace.

"At the end of your battle with Granz, the Zweihander absorbed your regular sword, correct?"

"…Yeah, it did." Omega muttered, frowning as he thought about it. That had been kinda weird actually…

"That's the first piece of evidence." Ace said, "And after doing so, you were able to transform the Zweihander into your normal saber, and from there you were able to change it into any of the different forms of that weapon. That's the second piece of evidence. What finally clinched it was the attack you used to wipe out Gates' battleship."

"You were able to manifest one of history's greatest swords, the legendary sword of Avalon: Excalibur."

"Wait a minute." Celtis cut in, "Wasn't that just an attack? What do you mean he was able to 'manifest' it?"

"Certainly, that was just an attack." Ace replied. "However, it is also the signature move of Excalibur itself. Before Saber cut loose with that, did the shape and appearance of the Zweihander itself change?"

Craft nodded, recalling the sudden golden glow and the raging hurricane of wind that had come to life in Omega's wake.

"That was the Excalibur itself. As you'd simply bypassed its normal state and gone straight to its released state, you weren't able to see its real form. That released state, of course, being the massive energy blade you cut Gates in two with. Think of it as being the Overdrive of your Thunder Element, with the Excalibur move being your EX skill."

Now Ace stopped and turned to face them, one hand in the pocket of his overcoat as he gestured to the Zweihander with the other.

"And that, my friends is the true power of the Zweihander of Dominion. The Ace of Blades, who claims dominion over all other swords. Its power is to transform itself into any of the blades whose data resides in its memory banks, with their full power and capabilities."

Omega gave a whistle of admiration. "Oh, this _is_ nice! It's like the Swiss Army Knife of swords!" Then as a thought struck him, he frowned and shot Ace a suspicious look.

"That explains what happened to my saber, but where'd this 'Excalibur' come from?"

Ace smirked.

"I thought you'd never ask!" Starting to pace again, he launched into his explanation.

"At first, I thought the explanation for your Zweihander was as simple as that, a blade that can absorb and reuse any old sword that it comes into contact with. When I looked into the information on your Zweihander, however, I discovered that the truth was much more complex." He turned towards Omega again.

"You'll recall that the Magnum Phoenix was in the habit of traveling from world to world within the multiverse, correct? Well, it seems he picked up a few souvenirs…"

Ashe raised an eyebrow.

"So, what? He collected rare swords and put them into this one already?"

"Yes and no." Ace replied. "It seems as though he did not collect the _actual_ sword in those cases…Rather, it looks like he obtained the _data_ for them, and by installing them into the Zweihander, was able to create an almost perfect duplicate of the original. I'm guessing he did it this way to protect the natural order of things on those worlds, 'cause, I mean, if you went with the original weapon, that'd be kinda like stealing something, even if it was given to him. This way, he gets the weapons, and the respective worlds get to keep their treasured swords."

Omega regarded his violet broadsword interestedly.

"So you're saying this has all of the rare and legendary weapons he came across on his travels?"

"Er…no." Ace sighed, "Like I said, it's a lot more complicated than that. From the scans I had them run, it appears as though it only has eight slots in it, for one blade apiece. One slot was empty, and it's that slot that your saber was absorbed into. All of the other slots seem to have weapons data built into them already, meaning that they cannot be changed. At least…" Ace amended, "We _think_ it's only eight."

"One of those slots was the Caliburn, the sword that you manifested in the battle against Gates. A thunder-Element weapon, it deals lightning damage and in Redline Mode, which seems to be your version of an Overdrive, it's able to use the EX Skill Excalibur."

"Yeah, great, now what's in the others?"

Ace shrugged helplessly.

"Beats the hell out of me. They're all locked, and all with defenses to rival even those of your Gilgamesh Factor apparently."

"So you're telling me I have to _unlock_ these things before I can get any idea of what the hell it is I have in here?" Omega said incredulously. "Oh, brilliant! What, do I have to go eat a whole buffet of friggin' Virus Cores or something?"

"I don't think so, actually," Ace said, frowning slightly. "There seem to be several different ways to access them, but for now we haven't got a clue what those are."

Omega groaned and flopped back into his chair in annoyance.

"Oh, _swell_." He growled, "I don't suppose you'd mind telling me how a weapon that can apparently absorb every fricking sword it wants somehow managed to only have EIGHT of them? And all permanently installed too!"

Ace gave a dangerous smile at that question.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen, we come to the truly incredible part of this whole thing. A sword that can change into any of those that it has absorbed? An amazing creation, to say the least, but it seems as though even something as astounding as that was not enough for the devious mind of the Magnum Phoenix! The reason for there only being eight swords was simply this: There was not enough room in its memory banks for more! Now, for those of you in the business of using trans-server arsenals…"

He looked around the room for a minute and gave a depressed sigh.

"Which is really only Saber here… anyway, you'd know that the amount of data required to store all of a weapon's information is actually fairly small, just a couple of megabytes at most. Now considering that from our preliminary scans, that Zweihander has enough memory to store damn near the entire Legion database and then some, simply locking it to eight weapons alone seems a bit of a waste, wouldn't you say?"

"Damn straight!" Omega growled again.

"Well, we suspect we've found out why exactly it's only holding those eight swords." Ace hesitated, "Well, seven actually. Your saber seems to be marked no differently from a regular one, and occupies no more space than a normal weapon."

"The secret is this: In addition to possessing the core data of each of those weapons, it seems as though the Magnum Phoenix…added something to each one. Something with a datasize so truly colossal, that in physical terms it would be something close to a bloody football stadium! With seven weapons, each carrying something that size, it's no _wonder_ the damned thing ran out of space!"

"So then what the hell are those massive additions?" Aile cut in. "What could possibly be important enough to be locked into that sword, at the expense of giving up all that additional space?"

Ace gave her a searching look for a moment, then turned his back to them all, facing the panoramic view behind him instead, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"There is one thing that could take up such an insane amount of space." He said quietly. When no-one responded, he continued.

"In all of programming, there is just _one_ thing that, no matter how good you are, will always require a huge dataspace to hold it. It used to be called the Holy Grail of robotics and computer technology. Nowadays, though, it's not quite that exalted, nor is it that difficult to create. In fact, approximately half of the world's population today probably wouldn't exist if it had never been developed."

That was when Grey understood, as he himself was one of those in that latter category.

"An A.I!"

Ace turned, a grim look on his face.

"Exactly. A.I. An Artificial Intelligence, one bound to each sword, and each of them a sentient entity. All of them created from the data of the original wielder of their assigned weapon. And more importantly, each and every one of them possesses the personality, combat skills and experience that their original selves did, and possibly some of their memories as well." He looked around and gave a harsh smile.

"Sound familiar?"

"Yeah…"Ashe said slowly, her brow furrowing. "That sounds a _hell_ of a lot like Model A's power…"

"Not quite." Ace grinned again. "You're thinking a little too small there Ashe…"

For the first time since Ace had launched into this lengthy discussion, his arch-rival Vent spoke up, his eyes narrowing as he regarded the Scarlet Phoenix.

"He means it sounds like the Biometals _themselves_. The ability to retain their personality, battle experience and fighting skills…Each and every single one of those weapon slots is like a Biometal in and of itself!"

Now _that_ got people's attention.

"Wait, WHAT?" Ashe demanded. "You're telling me that this guy," she gestured towards Omega, who was staring at the violet-hued Ace of Blades, an evil smile slowly spreading across his face, "has an ability on par with a Biometal's now?"

"Bingo." Ace gave a grim smile at the shocked looks around him.

"That _one_ weapon," he leveled one finger directly at the Zweihander of Dominion, a deadly serious look on his face, "that _ONE_ sword, contains a power on par with every single one of you Chosen Ones COMBINED."

And at that moment, they realized that he was right. Excluding Celtis, who technically was a bit of a freak accident, and Model W, which was essentially Model A taken to a godlike level, there were exactly seven Biometals in creation. And within that single weapon before them now, lay seven separate existences, each one of them possessing the same latent ability of those Biometals. All of that power, sealed within a single sword, the legendary Ace of Blades, now held by the one man in the world who (Ashe had to admit) was probably the most dangerous being they'd ever come across. In one blade, he held the power to match all seven of their Biometals. And unlike Model A, these were not just copies, slightly weaker than the originals, these were almost perfect duplicates, with the full power and capability of their original selves.

Now they began to understand the gap between the legend known as the Magnum Phoenix and the rest of the world he'd left behind.

"Do you get it now?" Ace said darkly. "The Magnum Phoenix beat us to the end of the race, long before we even knew there _was_ a race. Almost three centuries before us, he had come across the technology to create Biometals and was already using it. The only difference between him and us, is that his were created using 'weapons' as a base, while Ciel's own leaned more towards using the actual heroes themselves. It took even the greatest minds of the world three bloody _centuries_ to catch up to him!"

"But none of this even-how the-what-?" Ashe sputtered, trying to get to grips with the fact that the one man in the world who pissed her off more than, well, anyone, really, was now quite possibly superior to her.

"Suddenly, I feel woefully inadequate." Model X muttered. Model Z headbutted him.

"Oi, don't you even START with that angst-ing rubbish again, X, or so help me God, I'll skull-bash you into next Tuesday!"

"What does 'angst' mean?" Model A piped up, blissfully oblivious as always.

Z and X stared at him for a moment.

"You know, suddenly I feel a lot better…" X muttered, while Z simply shook his head in disbelief at their comrade's cluelessness.

Aile watched them for a moment, before their bickering gave her a new thought to consider.

"Wait, Ace!" She turned towards the Commander, who gave her a surprised look.

"What is it?"

"If they really have an A.I of their own, then shouldn't they be able to talk like Z and the others?"

Ace frowned.

"I suspect they should actually…"

Omega remembered the voice he'd heard echoing in his mind as he charged towards Gates' falling battleship.

"Actually, yeah." He said thoughtfully, scratching his chin. "Now that you mention it, I did hear-"

And suddenly, he wasn't in Ace's office anymore.

* * *

The God of Destruction slammed down hard, face first into a grassy surface.

"ARGH! What the-" Cursing, he staggered to his feet, only to stop in complete surprise at the sight before him.

A wide open, grassy plain lay before him, the gently waving leaves of grass reaching up to his knees. They glowed a dusty bronze color, illuminated by the golden light of the sun, half-hidden behind the mountains in the distance. Omega couldn't tell if he was seeing the sunset or the sunrise, but from the more yellow tint of the light, he suspected it was the latter option. A slight breeze drifted through the air, the fields around him rippling as as it played through the tall blades of grass around him.

The God of Destruction turned, his head swiveling from side to side as he looked around in complete bewilderment.

"What the hell is this place…?" he wondered, amazed.

"Welcome, hero."

As a new, unfamiliar voice spoke up, its cool tone clear and precise, the God of Destruction spun around.

And then he saw her.

Standing in the exact same place he'd been looking at when he'd first arrived, the newcomer stood atop a low hill, facing him. Illuminated from behind by the sunrise, the girl stood there, her jade eyes watching him coolly. A blue dress decorated her lithe frame, the long skirt blowing in the wind. Her blonde hair was short, touching her shoulders, while the majority of it was tightly tied up behind her head. But that was not what caught Omega's attention.

Over the cerulean-blue dress, silver steel armor glinted in the light. A fitted chestplate, an elaborate design inscribed on the front of it, covered her torso, while two long, wide plates of curved armor hung down from her waist, reaching down to the hem of her dress, protecting her sides. Armored gauntlets covered her hands and forearms, the spotless steel ensuring that nothing would get through.

All of this, however, was not what the God of Destruction was truly interested in.

Her hands were extended before her, both resting firmly on the hilt of a magnificent, two-handed longsword. Unlike Omega's version of a broadsword, this one appeared to be of a more normal size, looking more like a classical European blade. The hilt glittered like pure gold, inlaid with beautiful azure designs. The long, narrow blade gleamed like quicksilver, the tip of it buried in the ground at her feet.

Omega took all of this in with a single glance and, feeling the power coming off of that sword, immediately knew who he was dealing with. He leaned back, shoving his hands into his pockets and adopting a more relaxed position as he regarded the stranger.

"I'm guessing you're the first of those A.I.'s that Phoenix was talking about." He said evenly. The woman simply nodded.

"That is correct. Are you the one who is to be my master?"

"That depends." Omega said coolly. "Who's asking?"

"I am the one who possesses the knowledge and power of Caliburn, the Sword of Promised Victory. I am Servant Saber."

Omega stared at her.

"Well, this is going to be confusing."

Saber tilted her head slightly.

"I do not follow."

"Well, see, here's the thing…" Omega started to explain, "My name's also Saber, so…"

Saber gave him a wilting look.

"Do not presume me to be a fool. You are Omega, a being also known by the title God of Destruction. Saber is simply the alias you are using at the moment."

The God of Destruction simply blinked.

"Huh." He said finally, "Well, that was a lot easier than I expected. How'd you know that?"

"I am an A.I." Saber said simply, as if it were the most normal thing in the world, "Thanks to the power of the Zweihander, I am as much a part of your mind as you are. How else am I to provide you with my strength?"

Omega considered that for a moment. He seemed to be taking all of this surprisingly well, he decided. So he went on.

"Right…this doesn't mean you'll be like some sort of split personality, does it? 'Cause see, I've got some issues with people digging around in my head."

"No it does not. When you manifest my power, you will have access to all of my knowledge and combat skills. If necessary, I will provide assistance, as it is my duty to protect my master, the wielder of the Zweihander."

Omega folded his arms skeptically.

"And this whole thing works…how?"

The A.I's eyes flashed green for a second, and suddenly the answer to that question was sitting down inside Omega's memory banks, as if he'd always known. Growling, he gave her a dirty look.

"What did I just say about digging around in my head?"

"I was simply answering your question."

"Yeah, well, next time, a little warning would be appreciated, thanks!" Grumbling, Omega looked around.

"Where the hell are we, anyway?"

Saber looked up and around them.

"This is simply a physical representation of the space in which I reside within the Zweihander of Dominion. Like my appearance, it is simply a reflection of my original self. The real Saber appeared to have some connection to this place, and thus when I awoke, the world around me reconfigured itself to one that would seem familiar."

"Huh." Omega swiveled around. "Sort of like that place we found inside the Gilgamesh Factor…"

There was a rustle of movement, and Omega turned to see Saber standing with a troubled look on her face.

"That name…"

"Something wrong?"

"No, nothing." Saber said finally, "Something about that name seems…familiar, but not in any sense I am aware of. Like this space, it is probably also just a reflection of the original Saber."

Recovering her normally stoic composure, the A.I. turned to look at Omega again.

"Regardless, I suspect I have already taken up too much time. Whenever you need my power, simply call for me. I will always be here, awaiting your commands. Your mind already knows how, now it is up to you to learn how to use it."

"Right, so…" Omega looked around questioningly, "Remind me again how exactly I'm supposed to-"

* * *

He blinked.

He was back in Ace's office again. And from the looks of things, scarcely a minute had passed since that weird little head-trip.

"Well?" Ace demanded. "What were you saying about hearing something when you used the Excalibur?"

"Uh…"Omega opened his mouth to continue, before he suddenly decided against it.

"Nah, never mind. It was probably just my imagination…"

Ace gave him a highly suspicious look but nevertheless decided to accept his answer at face value for the time being.

"Rrrrrrriiiiiight." He said eventually.

Returning to Aile's question, he simply shrugged.

"Beats me. This tech is way out of my league, so I can't say for certain what to expect. For all we know, the A.I. part of it might not kick in properly until the first real use of its weapon." He smirked.

"And somehow, I doubt that crazy stunt of yours with Gates earlier was enough. But aside from that, I can't really help you any further. The Zweihanders were an enigma at the best of times, and now that I've actually seen one for myself, it seems as though they're well-deserving of that title."

Omega gave Ace an odd look, a thought suddenly occurring to him.

"You said there were three Zweihanders, didn't you? What happened to the other two?"

Ace's smile faltered for barely an instant.

"No-one knows, remember? Just like the one you now possess, the fate of those swords is yet to be discovered. However…"

Omega caught the hesitation in his voice as Ace went on.

"Suffice it to say, it's…_unlikely _that either of them will make an appearance soon…"

* * *

Several hundreds of miles away, on the bridge of a jet-black battleship, a certain glasses-wearing Captain suddenly had a minor sneezing fit.

* * *

With that awkward moment out of the way, Ace coughed a couple times and simply moved on.

"Now that I've gotten all of the general explanations out of the way, I'll just make a quick summary."

"Celtis and Saber," (Omega winced as he felt the A.I. Saber send a wave of displeasure his way) "you two are to continue as normal, just be more careful now that Model O's got itself an outlet to release its power. I'd prefer not to hear about you getting involved in certain…unsavory activities." He jerked a thumb over his shoulder at Vent.

"After all, you'd have to be pretty dumb to fall for the same schtick this blockhead did!"

"LET ME KILL HIM! OH PLEASE, JUST _ONE_ PUNCH!" Vent roared, struggling against the combined restraints of Ashe, Aile and Models X and Z.

"Too easy." Ace snickered evilly and went on, ducking as an unfortunate Model X hurtled past his head.

"Queenbee will be staying with you as well, since I'm sure that machine-head friend of yours'll probably go ballistic for a look at her." He hesitated.

"About that...any chance you could use an alias of some kind? I'd prefer not to have to explain why a supposedly dead Pseudoroid is now walking around in Legion City, much less to have anyone else in the government find out the exact circumstances behind your...'resurrection' as it were."

Queenbee was silent for a moment.

"...You said...you had people tracking down the identity of this body's owner?'

Ace gave her a wary look.

"Um...yes, I did. In fact, they should probably have those results in by now. Why?"

"Who?"

"Er...sorry?" Ace asked, almost missing the quiet question, spoken so softly that it was barely audible.

"...Who was it?" Queenbee asked again, just as quietly. "Who did he kill?"

Ace swallowed at the look in her eyes.

"Um, according to the files, it was someone named, er..." he checked the file hastily. "...Vesper Royale. She was in the hospital, recovering from a vehicular accident, and apparently his goons just stepped in and snatched her out from under us."

Queenbee was silent for a moment.

"Um...Queenbee?" Ace ventured cautiously.

"Then that is the name I will go by. I am still Queenbee, but to the rest of the world, I will be Vesper."

Ace blinked, took one look at the sudden steely look in her eyes, and wisely decided not to press the point.

"Very well then. To those in the know, we'll still call you Queenbee, but for everyone else, you're just Vesper."

With that awkward task over with, Ace hastily moved on.

"Unit V, I'd like you lot to stick around. At the rate this mess is going, I'd prefer it if I could get in touch with you as quickly as possible. It seems as though Pandora here will remain with you as well, so, uh…" Ace sought for some kind of comment, "Look, just make sure nobody ends up dead, all right?"

"I'll think about it." Vile said calmly. Then Ace caught the look he was giving him.

"Um, er…"The Phoenix flailed wildly for what he thought would be the correct response, before Marino stepped in to save him.

"…And we'll make sure to keep our eyes open for any trace of Prometheus, okay?" she added convincingly, giving Pandora a sympathetic look.

"Um…yeeeah, you can _bet_ I'll be keeping an eye out for _him_." Ace muttered under his breath. "Hell, I'll probably be _sleeping_ with one eye open from now on...!"

Nearby, Ashe nodded emphatically in agreement.

"Ashe, Grey, I want you two to remain on standby as well." Seeing the look Ashe was giving him he sighed. "Yes, I _know_ you don't like working with Queenbee or Pandora since they've both tried to kill you already, but just let it go, will you? Pandora already apologized to you and Saber…"

He stared blankly at Queenbee, who was obediently sitting next to Omega, purring contentedly as he lazily tickled her under the chin with the fingertip of one gauntlet.

"Um…he seems to have Queenbee…under…um…control…" Ace colored slightly and looked away from the awkward sight, clearing his throat.

"Anyway, MOVING ON!" he said desperately, " At the moment, our most pressing concern is that of Gates and his new Virus. If it was possible for him to actually manage to reverse engineer the most dangerous weapon known to man and Reploid alike, and then worse still, figure out a way to make it his own, then we'd best HOPE he wasn't a person who liked sharing. Otherwise we are all going to be neck deep in some _very_ serious shit."

"Worse still, it seems as though Gates' bank account recently received an exceptionally large deposit. Apparently someone hired him, for an extremely handsome fee, I might add. To do what, I'm not certain, but the rather glaring lack of any suspicious leads or traces, or anything at all that might have been connected to the employer lead me to believe that it's probably the same son of a bitch who's been responsible for all of my Security headaches up to now."

"Our mystery mastermind, huh?" Vile mused.

"Exactly. Now, for him to receive such a generous hire and for us to then go up against that bloody Virus of his, something which _should not_ _exist at all_, well, I keep coming up with one conclusion, and it scares the HELL out of me."

"You think somebody hired him to reprogram that Virus?" Vent growled suspiciously.

"I'm afraid so. In which case, we're dealing with a maniac who it seems not only possesses the capability to get his hands on Phoenix Artifacts, or even just something as rare and mythical as the Link Serum, but also a maniac who has in his possession a viable source of the _original_ Sigma Virus!"

"I'm guessing in this case, two plus two equals a whole lot of bad shit." Omega summarised.

"Understatement of the freakin' century." Ace muttered. "For the moment, we can only hope that we were Gates' first test of the Virus, meaning that he hadn't planned to return it to and/or double-cross the original that's the case, then hey, we're good. If not..."

"Bad shit." Omega finished.

"Pretty much." Ace agreed. "However, until we know more, it'd probably be a dumb idea for us to just charge on in half-cocked when we don't even know what we're up against."

"It's worked for me so far!"

The Phoenix shot the God of Destruction a withering glare. "I'm not even going to _bother_ asking how you managed to eat it. I think I've more or less just given up on trying to figure out anything to do with you and your apparent overabundance of pure crazy."

"In other words, since it appears as though our enemies are laying low for the time being, we'll do the same thing. Everyone rest up, recover or in some cases,"he gestured to Pandora, "Get used to things around here, since I'm sure a lot of this is new to you."

Pandora nodded slightly, and shifted a bit closer to Vile. Ace caught the small motion and grinned behind his hand.

'_Oh, I am going to have __**fun**__ with this one…!_'

"And Vent…" Ace stared at his rival for a moment.

"Actually, I don't really _care_ what you do." Ace gave him a smile of supreme arrogance, "Hell, I doubt you could even make it out the door without tripping over your own fee-"

"That's it, HE DIES NOW!"

The meeting came to an abrupt end when Vent finally lost it and tackled Ace clear out of his chair, the Scarlet Phoenix still laughing even as furniture flew crazily in every direction.

"Here we go again." Marino groaned as everyone else dove for cover, the two arch-rivals bashing away at each other and everything within range, roaring their individual challenges as they resumed their never-ending battle for supremacy.

The meeting apparently over, the rest of them made their way to the door, dodging bits and pieces of flying debris. Aile and Marino remained behind, easily avoiding any that flew towards them, chatting casually to one another as they calmly waited for the two fighters to wear themselves out.

It wasn't until Omega, one of the last to leave, was at the door, that Ace smashed Vent headfirst into the ground with a devastating punch and turned towards the God of Destruction.

"Saber."

Omega paused.

"I know you're hiding something. The power to alter a Biometal, to miraculously call out one of the world's greatest weapons, a Zweihander, and the capability to even devour the Sigma virus..." Ace's eyes narrowed. "You're no ordinary combat Reploid."

The crimson clad hero looked back at him, grinning.

"And so what if I am?"

Ace's expression darkened. "I will find out who you really are, Saber, no matter how flippant you are about it. You can count on that."

The God of Destruction half turned, looking back over his shoulder at the Scarlet Phoenix, an arrogant smirk on his face. They stood there for a moment, two opponents sizing one another up in preparation for a challenge. Then Omega smirked and turned away.

"Whatever you say, Phoenix. But while we're on the subject of secrets...If that first A.C.E disappeared with the Magnum Phoenix, and you built this one, the third A.C.E..."

Omega gave him a mocking glance.

"Then who built the second?"

With that parting shot, the legendary King of Destroyers swept out, his crimson coat-tails fanning out behind him. As he met up with Queenbee and Celtis, the former immediately linking her arm with his and the latter giving a sigh of irritation, he chuckled as he felt Saber once again flicker through his mind.

"Zweihander of Dominion, eh...? Heh heh heh..." Things were beginning to get interesting around here...

And so it was that he didn't notice Ashe, standing a little ways behind them, having overheard the entirety of his last conversation with Ace. She watched the white-haired enigma called Saber disappear out the door, and she frowned.

So it seemed as though Ace hadn't been quite as oblivious to Saber's strange capabilities as she had thought. Apparently, she wasn't the only one with suspicions about him. Her eyes narrowed as she watched the now closed door, wondering just how many secrets lay hidden behind that arrogant smile and crimson eyes...

Then she looked back at Ace.

The Scarlet Phoenix was also staring at the place where Omega had disappeared from sight, look of grim anger on his face.

"...'Who built the second?' huh...?' Ace felt the corner of his mouth twitch upwards in the ghost of a smile. "Not bad. Touche, 'Saber'."

The atmosphere was then ruined entirely by Vent breaking an entire chair in half over the back of Ace's skull, taking his arch-rival by surprise. And thus the battle began again as Ashe shook her head in disbelief and left.

* * *

**A/N**: Yeeeeeah, I think I started to lame out on you guys coming down to the end of this. Probably left you with more questions than you began with, too...

Anyway, so, what's you all think of the Zweihander's true power? Nifty, huh? It's like having all of the Biometals in one!

Also, a zillion points to anyone who recognizes Saber and her Excalibur! If you thought that was good, wait'll you see what other famous heroes and swords are sealed within the Zweihander's depths…! I strongly recommend familiarising yourselves with as many different series as you can, because you'll never know where I'll be pulling my next hero from!

Sigh...Ain't crossovers amazing?

And while we're on the subject, do be sure to note the bit about the A.I. Version NOT BEING THE SAME AS THE ORIGINAL! They have the appearance, the personality and the knowledge, skills and experience as their original selves, but none of those memories! In a way, it's kind of like thee difference between say, X and Model X, or Leviathan and Model L, etc. etc. Just thought I'd, y'know, stress that a little, before somebody misses that altogether and starts ranting at me about it.

DarkShift Out!


	22. Chapter 21: Troublesome Encounter

**Chapter 21: Troublesome Encounter**

**Disclaimer:** Megaman belongs to Capcom, but everything else is MINE! GAHAHAHAHAHA!

* * *

One day has passed since the grand meeting in Ace's office...

Now, the Scarlet Phoenix leaned back in his seat, and rubbed a hand across his face.

"There've been _how_ many casualties?"

Marino sighed.

"Currently, the number of fatal incidents is at about twenty. But in terms of wounded, it's almost three times that. And when you factor in the amount of property damage as well, we've got a serious problem on our hands."

Ace groaned.

"Great. Just great. As soon as I get one problem taken care of, another one pops back up!"

"Actually, this has been going on for a while now. You just forgot about it with the whole Gatemaster business."

"...Oh yeah." Ace blinked. "Okay, pull up everything we've got on it."

As the lights dimmed, Marino strode over to the wall display and tapped in a series of commands on the keyboard. Immediately, a map of Legion City came up, and zoomed in on one particular segment.

"The problem is this: It seems that there are a group of high speed Mavericks wreaking havoc in this sector. Every night, they appear and rip through the streets, causing all sorts of damage and chaos. When they have finished, they simply vanish without any way to trace them. Several street racers have already tried to challenge them for ownership of the territory, licensed Hunters, Raiders, and illegal racers alike. These attempts have all failed, usually ending with a 90% fatality rate for the challengers. The one responsible for this is the Maverick we believe to be the ringleader of the group. They don't seem to have any purpose, other than to maintain control of that area."

"I see..."Ace said grimly. "If I remember right, though, all of our previous attempts to deal with them have been...less than successful, to say the least."

Marino nodded. "That's right. First, the Colonel is out, since he isn't exactly a racing kind of guy. His second in command, Lieutenant Disaster, is exactly what his nickname suggests, and would probably be more trouble than he's worth, and then there's Craft, who prefers his bikes to be closer to a small scale _tank_ than anything built for serious racing."

She shot Craft a pointed look at that. "Seriously, that bike of yours is a MONSTER. It's probably bigger than I am!"

The commando merely shrugged.

Ace cleared his throat, attempting to get the conversation back on track.

"Right, okay. So at the moment, we've got no additional resources that we can call on for this. We've tried, what, six times to oust these guys?"

"Seven, actually."Marino commented, "Not to mention the unofficial attempts by other groups to deal with them."

"All right..." Ace growled. "Your oh-so-accurate statistics are not making this look any better. Now...how do we deal with this? If we can't track them, then that means we'll have to lure them out somehow...Any ideas?"

"Well, there is one way we know they'll definitely show up." Marino commented. "Every single time, they've come out of hiding whenever there's some sort of major activity within the sector, like our Security forces, or others who're out looking for them. It's like they're deliberately going out of their way to mock their hunters. Either that, or they perceive any sizable incursion to be an invasion of their territory"

"I see..." Ace murmured. "Yes, that could work. If we managed to create a 'threat' that's big enough, they'll charge right out and pick a fight. The only problem though, is to still deal with them once they come out. That boss of theirs, for instance...we're gonna need somebody with a hell of a lot of firepower, more than what we've usually brought in. Even I can't handle this bastard _and_ his lackeys at the same time. Last time, I was in the hospital for what...a week?"

"Six."

Ace stared at her blankly.

"...Damn, I must have REALLY been stoned on painkillers."

"We DID sort of have to reacquaint your waist with your torso, remember?"

Ace winced. "Oh yeah. Plus I also have a fuzzy memory of seeing one arm twenty feet away from me."

He paused.

"And it was on fire."

"Yeah, that wasn't from the crash. That was the fuel tanker that blew up a couple minutes afterwards."

There was an awkward silence.

"Well, _that_ was embarrassing." Ace grumbled. "Anyway, to get back to the task at hand, we need someone who we can use to challenge their leader, while another group deals with the other Mavericks."

"One person in particular springs to mind." Marino commented dryly, clearly referring to a certain crimson-clad individual with a penchant for women, destruction, women, big swords and overkill.

"I don't think so...not directly, in any case. That area's technically outside of my normal range of operations. The time it'd take for all the red tape to clear would probably leave us in this very same position a week from now! And since those idiots downstairs are still debating on whether or not this is a job for internal Legion Security, or if they should actually put a legit bounty on it, I can't officially get any Hunters involved either! Plus, you KNOW that unless there's money to be made, there's no chance in hell that he'd take the job. No...this might have to be handled a little differently from my normal methods..."

Ace chewed on his thumbnail as his eyes flickered over the information on the screen.

"But how to go about it...?"

Then he stopped, his eyes widening slightly as something in the data caught his attention.

"Wait a minute...Marino, pull up the list of everyone who's gone up against them before." He paused.

"Well, everyone except me, of course. More specifically the deceased ones."

Marino raised an eyebrow at the odd command, but did as he asked anyway. As the relevant information popped up on the screen, Ace ran down the list of names before he finally stopped, one in particular leaping out at him.

"Well, well, well...what do you know?" The Scarlet Phoenix gave a demonic smile that would have put even Lucifer to shame.

"Oh the irony here is absolutely _delicious_...!" He whirled back to face his aide.

"Okay Marino, here's the plan..."

* * *

Celtis gave a groan of despair.

"Omega, would you remind me...WHY are we doing this again?"

The God of Destruction poked his head out from behind a rack of clothes and raised an eyebrow.

"It's shopping. I thought all women were supposed to like that. So why is noise still coming out of your face?"

Celtis pinched the bridge of her nose in irritation.

"Well for one thing, it's because despite me being just a few bucks worth of being totally BROKE, you've dragged me out here to buy stuff that isn't even for me!"

Omega considered that for a moment.

"True. Possibly, but then again, what other reason could I honestly keep you around for? I mean, what, you expect me to use my own money for this sort of thing?"

The God of Destruction merely chuckled, as if that was the funniest thing he'd ever heard, while Celtis resisted the urge to beat him to death with a nearby clothes-rack. At the moment, they were standing in the midst of one of Legion City's largest clothing stores. Catering to any and all tastes, countless racks of suits, dresses, skirts, tops and various other forms of casual and formal wear stretched out in every direction. There was even a second floor overhead, for the stuff that couldn't fit on the first floor!

Naturally, as this was the biggest and best place to buy clothes, it was also the most _expensive_. And yet, here Celtis stood in the middle of it all, feeling her wallet dwindling away to nothing.

Surprisingly, the mastermind behind this particular idea had not, in fact, been her, which should come as a bit of a surprise, considering her rather less-than-money-wise nature. No, the real brain behind this plan was actually the white-haired, crimson clad (and not to mention more than just a bit nuts) God of Destruction standing next to her.

"Well, Master? Is this...outfit...did you call it?...to your liking?"

And now, Celtis gave a sigh and turned to face the reason for this whole venture.

Queenbee, the former Pseudoroid, now modified into a formerly human body due to the insane experiments of the mad scientist known as the Gatemaster, turned slightly to give her so-called 'Master', a better view of the clothes she had tried on.

Omega rubbed his chin in thought, giving her a speculative look.

" I dunno. How do you like it?"

Celtis watched the two of them talking for a moment, before Queenbee disappeared back into the changing rooms, presumably for another set of clothes. She reflected on the sheer bizzare-ness of the situation.

The reason for all of this was that Omega had 'discovered' that due to Queenbee's properties as an artificial Chosen One/Pseudoroid/human/whatever-the-hell-Gates-had-made-her-into had allowed her to transform, switching between her armor-plated Pseudoroid form and her human one, now under the alias of Vesper. As to how exactly he'd discovered this, well...

Let's just say Celtis hadn't been able to get much sleep with all of the...noise. Worse still, when she'd gone to yell at him, she'd seen a bit too much in the process. Which was why she now _also_ knew that Queenbee had a bit of thing for being, ah, _tied up_, as it were.

Well, at least that explained why there weren't any more curtains in her whole apartment. And also why all of the sheets had been torn up into strips.

Celtis shuddered. At least Queenbee had enjoyed that. She on the other hand, was seriously considering crashing at Vix or Kitara's place. At this point, anything was better than trying to sleep on a couch in your own apartment while-

She shook her head. No, she really, _reeeeeally_ didn't need to remember that.

Anyway, after finding out about Queenbee's human form, Omega had decided that if she was going to be his 'servant', then by rights she should be dressed in a manner befitting her rank as someone worthy enough to be his newest consort!

And of course, Omega would never pay for something like that _himself_. Which is why poor Celtis was standing here now, in a store WAY out of her price range, buying clothes for somebody else.

"It's perfect!"

Hearing Queenbee's delighted exclamation, Celtis turned her attention back to the other two...

And almost choked on her own tongue. If she had been drinking something, it would have probably made for the greatest spit-take in history.

The outfit Queenbee was now holding up was golden-orange in color, and equipped with more buckles and straps than actual cloth. Okay, so maybe that wasn't _entirely_ accurate, but it was still a frighteningly close description. The actual cloth was orange, while the straps were still black. Arrayed as they were over the limbs and body of the outfit, the overall effect seemed to match Queenbee's wasp design very well. The body itself was fairly form-fitting, with four buckles across the midsection, no doubt to adjust exactly_ how _form-fitting it was. A single pair of diagonal bands went over the shoulders for support, looping behind the neck. The suit came to a stop just past the hips, where a pair of full-length coat-tails/skirts flared out, extremely short in the back, but then wrapping almost all the way around, save for the opening in the front, which tapered down into two points all the way down near her ankles. Still more buckles ran down either side of the slit, meaning that the ridged skirt/coat could be closed in completely and then tightened or loosened, depending on the wearer's preference. It also came with a set of long, heeled boots that looked as though they were long enough to cover the whole leg.

All in all, if it had been black in color instead of the orange-bronze hue that it was, Celtis would have _sworn_ it was some kind of weird bondage outfit. As for Omega's opinion...

The God of Destruction wasted less than a second in his appraisal, before he gave a triumphant smile and a resounding thumbs-up.

"And we have a winner!"

Celtis simply groaned and hung her head. She could have seen _that_ one coming a mile away...

"Good, now get dressed and let's go. The day's still young, and there's probably other places I'll remember to blow u- I mean, go to later, so we may as well move on."

"Ah...yes, of course, Master...but..." Queenbee hesitated, and blushed slightly, looking up at him through lowered eyelashes.

"Would you be so kind as to...help me with these...?" She fingered one of the buckles with a delicate fingertip, the hidden invitation in her words not very hidden at all.

A normal man would have probably, by this point, passed out from considerable blood loss from the nose, but for the God of Destruction, this was all just par for the course! Grinning, he pulled her towards him, one hand skillfully sweeping the dress out of her hands and dangling it teasingly just out of reach.

"Well now, getting a bit mouthy there, aren't you? One might think that I was the servant instead of the other way around..." His grin widened slightly. "I guess I should put you back in your place, hmm...?"

He moved his attention down to her soft neckline and Queenbee jerked, gasping with startled pleasure as he sent a tiny pulse of electrical energy tingling through her body. Celtis saw her reaction, and raised an eyebrow.

'_Wait...since when does she _like_ electricity?_'

As Queenbee clutched at him, quivering, her breath coming in short, hot gasps as she buried her head into his chest to stifle her voice, Omega reached for the changing room door controls and grinned out at Celtis. Ignoring the murderous look on her face, he smirked.

"You're on watch, woodlouse. Keep an eye out for anybody suspicious."

And with that, the opaque wall of energy materialised between them, thankfully cutting off Celtis' view of what she knew was going to happen next. She growled several different swearwords under her breath and did her best to calm down. First he drags her out here, to a super-expensive clothing store, to buy clothes for Vesper simply to suit his own arrogance, and then he has her wait here for two hours while the ex-Pseudoroid tried on outfits, AND while resisting with every fiber of her being the urge to buy at _least_ half of the stuff in here.

'_Maybe this is how addicts feel when they try to go cold turkey..._' she thought ruefully.

And now she was supposed to stand guard while he...and...her...did...!

Part of Celtis' brain actually shut down at this point, something for which she was immensely grateful. She'd had enough mental scarring for a while without her overactive imagination only adding to the problem, thank you very much!

No, this time, she was just going to walk off and _leave_ his arrogant arse here! Let him take care of his own business for a change, instead of having her do it for him!

Smiling proudly at herself for her new, bold, decision-making mindset, Celtis turned to walk away, only to be stopped by the sound of the barrier behind her lowering again. Omega poked his head out.

"Oh, and by the way, I stuck a micro-mine with a proximity trigger on you. You get too far away from me and you blow up. It's about the size of a paperclip, so I don't think you'll have an easy time finding it! Don't worry, though, you can trust me not to 'accidentally' detonate it with the automatic remote here! " He smiled cheerfully, and keyed the control again.

"See ya!"

Celtis stared blankly at the opaque wall again.

After a few moments, one or two customers who were browsing nearby were rewarded by the sight of the green-haired Hunter breaking out into a frantic little dance, desperately scrabbling at her clothes as she sought to find the miniaturized bomb. Rolling around on the floor, flailing and kicking as she crashed into a nearby display stand, she was therefore too occupied to pay any attention to the rather...intimate sounds...coming from the changing room.

Small wonder then, that she also missed the figure lurking at the opposite end of the store, watching them with barely concealed anger. Its hands curled into fists, trembling slightly with the same emotion.

"That...absolute..._bastard_...! Who the _hell_ does he think he is...?"

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Celtis gave a yell of triumph and held up the tiny proximity mine.

"Ah-HA! Found it-wait, whoa, whoa, whooooaaaaaa-!"

The green haired Hunter tripped as her foot caught on the hem of a nearby dress and gave a panicked wail as she fell forward. She landed hard, flat on her face, and the little device skittered out of her hands and bounced out the door, attaching itself to the tire of a mechanized garbage truck as it rolled past. Celtis could only watch in disbelief as it drove away, off around the corner, the mine blinking treacherously back at her from its vantage point on the truck's tire.

"...This isn't going to end well, is it..."

"What isn't?"

Celtis looked up to see the familiar features of Omega staring down at her in curiosity.

"GAH! Ah, um, n-nothing!" She hastily scrambled upright. The God of Destruction raised an eyebrow.

"Okaaaay...?"

Celtis glanced around, realizing that something was missing.

"Hey, where's Queenbee?"

Omega gave an evasive grin and shrugged dismissively.

"Oh, we had to get another copy of that outfit for her to wear. We had...a little too much fun with the first one."

Celtis stared morosely at him for a moment and then buried her face in her hands.

"Hey, Omega?"

"Yeah?"

"You know those things you say, that I tell you have 'too much information'?"

"Yeah, what about them?"

"That was one of them."

Any further discussion was put off by the door to the changing room opening. Queenbee stepped out, having apparently finished readjusting her wardrobe. Even Celtis had to admit, despite the weird design, it actually looked pretty good on the Pseudo-human. Omega caught her look and grinned.

"And you said I had no idea of style...!"

"Oh, shut up! Let's just pay for this stuff and go already!"

Omega stopped for a moment, as something caught his eye.

"Hold on a moment..."

He stepped out and swiped something from a nearby rack. Turning to Queenbee, he moved in closer, made a quick motion with his hands, and stepped back to admire his handiwork.

"And now it's perfect!" He grinned.

Queenbee turned towards a nearby mirror, to get a better look at the thing around her neck, and blushed.

An ebony collar, made from a sleek, smooth material so black that it seemed to absorb light, dotted with tiny silver studs around its circumference, and held fast by a simple metal buckle, polished so bright that it gleamed like quicksilver, was now nestled comfortably around her slender neck. As she stared at her image in the mirror, tilting this way and that to get a better look at it, Celtis gave Omega an annoyed look.

"...A collar." She said finally. "Really? That's your big 'finishing touch'?"

"Of course." Omega smirked. Then, ignoring Celtis, he moved towards Queenbee. Looping one of his clawed fingers lazily around her new collar, he pulled her in close, until their faces were inches away from one another.

"This is your proof of life."He said quietly. "So long as you wear this collar, it means that you belong to me. I am your king, and you are part of my treasure. So long as you wear this, I will annihilate anything that dares to harm you."

Queenbee caught her breath at the quiet force behind his words. The deadly serious look in his eyes told her that he meant every word. Once more, his whimsical nature, the one which had first led him to take her as a prize, reared its head.

Then he grinned.

"Don't get me wrong though...I'm no Gates. You're mine, but that doesn't make you a slave."

The God of Destruction released her and stepped back.

"The choice is always yours, just like it was back then. You're free to go, whenever you want."

Celtis raised an eyebrow. Somehow, that seemed a little out of character, coming from a guy who'd taken Queenbee in simply because he thought she was an interesting prize. To her surprise, the ex-Pseudoroid actually seemed to be considering his words.

Any thought that an intelligent decision would result from that contemplation, however, went straight out the window when Queenbee took two steps forward, threw her arms around Omega's neck and kissed him full on the mouth.

After a few moments, she pulled back to see the God of Destruction grinning at her.

"I take it you're keeping the collar then."

Queenbee ran her fingertips across the buckle. "Of course I will. You are the one who saved me. You gave me back a life and a soul. You freed me from that nightmare my world had become, and even despite the horrors behind this new form of mine, you still saw me as someone worthy of your attention, even going so far as to consider me a treasure worth killing for."

"You know, most women wouldn't exactly _like_ being thought of that way." Celtis muttered.

She was ignored.

"For everything you have done for me, for everything you have given me..." Queenbee leaned back slightly, her arms still around his neck, a pretty blush in her cheeks.

"I am yours. You are my Master, and I am your servant. Every fiber of my being belongs to you." She drew one hand back, and pressed it to her chest, her voice lowering to a throaty whisper.

"My mind...my soul...even this artificial body..."she whispered, her fingers sliding across the neckline of her clothes, "All of it is yours, to do with me as you please."

Omega grinned.

"Don't mind if I do!" He said, then swept in to return her earlier kiss.

Celtis pressed a hand to her face and groaned. "I feel like I'm reading a crappy H-manga. Seriously, there is NO way something like this should be possible in real life!"

She was ignored. Again.

"I guess you really _do_ have a thing for being dominated."

"Only by you, Master...Only by you..." Queenbee panted, and crushed her body against him once again in another passionate kiss.

"Okay, you know what? I give up." Celtis threw her hands up in exasperation and stomped off. "I'll be over by the cashier if you two psychologically-messed up nutjobs feel like joining the real world again..."

Neither of them paid her any attention whatsoever. _Again_.

"Seriously, sometimes I feel like I'm living in a badly written story." Celtis grumbled. "One where the writer just likes finding excuses to torment me for no good reason..."

* * *

Several minutes later, Celtis finally saw them heading towards her. As they reached the cashier though, Omega casually stepped in front of Celtis and easily tossed one of his credit cards onto the counter.

"Charge everything to this account."

The service clerk nodded and ran the card through the scanner. Satisfied that all was in order, she handed it back as the system deducted the correct amount of EC from Omega's account.

It was one of several false ones, with funds conveniently shunted off from other unsuspecting sources (a good deal of which belonged to the unfortunate Security Commander), but to the computer, Omega's l33t skills were too superior to register any errors.

And so the God of Destruction coolly swept up the card again and strolled off, Queenbee immediately picking up the package containing her spare outfit, and trotted after him like a puppy at the heels of its master.

Both of them walked straight past Celtis, who was standing there blankly, her brain still trying to catch up. She turned to look at Omega.

"Wait...did you just...I thought you dragged me out here for ME to pay for this stuff!"

Omega glanced back at her and shrugged.

"Eh, I changed my mind."

"But...but...!" Celtis sputtered, almost incandescent with outrage. "THEN WHY THE HELL DID YOU KEEP ME WAITING HERE FOR THE LAST THREE HOURS?"

The God of Destruction merely smirked.

"Watching you squirm amuses me."

"YOU DIE TODAY!"

Celtis was halfway through the air, ready to strangle the arrogant bastard in front of her and screaming bloody murder when suddenly the whole street outside lit up with a massive explosion.

Omega blinked and looked outside.

"The hell was that...?"

Celtis skidded to a halt, a mortified look on her face.

"Um, er...Oh, hey, if you're done shopping, then let's leave now, hmm?"

Speaking fast, she grabbed Omega spun him towards the door and propelled both him and a surprised Queenbee towards it as quickly as she could go. Omega dug in his heels, a suspicious look on his face.

"Hey...now that I think about it, what happened to my proximity mine?"

That was when Celtis tackled him clear out the door.

* * *

It was sometime later, when they were walking through the streets, that Celtis began to get a strange feeling, as though she were being watched by unseen eyes. She looked around warily, trying to find the source of the uneasy sensation, but to no avail.

'_...Maybe I'm just being paranoid..._' she thought finally, after her search turned up no evidence of any observers. '_Still, though...with everything that's been going on lately...I might as well just make sure._'

She sidled closer to Omega and spoke out of the corner of her mouth.

"Ummm...Omega? Have you-?"

"Three cars back, second lane." Omega replied smoothly, without even turning around. "Two others up on the rooftops, both with a single backup in case the first group screws up. Finally...Three disguised as pedestrians...oh, hang on..."

Omega 'accidentally' tripped a passerby and smoothly kicked the unfortunate man head over heels into a convenient alleyway that happened to be right next to them.

"...Make that two pedestrians now..." he snickered, enjoying the sounds of crashing garbage cans that echoed out from the alley.

"Don't forget that tiny aerial spybot either, Master." Queenbee added helpfully.

Celtis merely stared at the two of them, aghast.

"What...you...how did you-?"

As if on cue, the latent power of her Demon's Eyes kicked in again. Like always, the world around her suddenly shifted to an X-ray of black and white. There were the thin, luminous lines of building structures, looking like three dimensional blueprints, and then there were the white tinted figures that represented the normal everyday civilians around them.

And right there, in each of the locations Omega had called, were figures that stood out from the generic, white ones that surrounded them. Marked in orange, they were unmistakable, easily identifiable in the strange, stark world of the Demon's Eye. In this monochrome environment, Celtis could even see the tiny spy mechaniloid floating above the rooftops, the one that Queenbee had spoken of.

Then all of a sudden, the mechaniloid jerked erratically, the lines representing its physical shape disintegrating, and then it faded from orange of a possible enemy, to the generic white of a non-hostile. Celtis winced and gave a groan, shutting her eyes tightly, attempting to switch the genetic targeting system off again. She gave a sigh of relief as the normal colors of the world met her eyes once more on reopening them. It was still difficult to deal with something so uncontrollable, but at least now she could manage to sort of shut it off again whenever it decided to activate.

Shaking her head slightly, she looked groggily back up at the two in front of her.

"Wha...what happened to the mechaniloid?"

"Oh, I didn't want Master here to waste his time dealing with something so insignificant." Queenbee said loftily. She held up one hand and smiled as a familiar looking golden insect landed on her outstretched finger.

"So I took care of it for him."

Celtis swallowed as she watched the tiny micro-machine, instantly recognisable as one of Queenbee's nano-bugs, crumble away into dust, its function served.

'_I didn't even know she'd launched some of those bugs of hers...! She's nothing more than putty in Omega's hands, but she's still incredibly dangerous...God only knows what she'd do if she ever decided to leave Omega.._.'

"Good job, servant!" Omega grinned, ruffling Queenbee's rust-red hair. "As a reward, should I tighten those straps of yours a little more?"

Queenbee gave a delighted gasp and blushed, moving closer to him.

"Oh Master, I'd love that!"

Watching the Pseudoroid cling tightly to Omega's arm, her head leaning on his shoulder, Celtis groaned and pressed a hand to her face.

Fortunately, it seemed Queenbee's weird fetish for having Omega as her 'Master' pretty much ensured that her going rogue wasn't going to be a problem anytime soon...If ever.

Celtis was suddenly jerked out of her melancholic thoughts by the rising sound of a motorcycle engine. Ordinarily, she probably wouldn't have noticed, but this one seemed to be different. She turned, a suspicious look on her face as she sought to find the source.

"That's too loud to be a standard model..."She muttered. She'd been hanging out with Kitara long enough to have picked up at least a working knowledge of such things, and from what her instincts were telling her now was that the bike heading this way was _definitely _a street racer.

But where was it coming from? The street was fairly busy, and there was no wide open space for a bike like that to be accelerating so uniformly. Hell, from the sound of it, the thing was almost on top of them and she still couldn't see it!

Then, a warning jolt of pain flashed through her brain, and the world went black and white again, just in time for everything to fall apart.

Celtis' head snapped up, just in time to see a sleek, racing bike launch itself off of the roof of a building on the opposite side of the street and hurtle down at them, its engine roaring as it continued to accelerate. As its shadow fell over him, the God of Destruction turned around. He stared directly up at the oncoming vehicle, its front tire on a direct collision course with his face, and his eye twitched.

"Fuck."

WHAM! CRUNCH! SCREEEEEEEEECH-KERASSSSSSH!

Celtis shut her eyes and recoiled, wincing with each fresh sound of destruction. The front tire slammed straight into Omega's face, still spinning and carried him along with it, smashing him clear through the wall and into the building behind him. Both bike and victim continued onwards, a painful, screeching sound heard from where rubber tires and Omega's armored body grated on each other and the floor beneath them, the God of Destruction still trapped beneath the wheels as it plowed onward. Another crash, and an accompanying rumble of collapsing masonry, and they smashed through the back wall, emerging into a wide back alley, where the miniature train-wreck slammed straight into a pile of old dumpsters and assorted scraps.

As the last sounds of chaos died away, Celtis finally worked up the nerve to crack one eye open. When several moments passed by without some form of pain occurring, she opened the other one and looked around. Aside from all of the smoke, dust, half-dazed pedestrians and screaming people, things seemed relatively normal.

Celtis sighed as she realized just how warped her definition of 'normal' was becoming...

A motion within the clouds opposite her, and the figure of Queenbee slowly emerged, shaking her head dizzily.

"Wha...what happened...? Why do I feel so...weird...?"

"That's probably a concussion." Celtis said dryly. "That tends to happen to humans when they get clipped across the skull by a flying motorcycle. You might want to watch out for that."

"Oh...okay..." Queenbee blinked.

WHUMP.

Celtis stared at the Pseudoroid, who'd just fallen over, and groaned.

"Why me?" she complained, then went to go look for Omega.

After several minutes, most of which was spent cowering behind various pieces of furniture as she worked her way along the trail of mayhem left in the rogue bike's wake, Celtis finally reached the wall that opened up onto the back alley where the careening vehicle had finally crashed.

Poking out a piece of cloth tied to a convenient stick, she felt a slight smidgen of relief when it was rewarded without a deafening hail of gunfire and other such not-nice forms of flying death. She cautiously poked her head out, and got her first mostly clear look at the crash.

The mystery bike still stood where it had crashed, its front buried in the ground at a forty-five degree angle, broken rubble and masonry surrounding the damaged nose. It was still hard to make any details out, since the pile of scrap it had crashed into had kicked up quite a cloud of dust and rust flakes. Celtis still felt a slight twinge of sympathy, as she knew the hapless God of Destruction had no doubt been smashed facefirst into the dirt under the bike's front tire, half of which had actually sunk into the ground with the force of the crash. If Omega's head was still under there, then he was going to _piiiiiiiiiiisssed_ when he woke up...

As for the bike itself, there was nothing too special about it, save for the odd cockpit, which caught Celtis' attention immediately. It was a closed-top model, meaning that it possessed an actual, full-body cockpit, one that extended up from the windshield and swept back to form a sleek, streamlined bubble that completely hid the rider from view. For bikes like these, the rider would lean forward in the seat, almost lying down on the bike, and the cockpit would fold down into place, forming a perfect seal with the body of the bike and granting it a streamlined figure that almost tripled the acceleration and maximum speed of the bike. Models like these were more bullets on wheels than anything else.

Even as Celtis was scoping out the details of the reflective canopy that covered the cockpit, steam burst from the seam that locked the canopy down and it slowly opened, hinging forward as it did so. The green haired Hunter ducked back down in fright, before peering back out cautiously.

As the cockpit finished opening, a figure stirred from within and sat up. It was clad in a black jumpsuit, both shoulders decorated by a double red stripe and with a helmet of a matching color over its head. The visor was polarized, so Celtis couldn't see anything of the wearer's features, but from the way the suit seemed to cling to its owner, she guessed it was a woman.

"Well, that settles that, then." The rider sighed, stretching slightly. Then, she looked down disdainfully.

"Although I had thought that taking my revenge would have been much easier than this. After all of the things I'd heard about this so-called legendary destroyer, I thought I'd be in for a challenge..."

Her face darkened. "Instead, now it looks like my revenge was completely meaningless!"

"Um, excuse me..."

"Huh?" The rider looked around, to see Celtis poking her head around the hole in the wall.

"Uh...hi." The female Hunter raised a tentaive hand. "Yeah. Um...you, uh...you might want to move from there...As in, right now."

The rider raised an eyebrow. "Sorry...what was that?"

A new voice suddenly spoke up.

"That, my friend, was...your..._last_..._**WARNING!**_"

Celtis groaned. "Well, I tried..."

The bike suddenly shifted, jerking forward slightly as the rubble supporting its front wheel moved slightly. Thrown off balance by the sudden movement, the rider fell forward, clutching onto the body of the bike for support. She winced at the blow, but as she stared down from her new position, the sight before her quickly drove that from her mind.

For one brief moment, she stared down into an abyss of pure crimson fury, an array of weapons large enough to annihilate a small country glaring back at her.

"Shit."

Following that succinct summary of the situation, the rider flung all caution to the winds and threw herself from the bike. She hit the ground hard and rolled, finally coming to a halt on the floor of the alley as the first wave of blades slammed into her bike.

With a crash of metal, the bike lurched into the air, a dozen broadswords sinking deep into its body. Another crash, and two massive battle-axes whirled upwards, their blades biting into the metal. Then, three spears punched through it, accompanied by four lances, all seven weapons skewering the bike completely, half of their length emerging from the other side. A single, massive greatsword emerged, launched like an arrow straight into the core of the battered vehicle.

And still the torrent continued. Weapon after weapon crashed into the bike, each successive impact knocking it further and further into the air in a series of jerking, shuddering steps.

Finally, as the storm reached its deafening climax, six whole minutes after it had begun, it stopped. The bike, now nothing more than a battered, dented and destroyed shell, hung suspended fifteen feet in the air, impaled on a solid column of weaponry, the entire structure bristling haphazardly with jagged edges and pointed blades.

Then, as Celtis and the rider started to recover, both thinking that the ordeal was over, red light flashed once more, this time on the ground surrounding the base of the structure. Twelve grenade launchers roared, and the entire mass disintegrated, shattering apart in a deafening crescendo of fiery rage. The rider was knocked back down by the force of the blast, fragments of splintered weaponry raining down around her like a freak storm. The walls and floor of the alley were not spared, countless bits of shrapnel embedding themselves in the concrete.

As the chaos of this new explosion died down, Celtis started to look back around the wall, but stopped as she remembered who she was dealing with.

"Okay, he's not going to surprise me this time...!" she muttered. Crouching down, she began to count. When she reached five, and nothing new had blown up, she heaved a sigh of relief and stood up.

"All right, let's try this again!" Turning around, she boldly strode out of the hole in the wall and out into the wasteland that the alley had become...

Just in time for the entire steering assembly, minus the wheels and pretty much everything except the handlebars, shock absorbers and windshield, to fall from the heavens and clock her square in the head, plastering her to the floor almost instantly.

As it finally fell apart around her, Celtis gave a pained groan.

"Okay...next time, we wait ten seconds instead...Ow..."

The rider on the other hand had fared little better, having been caught in the open by the blast. She seemed considerably battered, her suit tattered where it had been grazed by flying shrapnel, a lot of which was embedded in the ground surrounding her. She stared through a cracked visor, unable to take her eyes off the sight before her.

The flames dying away into ash and smoke around it, a new figure slowly straightened up from within the crater. A pair of red eyes suddenly glowed to life, turning to face her and the rider felt a chill go down her spine. Then, a stray breeze whipped through the alley, pushing aside the smoke, and suddenly she saw him.

His coat battered and scorched, his wild white hair flaring out behind him, Omega, the legendary God of Destruction stood there. Other than the damage to his wardrobe, he seemed completely unaffected, as if the entire attack on him had never even happened.

"What...are you...?"

Hearing that all too familiar question, the God of Destruction gave a cold smile.

"Yeah, I get that a lot."

With that, he reached up drew the massive Zweihander, its' cross-shaped violet blade flashing to life.

"Now...You've about five seconds to decide whether I take off your arms or your legs first..." Omega hefted it menacingly.

At that, the rider seemed to recover her previous composure. Scrambling back to her feet, she fixed him with a vicious glare.

"Big words for someone who's about to die!"

The sheer ludicrousness of her statement was enough to make Omega pause.

"Come again?"

She lifted a hand, and suddenly the rooftops came to life. Dozens of thugs lined the tops of the buildings surrounding the alley. Surprised, Omega whirled, just in time to see still more of them appear at the ends of the alley, effectively cutting off any escape routes that they might have used.

This, however, was only a problem for Celtis, as Omega never had any intentions of escaping in the first place.

He swept an appraising look over his new enemies. They were a rag-tag bunch, all looking no less disreputable than what you'd find in most of Legion's more...illegal areas. Their weaponry ranged from handguns, rifles, knives, clubs, baseball bats with nails in them, bits of bike chain, modified Reploid parts...Yeah, little more than standard street trash. Omega saw both Reploids and humans within their ranks, all looking equally delinquent.

"Well, now what do you have to say for yourself, hotshot?" The rider demanded smugly. "Or have you lost your tongue now that you see the numbers you're up against?"

Omega stared at her for a long time.

"No...no, somehow I think it's the other way around..."

"Wh-what?"

"I think I can honestly say that even after all the things I've seen, this is quite possibly the first time in my life that I've been so completely _underwhelmed_."

The rider clenched her fists in anger, hearing similar noises coming from her troops.

Omega gave her a pitying look.

"A biker gang. Really? _That's_ the best you can do? A _biker gang_?" He gestured out at all of the gang members surrounding the alley.

"I've killed an entire army of Mechaniloids. I destroyed a battleship in one hit. I've even beaten a Biometal!"

Omega brought his head down to stare at the rider again, a look of sheer disbelief on his face.

"And you think THIS is all you need to beat me?"

The rider merely growled. "That may be so...however, all those things you've done, you've done with the help of those swords of yours! Now that I've forced you to use them up, it's only a matter of time before we cut you down ourselves!"

At a gesture, all of the gang members surrounding them raised their weapons, preparing to attack. Omega raised an eyebrow.

"Oh ho...seems like you actually did have some strategy after all...Impressive."

"Of course." The rider grinned. "What else would you expect from one of the Royale sisters?"

"Royale...?" Both Omega and Celtis started at the mention of that name.

'_Why do I get the feeling I've heard that name before...?_' Celtis wondered, staring at the mysterious rider. '_It sounds...familiar..._'

Omega's eyes narrowed. "Well now..." he breathed, an interested smile crossing his face, "You're a Royale, are you? That certainly clears up a lot of questions..."

"I should certainly hope so!" Royale snarled. "If you know my name, then you know why you must die here and now!"

"Oh, I know why you're here, all right, but as for the dying part..." Omega moved into a ready position.

"Sorry, I don't do requests!"

"And just what do you think you can do with that one sword of yours?" Royale sneered. "Without your trans-server arsenal, that's all you've got!"

Omega stared at her.

"You know what? By rights, I _should_ just kill you all with this, right here and now, but because you're just SO damn annoying, I'm going to go out of my way just to prove you wrong."

He lifted his free hand.

"Whoever said I was a one-trick pony?"

FLASH.

And just like that, as Royale blinked the stars out of her eyes in the aftermath of the sudden bright light, she found herself staring down the barrel of what was quite possibly the _biggest damned gun she'd ever seen!_

She staggered backwards. "Wh...What the hell is that thing?"

Omega grinned. "Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to introduce you to my good friend here, mister Supreme Buster. Good for playing baseball, leveling a few acres of real-estate in a hurry, or a personal favorite of mine..."

His eyes narrowed.

"_Nuking seventeen different kinds of shit out of the people dumb enough to try crossing me._"

"That's...that's a new one." Royale swallowed.

"Now, call your goons off, so I don't have to atomize every last one of you and most of this district into the bargain."

"You wouldn't...!"

Omega's smile was demonic.

"Wanna bet?"

"Hey, hey, hold it!" Celtis cut in, waving her arms frantically. Sure, Omega might not have a problem with it, but she sure as hell did!

"What do you want, woodlouse?" Omega snapped, irritated.

"You can't just go around blowing up city blocks for the sake of a fight!"

There was a pause as they both recalled the battle with Gallidin and Syrene.

"...Okay, so maybe you _can_... but those were extenuating circumstances! For one thing, we don't even know why she's attacking!"

"_You_ don't, maybe." Omega grinned. "But I do, and that's all I need." He gave Royale a mocking look.

"Isn't that right?"

Royale's visor flashed as her fists clenched in anger.

"You-!"

"What do you mean, 'you know'?" Celtis' head swiveled from one to the other. "Omega, you know who this person is?"

"Nope." Omega replied smoothly. "Never seen her in my life."

Celtis crashed to the ground.

"Wh-WHAAAAAAAT? But...but then why're you acting like you know her?"

"Listen before you talk, microbe." the God of Destruction responded. "I said I'd never met her before. I never said I didn't know the name Royale."

Celtis blinked. "There's that name again...! Who the hell are the Royales?"

"Don't pretend you don't know!" The woman identifying herself as a Royale snapped. "You of all people should know that name, what with your boyfriend here playing around with her like that!"

Celtis stared at the female rider and briefly considered letting Omega go ahead and blast them anyway, just for the boyfriend remark, when the last part of Royale's statement struck her.

"Wait...'playing around'? Oh no...Omega, don't tell me you went and messed around with her sister!"

This time it was both Omega and Royale's turn to crash down. Both of them fixed her with incredulous stares.

"How can you possibly be that dense?" Omega demanded. "Seriously, what the hell do you have in that skull of yours?"

"He's done MORE than just mess around with my sister!" Royale yelled. "How can you not know about this? You were in the same apartment!"

Celtis paled as realization dawned on her.

"Oh, no...You have GOT to be kidding me..."

Before she could finish, there was an angry yell, a flash of gold, and over a dozen golden-steel spines embedded in the ground where the rider had been standing moments ago.

"GET AWAY FROM MY MASTER!"

Queenbee crashed down on both feet and skidded, coming to a halt in front of Omega, an angry look on her features as she faced the mysterious rider, the threat that dared to attack against her master!

She threw one arm out before Omega in a protective gesture, her skirt flaring out with the deceleration.

"Please leave this to me, Master!"

Omega looked down at her, mildly surprised for a moment by her sudden entrance, before he settled back into a comfortable grin.

"Well now..." He smirked, looking past her at Royale, "This IS an ironic situation, now isn't it?"

Royale was shaking with a mixture of shock and anger.

"You...YOU...!" Apparently unable to control herself any longer, she lunged forward, blindly charging at Omega, the target of her rage.

"GET AWAY FROM-!"

Royale's furious yell was cut short as something slammed into her, hard enough to knock the wind out of her lungs. When she recovered her senses, it was to find herself flat on her back, with Queenbee sitting astride her chest, the Pseudoroid pinning her arms to the ground with her knees, and another long spine of compressed nanomachines in her hand, the tip tickling the biker girl's throat.

"I will not say it again." Queenbee stated coldly. "Keep away from my Master, or I will kill you."

Behind them, Omega gave a whistle of approval, enjoying the close proximity of the two women.

"Nice! Loyal, lethal, AND she likes putting on a show for her boss!" He commented, admiring the way Queenbee's skirt, shorter at the back, had ridden up. "Damn, I should've found Gates and kicked his ass a lot sooner!"

He looked across at Celtis in disappointment.

"Now see, why can't you be more like that, huh?"

His only response was an impressively complicated gesture, the meaning of which was essentially, "Drop dead, you perverted douche!"

Shrugging unconcernedly, he turned his attention back to the drama that was playing out in front of them.

"I don't know who you are, nor do I know what your reason for attacking my Master is, but I do know this: Make another attempt on his life, and I will end yours."

"...You really don't know who I am, do you...?"

Queenbee blinked, caught off-guard by the strange question. "...What?"

Royale must have had some kind of remote trigger, because her helmet suddenly split apart, retracting back over her head and down into the back of her suit. Above her, the ex-Pseudoroid's eyes widened as a familiar mane of rust-red hair spilled out onto the floor of the alley.

"Th-this is...!"

Queenbee stared down into a face that was the exact mirror image of her own, minus the scars, and with a complexion a few shades lighter than her own.

"You...you're me!" she gasped. "B-but how-?"

And then she realized it. There was only one way that there could be another woman with looks similar to her own.

"Oh no..."

Ibelis Royale, twin sister of Vesper Royale, the woman killed to make Queenbee who she was now, managed a bitter smile.

"Nice to see you too, sister."

Celtis simply stared. "Okay, THAT, I didn't see coming."

Omega grinned. "And that's why I'M the boss of this outfit."

* * *

Now that the introductions had been taken care of, and Ibelis had pulled her troops back, she and Omega stood facing one another.

"So I'll assume I was right in guessing that you came here for her." The God of Destruction stated flatly. Ibelis bristled.

"Of course! I don't know what you did to her, but I refuse to just sit by and watch as you use my sister like a mere plaything-"

No sooner had that last line left her mouth than Omega was in her face, one claw seizing the front of her bike suit.

"Let's get one thing straight here. She's NO-ONE'S 'plaything'. I butchered the last guy who dared to think of her that way, and you'll go the same way if I hear you say that again."

Ibelis stared at him, utterly bewildered. "Wha...b-but from the way you were acting...!"

Omega released her and stepped back, an amused smirk on his face.

"She's not my plaything." he said, dropping one hand around Queenbee's shoulders, "She's my prize. May not sound like there's much of a difference, but there is. One's good for nothing but being a toy, but the other...heh, the other is worth killing whole worlds for."

"K-killing whole-? Wait, what are you talking about? What 'last guy'? My sister was in the hospital recovering from a racing accident! Then she disappeared, and the next thing I know, there's reports of her walking around Legion City in different clothes and with a man who no-one knows anything about!" Ibelis said angrily, "And now I find out she doesn't even remember me, her twin sister and second-in-command! Just what the hell is going on here?"

All three members of Omega's group stared at her.

"You mean...you didn't know?" Celtis said finally. The God of Destruction heaved a sigh of irritation and pressed a hand to his face.

"Oooooooh boy. You might want to sit down for this, 'cause I don't think you're going to like it...

* * *

Ace stared at the two figures on the wall screen, one eye twitching.

"So let me get this straight...I sent you two to destroy the Raven's Wing faction of Raiders alone, and you somehow managed to wipe out _two other groups as well?_"

The shorter of the two shrugged half-heartedly. "Well, your directions _were_ kinda vague...Anyway, so we blew up two other Raider factions before we found the right one! Big deal! What's the problem? It's not like anyone's gonna miss those dirtbags in any case!"

Ace groaned and pressed a hand to his face.

"The big deal is that now you've gone and screwed over the whole balance of power! Now I have to go waste time figuring out how all of the other factions are going to move, especially with all that new territory freed up! Raven's Wing essentially committed suicide by attacking me, so they're not going to be missed, but the other two were pretty heavy hitters, so there's going to be a hell of a mess when the others start fighting over turf!"

"Heavy hitters? Puh-leeze! I could gank both of those losers with one hand tied behind my back!"

Shaking his head at the first man's response, Ace gave the second of the two an accusing stare.

"And just where were you when all this was happening? The one-man disaster over here, I can understand, but you too?"

The other man gave an awkward cough and adjusted his military cap, pulling the shiny black brim of it down to hide his eyes.

"Yes, well...They _were_ in between us and our intended targets, sir."

Ace stared at the man blankly for a moment.

"THEY WERE TWENTY MILES OUT OF YOUR WAY!"

"Ah, but only if we were traveling in a straight line!" The shorter one jumped back in, raising one finger_._ "We were using the train, so of course it's understandable that we might get sidetracked, right? After all, the tracks go all over the place, don't they? All those pesky curves and corners, ya know..."

"AND IN THE ENTIRELY OPPOSITE DIRECTION!"

"Uh...the map was upside down?"

Ace sighed.

"Fef, just leave the thinking to the Colonel, will you? My brain's starting to hurt."

The Colonel scratched his cheek.

"...In his defense, the map _was_ upside down."

"WHAT HAVE I SAID ABOUT LETTING HIM NAVIGATE?"

"Hey, last time we only ended up in Alaska!" The lieutenant defended.

"Yeah. Only you were supposed to be in AUSTRALIA!"

The Scarlet Phoenix gave a groan. "Let me guess, Colonel...you went looking for them deliberately, didn't you."

"..." The Colonel's gaze hardened.

"Oy..." Ace scratched the back of his head and gave a resigned sigh.

"Well, at least this time you cut it off in a reasonable length of time, and didn't do another seven-day-rampage like the last time..." He grumbled. "All right, I'll overlook it this time, but you're really going to have to watch it. The higher-ups aren't usually too pleased with 'unofficial' attacks like that."

"I apologize, sir."

"Ah, forget it. For the time being, I want you two back here as soon as possible. Something big's come up, and I want all of my available assets on hand in case it goes sour."

The Colonel's eyes narrowed.

"It's Thresher, isn't it."

Ace's features darkened. "Yeah. We're going after that bastard again, and this time, I think we've got the trump card we'll need to pull it off."

The Colonel raised an eyebrow.

"I certainly hope you know what you're doing, Ace..."

The other man, the Colonel's second in command with the apt nickname of 'Lt. Disaster' actually laughed aloud as he fired up another cigarette.

"When doesn't he?"

* * *

Ibelis collapsed onto a nearby box, her legs unable to support her any longer. She stared blankly ahead, her entire body feeling like she'd been drenched in cold water.

"My sister...Vesper, she's..."

"Dead." Omega said flatly. "Queenbee here's just using her body."

"How...how could somebody DO something like this...?" Ibelis buried her face in her hands, tears running down her face.

"My sister...When I left her in the hospital, she was smiling at me!" Ibelis sobbed, "Th-the doctors...they said she was going to be fine!"

Queenbee looked sadly at the weeping human. Some small part of her wished she could do something, offer some form of comfort, as if it was something she should do, but...She didn't know what to do. This girl was a stranger to her.

The only thing that tied them together was the ghost of a woman known as Vesper Royale. This was her body, the one Gates had destroyed to make his 'Vespa Project'. If it hadn't been for her, then maybe...!

A heavy hand descended onto her shoulder. Queenbee jumped, startled, and looked up to see her Master looking down at her, an uncharacteristically solemn look in his eyes. Omega shook his head.

"Don't start thinking it's your fault. The only one to blame here is Gates, and Gates _alone_." The God of Destruction looked over at Ibelis' shaking form, no sense of mercy, pity, or any other human emotion in his eyes.

"She's just a casualty that got caught in the cross-fire."

Celtis hesitated, looking from Omega to Ibelis, and then back again.

"There must be something we can do...! Shouldn't we say something...?"

Omega gave her a mocking look.

"And just what would that 'something' be? What would you say, to someone who's discovered that their sister was killed and then her body used as a host for someone else? What do you say to that?"

Omega shook his head.

"You miserable humans...Always feeling you 'must' or 'have' to do something about grief...Welcome to reality. People die, every day! Mourning over them, or crying about does nothing! You just make a fool out of yourself! If you have time to waste grieving, you have time to get on with your damn life! If the person meant anything to you, then don't disrespect them with tears, or with thoughts of 'what if'. You simply accept that they're gone and move on. If you want to show them respect, then you live your life to the best you can, not just for your sake, but for theirs too! That's all there is."

Silence followed Omega's words. Celtis stared at him, open-mouthed. He shot her a dark look.

"What?"

"Um...nothing. It's just...wow, I never expected _you_ of all people to know anything about, well, grief or mourning. You're usually the one _responsible_ for it."

Omega gave a grim smile. "There's a lot about me that'd surprise you..."

For a brief moment, he remembered them...Flizard, Cubit, Chilldre and Schilt. The four people he had considered to be worthy of the title 'comrade'.

He looked across at Ibelis who was staring blankly at her hands now, and he felt his lip curl in disdain.

Abruptly, he turned and swept off, his coat-tails whipping out behind him.

"We're done here." He said coldly.

Both girls started.

"Ah! W-wait, Master!"

"Omega, hold on!"

For a moment, both of them hesitated, looking back at Ibelis. Then Queenbee shook her head.

"I'm sorry...but I believe Master is right. There's nothing we can do here."

"..." Celtis stood there for a moment, torn, as Queenbee left. She looked back, to see the ex-Pseudoroid catch up with Omega and immediately grab onto his arm. She might act like Vix at times, but in all other respects, she was still coming to terms with her new life as a half-Pseudoroid, half-human being. This incident had to have rattled her, so it was no wonder she'd run to her Master.

Although, Celtis grumbled, watching Omega wrap his arm possessively around Queenbee's waist, she did think that the ex-Pseudoroid could have chosen a better 'Master' than that perv!

And then...

"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!"

Celtis leapt about a foot into the air in shock.

"You're not going anywhere, Saber!"

Omega stopped, wincing mentally as a familiar voice echoed through his head.

_"Really, I would prefer it if you did not keep using my name, God of Destruction."_ Saber commented in a brittle tone.

_"Ah, bite me, you armor-wearing tomboy! I was here first!"_ Omega shot back, before turning his attention back to the present. He came to a stop, but didn't turn around.

"Oh, really now?" He replied, staring straight ahead, an amused smile on his face. "And just _why_ am I not going anywhere?"

"Because I'm challenging you!"

Omega's eyes widened, as did his smile.

"Oh-ho...!" he breathed, "Is that so...?"

With a single step, he turned around, facing back towards the source of the voice.

"Then I accept your challenge!" He laughed aloud.

Ibelis Royale, now back on her feet, stared down the length of the alley at her opponent. For a brief moment, she was taken aback by his sudden acceptance. He hadn't even waited to hear what the challenge _was_, for Pete's sake!

Omega grinned as he observed the Royale girl's appearance. She was still pale, and she still looked fairly shaken, but the look in her eyes told him all he needed to know.

"Looks like she's got more spine than I'd thought..." he murmured. Then, raising his voice, he addressed Ibelis directly.

"So what's with the sudden change, girlie?" He asked. "One minute, you're bawling your eyes out, and then the next, you're suddenly all gung-ho again! Mind filling me in?"

"..." Ibelis was silent for a moment.

"What you said earlier...about grieving for someone you've lost..."

"What about it?" Omega asked, raising an eyebrow.

Ibelis scrubbed a hand roughly across her eyes and continued, the tremor in her voice fading with each word.

"You're right. Just sitting around here grieving won't do anything to bring my sister back...However!"

Her hand whipped out, one finger leveled directly at Omega.

"There's still something I CAN do!"

"And just what does this have to do with me?"

"It's simple...Her body's still here, isn't it? What kind of sister would I be if I left it in the hands of a lech like you? It's a disgrace to my sister and everything her memory stands for!" If there had been any doubt that Ibelis had recovered from the earlier blow dealt to her by the news of her sister's demise, one only needed to look at her to put those uncertainties to rest.

"Like you said, I can grieve all I want, but it won't bring Vesper back! So instead, I'll save that grief for later, and right now, I'll do whatever I can to protect her memory! Even if that means challenging someone like you!"

"All right then..."Omega grinned. "Now this is getting interesting...What's the challenge?"

"Two days from now, there's going to be a big street race. It'll be open to anyone who wants to enter, even unlicensed racers and Raiders. The course is going to be run throughout Legion City, dodging cops and Mavericks alike! Any vehicle's acceptable, and anything goes!"

"And your point is...?"

Ibelis jerked a thumb at her chest. "I'm the reigning champion."

Omega gave a whistle. "Not bad."

"You and I will settle this fight with that race!" Ibelis declared. "The winner takes all!"

The God of Destruction raised an eyebrow.

"So, your whole problem here is that you don't want your sister's memory to be tarnished by leaving her body under my command, even though you already know that someone else now inhabits that body...For someone who claims to care about her sister, you're acting as though her body here's merely some item!"

"Aren't all dead bodies?" Ibelis countered. "I'm simply doing this to protect the name Royale, and more specifically, the good name of my sister Vesper! After all, who knows what perverse acts the two of you would get up to with her body?"

"Oooookay, that sounded TOTALLY wrong, but I'll let that one slide for now..." Omega winced.

"I couldn't possibly face Vesper again if I simply left her body to be defiled by the likes of you!" Ibelis growled. "Now that you know the terms of my challenge, and my reasons for it, are you still willing to go through with it? Or is this 'miserable human' not worth your time, grave-robber?"

Omega's eye twitched.

"For the last time, STOP MAKING IT SOUND SO VERY, VERY WRONG! Her body's not dead, there's just a new personality in it! Other than that, though..." He recovered his composure.

"I decline."

"Wh...What?" Ibelis jerked, obviously startled by his flat-out rejection. She wasn't the only one.

"Say WHAT?" Celtis' jaw dropped. "Y-you're actually NOT going to pick a fight? You, the king of arrogant stubbornness?"

"Is that what it sounded like?" Omega gave her an innocent look. It was a look that Celtis had come to dread, as any time he used it was immediately followed by VERY BAD THINGS happening to her.

"Uh...um...no...?" she squeaked, desperately backpedaling.

This time was no different.

Omega gave Ibelis a wide smile as his floating gauntlets descended heavily onto his hapless sidekick's shoulders, cutting off her escape.

"I'm sorry, perhaps I should be more specific here. What I mean to say is that I, personally, decline, as I don't much like challenges that don't involve fighting."

"S-so then...wait, what _are_ you trying to say here...?" Ibelis said, giving him an uneasy look.

Celtis felt the gauntlets pushing her forward and she dug her heels in, desperately trying to avoid the new hell Omega was about to drop on her.

"I won't be racing...but that's not to say I won't be represented there!" Omega said nonchalantly."I'll be nominating one of my lackeys for that honor. More specifically..."

He bared his teeth in a smile that caused any small children within six blocks to randomly start crying for no apparent reason.

"...This lackey."

Celtis hung her head as Omega's gauntlets deposited her in front of him.

"I hate you so much right now..." she whined.

* * *

**A/N**:...Ooooookayyyy...I'll be honest, this entire chapter just went in an entirely different direction from where I'd originally planned it to.

Well, by 'plan' here, I'm referring to the vaguely connected series of random events that I have floating around in my head. So yeah, I guess the SERIOUS battle stuff will start late in the next chapter and possibly/probably continue on into the next.

Poor poor Celtis...okay, I actually have to admit that I'm enjoying this. Yes, I'm an evil, evil bastard.

Anyway, for those of you who were wondering whether or not I was going to give you all a little more detail as to who Queenbee's body formerly belonged to, I hope you enjoyed this!

For those who suspected it was Gates' daughter, ooh, sorry, not this time!

And for those of you who were just clamoring for more stuff in general, I hope this fit the bill!

So, what new mayhem is Ace scheming? Who is the mysterious 'Thresher'? What will Celtis' fate be, now that Omega has lobbed her face-first into the spotlight? Will Saber ever stop kicking Omega in the head every time he uses her name as his own?What about Ibelis? Will she join her sort-of-but-not-quite-her-real-sister in the ranks of Omega's harem, or will she have to deal with the business end of his boomstic-I mean, Supreme Buster?

And will the mysterious Colonel and his pyromaniacal, directionally-challenged second in command ever find their way back to Legion City in time to kick ass? Who are they, anyway?

Find out next time, on Meda-God damnit, I did this joke already!

Anyway, I'll catch you guys next time!

More Medabots, more pow-&%^$ GOD DAMN IT.

AGAIN.

Later!

DarkShift Out!


	23. Chapter 22: Complexities of the FFA

**Chapter 22: Complexities of the FFA**

Well, it looks like there might still be a little more talking to go before we really get back into the action, so bear with me for a bit. Remember, I'm trying to juggle a fairly large number of characters now, so using them all will probably take up a lot more wordspace than it used to.

Disclaimer: Megaman is Capcom, I don't own...At least, not yet...MUAHAHAHAHAHA!

By the way, over the course of this whole mess, you MAY want to go out and look up two combat racing games known as Kinetica and Extreme-G. I'll be borrowing a fair amount of stuff from those games, at least with regard to vehicles, so...yeah, might come in handy.

It's not ABSOLUTELY necessary though. Anyhow, ON WITH THE CHAPTER!

* * *

Omega strode out of the alley, one arm draped comfortably over Queenbee's shoulders. Glancing back, he caught sight of Ibelis, who had stepped out to watch them leave, and a wicked thought occurred to him. Relaxing his grip, he let his arm slide down, coming to rest easily around the ex-Pseudoroid's shapely hips.

He was then rewarded by the sight of Ibelis trying to chew through her helmet in rage.

Grinning, he turned his attention forward again, whistling a satisfied tune.

"Sometimes, I just love to be me."

"Yeah, lucky you..." another voice muttered.

On his other side, Celtis looked as though she was walking under a miniature cloud of doom, her shoulders sagging in depression.

"What're you so upset about?" Omega raised an eyebrow. "I should think you'd be happy to have the honor of representing someone as awesome as me!"

Celtis shot him a murderous look.

"You...you...! Argh, just shut up!" She snapped. "Do you have any idea what you've gotten me into?"

"Hmm, lemme think about that for a second-no, not really." Omega replied casually, stretching his free arm.

"If my guess is right, that street race she's talking about is the Legion FFA Rally!"

Omega raised an eyebrow. "The who-to-the-what-now?"

"The FFA Rally. The initials stand for Free-For-All." Celtis explained tiredly. "Like she said, it's a no-holds-barred racing competition, between speed fanatics all over the continent. Once a year, all of the best racers in the world, legal or illegal, gather in Legion City to determine which of them is worthy to be called the fastest or the most dangerous of them all."

The God of Destruction turned his head to face her, an intrigued look crossing his face.

"Dangerous? The fastest part, I can understand. But dangerous?"

"That's right." Celtis replied grimly. "Remember when she said that anything goes in this race? She wasn't kidding. Fighting dirty's the order of the day in that race. Participants build all kinds of nasty weapons and modifications into their vehicles, all of them trying to come up with new ways to take out the competition. They're all issued with a standard shield generator for the race, as a method to sort of even things out, but considering some of the artillery that shows up, that's about as much use as tinfoil armor."

She stopped as she realized Omega and Queenbee were both giving her strange looks.

"Wh-what? Do I have something on my face?"

Omega stared at her for a moment longer before answering.

"Why the hell do you know so much about it? Last time I checked, you were nowhere NEAR to being the kind of person I'd expect to be into racing!"

"Well, Vix usually likes to take part, and I picked up some stuff from Kitara..."Celtis answered casually, before a sudden thought struck her.

"Waitaminute...If you didn't think I was into racing, then what the HELL made you decide to use me as a stand-in?" And as a possible answer dawned on her, she suddenly took a step back, a nervous look on her face.

"This, uh...this isn't like that time you hit me with that eighteen wheeler to see how much damage I could take, is it?"

"You mean yesterday evening? Pshhh, naaaawww..." Omega gave a dismissive gesture. "Don't be ridiculous! That was in the name of SCIENCE!" He struck a determined pose, actually managing to look quite epic for a moment, before resuming his normal demeanor.

"This time, it's just 'cause I like watching you get blown up." He grinned. "...In the name of ENTERTAINMENT!"

He struck another epic pose. Celtis' eye twitched.

"Do you know how much I hate you right now?"

"No, and I can't really say I care either." The God of Destruction yawned.

"So you're willing to throw away the race for the sake of watching me get blown up? You're going to just hand over Queenbee so easily, because of something that petty?"

There was a moment's silence.

Then Celtis gave Omega a resigned look.

"You don't actually plan to hand her over, do you."

"Maaaaaaaybe-okay no." Omega admitted.

"Argh! I can't believe you!" Celtis ranted. "After all of that stuff about doing what you can do and not grieving etc etc, you turn around and pull a total douche move like that!"

"Well obviously."Omega snorted. "Remind me again, why exactly am I supposed to obey the rules of a challenge where my side is the only one at risk?"

"What do you mean?"

Omega gave her an exasperated look, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I'll put it in simple terms so that even _you _can understand." he said condescendingly. "The point of this race is to determine who gets Queenbee, correct?"

"Yeah...?"

There was a long pause.

Both of them looked down at where Queenbe was clinging tightly to Omega's arm, trying to keep as much of her body in contact with her beloved Master as possible. She caught them looking at her, and blinked.

"Umm...is something wrong?"

Omega looked back at Celtis and grinned.

"Why bother going through all that trouble for a prize I already own?"

Celtis stared incredulously at him for a few moments, then opened her mouth to reply.

After several minutes of silence, she closed it again.

"You know, the most frightening part about this is that that actually makes sense." she said finally.

"Yes, yes, I know. I'm a genius." Omega waved dismissively.

"Wait, so in that case, why exactly did they let you walk out of there with her?"

Now it was Omega's turn to stare incredulously at Celtis.

"You're not seriously asking that, are you?"

"Uh, yes?"

He sighed. Wearily, he raised his free hand. A flash of red light, and suddenly the colossal shape of the Supreme Buster was casting a shadow over them.

"Remember this?" Omega asked sarcastically, ignoring the screams of people fleeing from the sudden sight of such a dangerous weapon suddenly appearing out of nowhere.

"Oh yeah..." Celtis sighed, also ignoring the panicking surroundings. "Yyyyyyyeah, that's a pretty good reason."

Another flash, and the massive railgun disappeared again. Omega shoved his free hand back into the pockets of his coat, the other hand preferring to slide down Queenbee's back. Arriving at a nice, soft spot, he tightened his grip and was rewarded by a startled gasp of pleasure from his Pseudoroid servant.

"Do you really have to do that?" Celtis grumbled.

"No, but I can!" Omega replied, continuing his idle caresses. "After all, she's MY prize, aren't you, Queenbee?"

"A-ah...yes...yes Master." Queenbee panted, her body twitching as she tried to keep some kind of control of herself. Ever since that first...kiss...this man had awakened these strange sensations within her, things she had never felt before, when she was only a Pseudoroid. He had taken those feelings and fanned them into life, turning them into a burning ache within her, a heat that swallowed all her logic and reason. That heat had reached its peak the night before, burying her mind under a tidal wave of incredible pleasure. That pleasure had left its mark on her body, the mere touch of her Master enough to make her head spin.

And she found that she rather _liked_ feeling that way, too...

Ignoring the ex-Pseudoroid's perverted fantasizing, Omega and Celtis continued their argument.

"I don't even have anything to race _with_!"

"Oh, please!" Omega shot back. "And that garage behind the cat-girl's place is for what? Breeding dust bunnies?"

"I can't just walk in and borrow one of her vehicles! And definitely not for something like this, where there's a ninety percent chance of me getting it written-off in the most brutal race in the city!"

* * *

"Yeah, sure, no problem!" Kitara grinned. "A couple of my customers got...interrupted by Ace, so their rides got impounded. They're all here, waiting for their check-up, so just pick whichever one you like!"

"GAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Omega threw back his head and laughed, while next to him, Celtis' jaw hung open in slack-jawed disbelief.

"Buh...whu...Say WHAT?" She finally managed. "You're saying I can just..._walk_ _off_ with a whole damn bike and nobody'd care?"

"Well, it's not just bikes, mind you." Kitara said thoughtfully, one finger tapping against her chin. "We've got a few cars in there as well..."

"THAT'S NOT THE POINT HERE!"

"Wait a minute..." The feline mechanic frowned suddenly.

"Why are you suddenly so interested in getting a racer? You usually don't care about this kind of stuff, even when me and Vix tried to get you into it, so why now?"

There was a long pause.

"Welllllll...?" Omega prompted, receiving a Class A death-glare from Celtis.

"_...I'm going to be in the FFA Rally..._"

"Sorry, what was that?" Kitara asked, "You were mumbling so much I couldn't make it out."

"Grrrrr...All right, fine! I'M JOINING THE FFA RALLY, DAMMIT!" Celtis yelled aloud. She rounded on Omega in frustration.

"Happy now?" She growled. "And just so we're clear, I don't care even if it IS just to watch me get blown up! I'm going to try my damnedest to win it, just to wipe that smirk off your face!"

To Celtis' credit, Omega was actually surprised for a few brief moments. Then he recovered, an interested grin spreading across his face.

"Well now, this IS an interesting development...All right then, show me what you can do!"

"I will!" Celtis shot back.

Then she paused, a mortified look appearing on her face.

"Oh gods, I walked RIGHT into this one, didn't I..."

"Hook, line and sinker..." Omega grinned. " I'll admit, I didn't expect you to react to THAT extent, but yeah, I was counting on you 'volunteering' of your own free will. Can't back down now, can you?"

He held up a recorder, clicking off the 'Record' button as he did so.

"Oh, shut up." Celtis grumbled. "And where the hell did you even get that damned recorder anyway?"

A flash of red light, a ripple in the air, and suddenly Omega's hand was empty again. The King of Destroyers gave a grin of satisfaction.

"Gate of Babylon, baby."

* * *

Several blocks away, there was a flash of red light, and the recorder reappeared, only to fall eighty feet to the street below, where it was promptly run over by a road repair crew.

Somewhere in Cyberspace, a red eyed shadow leaned on the armrest of his golden throne, an irritated look on his face.

"Perhaps this will teach that mongrel not to use my exalted treasury as a mere storage room..." he grumbled, summoning another wineglass and a bottle of Chardonnay.

"...Although, those brutalized Mechaniloid carcasses ARE rather tasteful..."

* * *

**Still inside Kitara's shop...**

"A-CHOO!"

Omega sniffed and rubbed his nose. He looked around suspiciously.

"Huh, must be some of the dust in this place getting to me. Anyhow, what were you saying?"

Celtis rolled her eyes. "Never mind. Like I was saying, why the hell do you even carry around a tape recorder anyway?"

He was about to respond, when they were interrupted by a wailing Kitara flying in out of nowhere and tackling Celtis with one of her now-famous glomps.

"WAAAAAAH! My little Celtis is finally growing up!"

"Wh-what the...gah! Leggo! Don't start this crap again, Kitara!"

Omega stared blankly at the two of them as Celtis continued to struggle.

"Okayyyyyy...I'm lost."

Celtis groaned. "She and Vix are both HUGE fans of this racing thing, and have been trying to get me into it for as long as I can remember. Hearing me say that I'm entering the FFA is probably like an early Christmas for her. Argh, get OFF Kitara!"

The mechanic ignored her, continuing her ceaseless tirade of joy. Queenbee stared at the mechanic, a puzzled look on her face.

"Is this...a normal occurrence...?"

"You have nooooo idea." Omega grunted.

"Oh you don't know how long I've waited for this day! At long last, I'll finally be able to have somebody to test out all my new race models! We can form a team with Vix and take on all of the leagues! Oh man, wait till Vix hears about this...!"

"Oh no..." Celtis groaned. "If she's reacting like this, god knows what Vix'll say!"

Suddenly, there was a sound like screeching tires, and the door slammed open.

Vix stood there, her shoulders heaving as she caught her breath, a manic smile on her face.

"Did I hear Celtis say she was competing in the FFA rally?"

"Yes!" Kitara squeaked happily. "Isn't it great?"

Omega stared at Vix.

"...Weren't you over at your place, twelve blocks away?"

Vix looked at him, still grinning.

"...**Yes**."

The God of Destruction felt a bead of sweat slide down his neck.

"Ooooooooookay then..._now_ I'm a little creeped out."

Queenbee gave him an uneasy look. "This...isn't normal behavior, is it...?"

After a few moments of watching Celtis struggle (and fail) to pull off Kitara, Omega shook his head.

"That'd be a no."

"ARGH! For the last time, this is a ONE-TIME thing! Don't put me in the same group as you two nutcases! I'm just doing it as a favor for Saber, dammit!"

"Oh?" Vix gave Omega an approving look. "So you're the one we've got to thank for this good fortune?"

"Yep." Omega grinned, already knowing where this was heading, and making absolutely NO effort to stop it.

Kitara and Vix exchanged looks.

Moments later, Kitara exited the garage, dragging a still-protesting Celtis behind her and making a beeline straight for the section of her warehouse that held her prized racing tech. Behind them, Vix slid the door shut and turned to Omega, licking her lips.

"Now then, where'd we leave off at our last meeting...?" Then she stopped, spotting Queenbee.

"Well, hello there..." She purred. "Aren't you adorable...?"

Queenbee blinked. "Um...am I?"

Vix looked up at Omega with a curious expression.

"Who's she?"

"Name's Vesper. She's a little..._prize_ I picked up on my last job..."

"Uh...hi..." Queenbee said half-heartedly. Vix looked her up and down for a moment, a speculative look on her face, before she finally gave a slight smile.

"My my...Saber's pretty fine, but you're not too bad yourself..."

Queenbee blinked. Omega simply stared.

"Okay...now that is _hot_." he said finally.

Queenbee started as she felt a pair of arms drape around her from behind, a long, sleek fox tail winding its way around her legs. A second Vix leaned her head on the ex-Pseudoroid's shoulder, a seductive look in her eyes.

"If you think that's hot, handsome, wait till you see what else I can do..."

Omega, his hands already full with the first Vix, gave a wicked smile.

"NOW you're speaking my language, baby!"

* * *

**The Guardian Base**

Aile sighed as the elevator doors opened.

"You know, why is it that every time you go missing, I always find you down here?"

She stared out at the mess before her, the wide open area of scrap metal, parked fighters and other such vehicles that occasionally answered to the name of 'the Guardian Base's hangar bay'.

Vent leaned back and wiped spot of grease off his forehead.

"What? You know I hate having to deal with all of the political stuff and the paperwork. Besides, I always screw up our accounts whenever you stick me with 'em anyway."

"So instead you just hide out here and leave me to deal with the day to day running of the base...gee, why does this sound so familiar...?"

Somewhere within Legion HQ, a crimson clad Commander suddenly sneezed.

"Well sorry." Vent shrugged. "But you know what I'm like when it comes to office work. I've always been more of an action kind of guy."

"I guess that's true..."Aile sighed. To be honest, she didn't really mind this setup. She knew that if the work got too strenuous, Vent would step in to help out, even if she hadn't specifically asked him to. Out of the two of them, Vent's forte was more towards combat and action. Sitting down filling out paperwork and dealing with the day-to-day running of the Guardians would drive him nuts before even half an hour had passed. Give him any sort of physical task to do, like help Cedre out with the weapons, or to check out the engineering section for any maintenance, and he'd get it done in a heartbeat. He was the kind of man that always needed to be active, staying on the go as much as possible.

Which is why Aile, the more responsible and less reckless of the two, was the one who usually took care of the other stuff. She was the one who made sure everything aboard the Guardian Base went as smoothly as possible. Ensuring that they were well-supplied, making sure that the various department chiefs had their sections well organized, and in general, just handling the bureaucratic side of things.

After all, being a freelance vigilante group wasn't _all _fun and games.

...Except for that time Vent had practiced dropping rocks over the side of the Base to see if he could nail a Galleon in the head, six thousand feet below. He'd totaled six of them before the Mavericks had remembered that they could shoot upwards.

Yeah, that _had_ been pretty funny. Aile allowed herself a brief smile at the memory, before she returned her attention to the matter at hand.

"All right, locking yourself up in here is one thing, but could you at least keep your comm on you? It's bloody irritating having to walk all the way down here to talk to you in person every time something comes up."

"And I see you managed to 'accidentally' break the intercom again..." she deadpanned, looking at where the hangar's PA speaker hung loosely from the wall, a decent-sized spanner stuck halfway through it.

Vent caught the look she was giving him and shrugged.

"What? It was an accident! My hand slipped, I swear!"

"If this was the first time, I could believe that. But after six replacement speakers, I'm beginning to find that a little hard to believe..."

"Okay, so maybe I go a little overboard, but hey! Whenever you're on your monthly...thing, I leave you alone with your ice-cream and cheesy romance novels, don't I? Cut me some slack here!"

"Hey, that was a cheap shot! I can't help being a girl, can I?" Aile shot back, but she got the point anyway.

"Besides, we both know the only reason you leave me alone is that you're scared of me whenever it's that time of the month..."

"Damn right I am, woman!" Vent swore fervently. "Last time somebody pissed you off, they spent three hours trying to get the poor bastard back out of the air vent!"

"Aw, stop it. You're making me blush." Aile replied dryly. "Anyway, you've been hiding out here more often than usual. What's going on?"

"The FFA Rally, that's what." Vent answered, his voice muffled as he leaned into the cockpit of the machine he was working on.

"Oh no, don't tell me you're still planning to go to that...! Vent, we're supposed to be _stopping _events like this, not COMPETING in them!"

"What's the problem? It's just a bit of fun, that's all. Completely harmless."

"Uh-huh. And concealed weaponry and Raiders started being harmless since WHEN again?"

"Aah, don't worry about it." Vent waved dismissively. "It's all one big neutral ground. Nobody's gonna try to pull anything stupid like that." He paused for a moment. "Well, unless it takes out the racer ahead of 'em, I guess."

"And that's not likely, is it."

"Okay, so it's not all THAT peace-loving, but come on! If it wasn't for everyone getting to blow off their steam in that race, you and I both KNOW that they'd find other ways to let it off." Vent countered. "They way it is now, they spend most of their time and effort getting ready for this race, and therefore have less time to spend on going out on rampages through Legion and causing more headaches for us."

"But then they put ALL of that aggression into the FFA!" Aile shot back. "Look at the reports from the last few years! The previous four Rallies have casualty and fatality numbers that make most _battlefields_ look healthy by comparison!"

"And that's EXACTLY why I need to be there."

Vent's calm response was enough to bring Aile to a halt, surprise written over her features.

"What?"

"Think about it." He explained. "I'm the leader of the Guardians. My presence alone should be enough to put a dent in the amount of violence that goes on."

"W-well...Last year's race _did_ have a significant decrease from the previous ones, and that was the first time you entered..."Aile admitted.

"Exactly." Vent said, grinning. "After all, what better place to stop trouble than from within their own ranks?"

Aile sighed.

"Somehow, I had a feeling you'd say that...Well..." she shrugged, "Don't say I didn't warn you, but you might want to take a look at this first..."

She held out a sheaf of papers, held together by a paperclip.

"What is it?" Vent asked, taking the papers and flipping through them.

"It's a layout of this year's course."

Vent's eyes narrowed as he read through the printed maps. The goal of the race was simple: Get from Point A to Point B as quickly as possible, with bonus points for any other competitors that were...'removed' through your own methods. The course changed every year, and the route was usually posted in the darker, seedier areas of the online forums a few days before the race. The reason for all this secrecy?

In two words: Ace Phoenix.

The legendary commander of Legion's Security forces, the Scarlet Phoenix ruled over the city with an iron fist, crashing down _hard_ on anyone found guilty of illegal activities. He wasn't _completely_ merciless though, and, depending on the situation, had even been known to let an offender off with no more than a warning, if he deemed that the situation warranted it. However, for something as blatant as the FFA Rally, in which participants shot, stabbed, blew up, or just plain road-killed one another as a matter of course, there would be no such mercy forthcoming.

As a result of the secrecy, the only thing that the scarlet-clad Commander knew for certain, was the general time frame during which the Rally would take place. That range was of about fourteen days. Somewhere within that range, the three hour race would be held, and it was up to the Commander to figure it out. With such a scarce amount of information, even the numerous garrisons of troops at Ace's command would never be enough, not when the area to be locked down was a city the size of Legion. Even with his forces spread as widely as possible, scattered throughout Legion City, Ace would never be able to successfully block the race, the organizers shifting the course to best take advantage of the holes in his network, gaps that you could drive a whole phalanx through with ease.

And considering the sheer number of competitors in the race, a phalanx would probably have been smaller.

As a result, most of the time, the race courses were extremely haphazard, routes filled with zig-zags, switchbacks and various other forms of hectic detours. Not only that, but each race was usually composed of several separate routes, alternate ones that racers could switch to and from, in case some unforeseen obstacle appeared in their path, or if they simply wanted to shake off a particularly persistent pursuer.

All of this lead to one twisted, convoluted mess of a course, one that could easily provide any number of ways to slip past the Security troops. It was all up to the competitor to decide when and where to change course, figuring out the best possible route to take out of all of the available options and navigating their way through the complex maze successfully in order to win..

This time though...

Vent stared down at the maps, his face unreadable as he continued to flip through them.

These Security roadblocks...they were laid down with almost surgical precision, in locations where the only options available were for the entire course to avoid them completely, changing direction to keep the racers from coming into detection range of the troops that would be manning the roadblocks.

A left here, a right there, a hairpin turn there, then...Vent stopped, a wary look crossing his face. For over half the course, Legion Security blockades were everywhere, closed in tightly around the supposedly safe route of the race. Then after that, they just sort of...fell away, little more than one or two of them every six blocks, scattered in an almost haphazard arrangement. He looked back at the highly concentrated area of roadblocks, a lone suspicion beginning to form in his mind.

It was as though they had been placed there to _deliberately_ limit the possible directions that the Rally could go.

In other words...

"Son of a bitch...!" Vent breathed. "He's controlling the race course! He's forcing the organizers to detour around his blockades, going exactly the way he wants them to!"

"That's what I thought too." Aile nodded. "But for that to work, Ace'd have to at least know where the starting point of the race is, and that was only chosen three days ago! And it was only sent out to competitors! There's no _way_ Ace could have managed to get his hands on information like that in such a short space of time."

There was a pause.

"...Right?"

The two of them stared at one another for a moment.

Then for a second, they both saw a mental image of a pink clad demoness with green hair, and a madly laughing, gold haired maniac in a scarlet business suit.

"..."

"..."

"...I'll just go and put the Base on full alert, then, shall I?" Aile said quickly, heading for the door.

"Yyyyyyeah, that sounds like a good idea. And while you're at it, get Cedre down here."

Vent turned to look back at his vehicle, a brooding look on his face.

"I think I'm gonna need a looooooot more guns on this thing..."

* * *

Celtis sighed as she heard the door hiss open.

"Nice of you to finally join us, Casanova." she growled.

Omega, for of course it was he, gave an arrogant smile of self satisfaction, adjusting his slightly disheveled clothes.

"Good to be back." He replied airily, smoothing back his unruly white mane as he did so. "So, what'd I miss?"

Celtis opened her mouth for another sarcastic retort, but stopped as she realized something was off.

"Hey...where's Queenb-uh, I mean, Vesper?" Mentally, Celtis groaned. Great, yet _another_ name she had to hide from her friends!

"And for that matter, where's _Vix?_" she added, a suspicious look on her face.

Omega blinked and looked around at the empty spaces next to him where his girls should have been, before his face lit up in recollection.

"Oh yeah! Yeah, uh, they might be a little while longer..." He smirked. "That foxgirl friend of yours seems to have taken a real liking to that new servant of mine. She said she wanted a little extra 'fun time' with her before she came back, so I decided to head over here."

Both Kitara and Celtis groaned aloud.

"You know, somehow I'm not surprised in the slightest." Celtis sighed. "You know, if it wasn't for the fact that we _already_ tried to cure that nymphomania of hers, I'd say it was high time we tried it now."

"Oh, I don't know about that..."Kitara frowned thoughtfully. "Remember what made us think we needed to try to cure her the _first _time?"

Celtis considered that for a moment.

"Okay, you've got a point there. This time's not _nearly_ as bad."

Omega stared at the two of them blankly. He'd noticed it before during his earlier encounters with these three girls, but now it was even more apparent. None of them seemed to be even the slightest bit bothered by Vix's rather...amorous tendencies, a point made only more bizarre by both the fact that Vix was not only blatantly obvious about it, but also that she seemed to like her girls just as much as she liked her guys!

You have to admit, most friends would probably be a liiiiittle bit more...uncomfortable with that. And yet, here these two were talking about it just as easily as if they were discussing the weather!

Upon his raising the question, both Celtis and Kitara looked at Omega for a moment, and then at each other with a grin.

"Well, we're not exactly what you'd call 'most friends'." Kitara smiled.

"For one thing, the three of us grew up together. We're more like unofficial sistersthan anything else." Celtis went on. "And besides, we've all got our own obsessions. I like money and Hunting, Kitara lives for her machines, and Vix...well, she's addicted to sex and weapons."

She shrugged. "It's just seems...stupid, to throw twenty years of friendship and trust out over something silly like that. I mean, we try and help out every now and then, and intervene if things get _really_ serious with one of us, but other than that...hey, live and let live."

"Yep!" Kitara smiled. "Generally, we just try to stay on the..._mostly_ straight and narrow path. Not quite on it, but not quite falling off of it either."

Celtis gave Omega a knowing look. "I think you should probably be familiar with _that,_ at least."

"Heh...you might be right there..." Omega gave a slight smirk and looked away, the ghosts of his Hachishinkan days flitting past him once more. But the difference between his camaraderie, and that of Celtis and her two 'sisters', was that for him, his own had been marred with the grim specter of Weil. He hadn't really given them much of a choice in determining their paths, whether they were straight and narrow, or wide and winding. He had plunged them into the abyss, using them as nothing more than his tools for destruction, his mad revenge against a world that had cast him out.

Omega rested one hand on his hip as he stared over at where Celtis and Kitara were having a friendly argument over whose vices had gotten the three of them into the most trouble, an unreadable expression on his face.

No...their...'family', for lack of a better word, was nothing like his own. Then again, this whole world was nothing like the one he had left behind. The warring world of 22XX, a savage mayhem of blood and carnage and violence, had given way to this, a world in which even a legendary demon like himself could walk in the light of day.

...Well, almost. He _was _still hiding under the alias of 'Saber', ( a fact which the 'real' Saber was all too keen to remind him of) but the fact that he could walk around in public without people recognizing him by looks alone had to qualify for SOMETHING, right?

I mean, come on, who in their right mind could forget this much manliness, sex appeal AND badassity (was that even a word?) in one convenient (and drop dead handsome) package?

Omega shook his head slightly, to dislodge his temporary ego trip, a constant hazard when you were THIS awesome, and looked across at Celtis and Kitara again.

And for a moment, he felt something close to envy flit across the empty wasteland that might have been the God of Destruction's heart.

He stood there for a minute more, before he closed his eyes and gave a rueful smile.

"Some things just aren't meant to be, I guess..." He murmured.

And then it was past him. That one moment of weakness, a faltering in the invincible soul of the man called Omega, was gone, locked away once more behind the blazing passion and boundless drive that were his very existence.

"All right, that's enough character development out of the lot of you!" He clapped his armored hands together, the sound of clashing metal dispelling the casual atmosphere immediately. Once more, Kitara was the racing fanatic, and Celtis was the reluctant receiver of her attentions.

"So, what'd I miss?" Omega asked, repeating the question he'd asking upon returning from his tryst with Vix. And Queenbee. AND Vix's second body. _All at the same time_, too.

...DAMN that had been good!

He grinned for a moment at the recollection of the lascivious sounds the three girls had made under his _expert_ attentions, before continuing on with the task at hand.

"Well, I'm not really sure how much to tell you..." Kitara scratched her head, worried. "For one thing, I didn't think you were going to be competing yourself, mister Saber."

Omega gave a slight twitch as he felt the now-familiar wave of annoyance from the Saber locked inside his mind. Or the Zweihander. WHATEVER!

Ignoring it, he maintained his composure and went on.

"Humor me." He suggested. "You never know when this stuff might come in helpful."

Celtis blinked. Was he actually...taking an interest in this whole mess after all?

"...Plus, green-hair over there's a bit dense at the best of times, so it probably wouldn't hurt to repeat it for her again."

'_Nnnnnnnnope he's still a bastard._' Celtis thought darkly, shooting a dirty look over at the still-smirking God of Destruction.

"Well, she's always been a bit hazy about paying attention to details, so you might have a point there..." Kitara said thoughtfully.

"JUST WHOSE SIDE ARE YOU ON ANYWAY?"

"Whichever side ends with you racing, of course!"

Omega rolled his eyes and pulled up a chair. Dropping down into it, he kicked his legs up onto the edge of a nearby workbench. Rocking his seat back slightly, he folded his arms and gave Kitara an expectant look.

"Well, we've got another two days, so I've got time to spare anyway. Start over again from the beginning, and give me everything you've got."

Kitara heaved a sigh. "It's a good thing I only just started going over this with Celtis...Means I don't have to repeat as much stuff. Anyway..."

And so she launched into her lecture.

"All right then, the first thing you need to know are the various classes of vehicle used by competitors! There's only two major categories, which may seem fairly simple at first, but trust me, they're PLENTY complicated once you get into it."

"The two main categories are TW(Two Wheel) and FW(Four Wheel), or in dumbed down terms, Bikes and Cars. The FW section, of course, refers to pretty much anything on four wheels. In terms of the FFA, vehicles in this category tend to focus more on firepower and armor, since let's face it, you can fit a lot more of both on a car than on a bike. They're sort of like the tanks of the competition. Whereas the TW section is obviously for bikes, which tend to rely more on speed and maneuverability than their heavier FW counterparts."

"Can't you figure out a way to combine both?" Omega grunted.

"Some racers have found ways around it, yes." Kitara admitted, "But that's besides the point here. Despite the rather loose definitions of what defines a TW or a FW, there are still limitations on the type of vehicle you can bring. Anything over a certain size or a certain weight is declared unacceptable, and also anything that's been built specifically with a military purpose in mind."

"So no tanks, Omega!" Celtis shot him a pointed look. The God of Destruction rolled his eyes and gestured to Kitara to continue.

"Although they do allow certain Mechaniloids in from time to time." She added. "Anyway, in the FW class there're several sub-classes, such as the Muscle, which specializes in sheer horsepower, or the Exotic, which is all about style. But none of that's important right now!" She flailed her hands in the air.

"Cars are so...everyday!" She said exasperatedly. "My specialty lies in the TW section of things!"

Omega perked up a bit at that. Ah, finally they were getting to the important part!

"The TW category's got three main classes of bike in it: The Kinetic Suit, X-G or the XGRA models."

"Waitwaitwait...Kinetic _Suit_?" Omega stopped her with one hand. "What the hell? I thought you said these were bikes? What is that, a bike you wear or something?"

"Yes, actually."

Omega turned slightly to look back at the door, to see Vix leaning suggestively against the doorframe.

"Oh, it's you. Finished up with my servant yet?"

The vulpine weapons-dealer straightened up and sauntered into the room, her hips swaying attractively with each step.

"No, not juuuuust yet, I'm afraid." She smiled. "I just thought it'd be more fun to catch up with you lot at the same time."

Omega raised an eyebrow.

"You're not the real Vix, are you."

"Can't fool you, can I, Saber?" She smiled. "Nope, this body here's just my clone. The real me is still back in the garage, enjoying some _very_ tasty nectar."

Vix gave Omega an approving look.

"That is one _spicy_ piece of tail you picked up, I'll give you that." She purred, "I haven't had one that hot since..."She paused, a mischievous smile crossing her face. "Well, if it's girls we're talking about...not since Ashe."

Omega stared at her for a full minute as his brain turned over that last statement in his head.

And boy, did he like what he saw!

"When this is over, you are SO giving me a play by play rundown of that."

"Uh...excuse me?" Kitara waved her hand impatiently. "I'm still talking here...!"

"Oh, right..."Omega winced. "My bad...I guess. You were saying?"

"I was talking about Kinetic Suits." Kitara sighed. "In a way, they're exactly what they sound like."

"...A bike you can wear?"

"NO!" She snapped, annoyed. "Wait...yes! But...no...Argh, it's best if you just see for yourself."

She gave Vix an imploring glance.

"You've got it on you, right?"

"Of course." Vix sniffed. "How else did you think I got here so fast?"

Reaching into one of her pockets, she drew out a strange looking glove. It covered the whole hand, except for her index finger, and was wound around in several places by reinforced bands. But the centerpiece of this design was the familiar glowing blue circle of crystal on the back of it.

Omega raised an eyebrow. No question about it, it was a miniaturized trans-server, just like the ones she had first sold him during their first meeting. But what was she going to pull out of that...?

...Nothing, as it turned out.

Instead, she tapped it once, and the trans-server glowed to life. The air around her crackled, her hair floating upwards as static lightning danced through the room. White light appeared around her, slowly forming into recognizable shapes as they attached themselves to her body. Omega squinted as the glare grew even brighter, his ears twitching as he heard the familiar sounds of metal plates interlocking. There wasn't a single doubt in his mind as to what he was witnessing. He'd seen a similar sight one too many times before to mistake it for anything else. Unlike weapon summoning, this was a whole different ball-game.

This was armor summoning. It wasn't quite on the level of say, cheap bastards like X, but it was a bit closer to what Flizard and the other Hachishinkan were capable of.

As the light faded, Omega found his assumptions vindicated. He stared at Vix's new appearance, intrigued.

It looked as though his guess of a bike you could wear wasn't all that far off.

Vix's shoulders and chest were now covered in a streamlined steel carapace, which tapered down to a point just above her navel. On her back, the armor ended in a concave curve just below her shoulder blades. Her upper arms were now locked within long rounded plates of armor, both of which possessed a large, curved, flattened shoulder guard with a segmented horizontal joint across the middle, while the rest of her arms were covered in a narrow, sleek looking set of full-length gauntlets beneath it.

Her midsection was bare, from just above her navel to halfway down her toned thighs. All she wore around her rounded hips was what seemed to the lower half of a bikini, or at least a sport modified version of one.

As for her legs, they were armored in a similar way to her two arms. Beginning from midway along her thighs, and with armored knee-pads similar to her shoulder guards, they completely covered the rest of her legs, encasing them in streamlined steel boots, the ends of which looked as though they had been specially modified to resemble high heels.

Vix struck a pose, showing off her new appearance.

"So, what do you think?"

Omega raised one eyebrow as he ran his eyes over her. He paused for a minute to enjoy the sight of her smooth, hourglass-curved waist, before he went on.

"Well, it's certainly exotic, I'll say that much." He said eventually. Now he knew just WHY it was that Kitara hadn't been able to properly agree or disagree with his guess.

Mounted on the inside of each of the suit's ankles was a single, large wheel, just big enough that the radius from the center of it, which was pretty much the ankle itself, reached halfway up her calf. What Omega did notice, however, was a distinct lack of any sort of spokes on it, connecting the circular wheel to the central hub.

And yet Vix still stood there, all of her weight resting on the tires, with the soles of her actual boots well clear of the ground. There was only the faintest dip as she shifted her weight slightly, the only clue that an antigravity generator was at work supporting her.

Not only there, but on her hands as well. On the inside of each palm, a similar setup had been arranged, only in this case, the wheels had been arranged so that the ends of Vix's armored fingers could press on the circumference of the wheel, which led Omega to believe that it was probably the way this suit braked.

Vix spun on one wheel, pirouetting slightly so that Omega could get a full view. Standing up like that, she moved like an ice skater, gliding across the ground with almost no effort. It was quite an impressive piece of technology, he had to admit. And on all fours, with four independent wheels, plus the natural flexibility and range of motion of your own body, something like this suit would give you one KICKASS edge on the track!

Not to mention that in this case, where the track would the narrow/twisting/complicated roads of Legion City, a suit like this would probably give you the same amount of speed as a regular bike, but with WAY more maneuverability and a much greater degree of control.

Of course, there was the obvious problem of how abso-freakin-lutely SUICIDAL you had to be to race in something that looked that unsafe.

But, this WAS Omega. 'Life-threatening' was something that happened to other people, whereas it was more of a description when applied to him.

"I noticed you lost the tail and ears, Foxy." He commented dryly.

Vix concentrated for a moment, and then her distinguishing Kitsune-type features reappeared.

"I don't usually like to keep them out when I'm racing in this." she admitted. "My tail causes too much drag and my ears can't fit in the helmet, so for the most part, I just hide them." She flashed him a coy smile.

"It's one of the perks of being a Kitsune-type."

Omega simply shrugged. "Hey, I'm not complaining."

_It just means I get a nice clear view of that rear of yours_, he didn't say aloud.

_I know_, came Vix's equally unspoken reply, a teasing glint in her eyes.

Kitara cleared her throat loudly, giving them both an irritated look.

"If you two are quite _finished_ undressing each other with your eyes..." She waited expectantly for their attention once more, while Celtis stifled a grin. Despite Kitara's almost schoolgirl crush on Omega, and her apparent inability to even say more than two words to him without stammering, once she got into her racing/machine-freak mode, it was a whoooole other story!

"Now, as I was saying, there are the Kinetic Suits. As you can see, they basically use the human body as a vehicle, allowing for a much greater degree of maneuverability, which is a big advantage in the FFA. Of course, because they're mostly so light, well...there's not much they can do in the way of serious offense."

"Unless of course, you're using one of the heavier models!" Vix chimed in. "Those are built along entirely different designs from these. It basically just turns your entire lower body into something close to a full bike. Your legs stay inside of the chassis, but your upper body stays upright, sort of like in a kayak. And since your arms are now free, most of the racers that use that model go in for augmented gauntlets and the like. They might not have much in the way of projectile firepower, but take it from me,"She winced slightly, "A punch from one of those bruisers'll knock you clear through a building! And don't get me _started_ on when they try to sideswipe you!"

Kitara sighed.

"Yeah, their skill lies mostly in melee combat, and everything else is in speed. They've got a sort of EMP burst attack that hits everything around them for some form of ranged attack, but that only slows down the opponents. Other than that, they've just got boosts, and stupidly powerful ones at that."

"There's nothing quite like blasting down the course at three hundred miles per hour with the road less than a few inches away from your body..." Vix sighed happily.

"Buuuuut despite that, somehow I don't think that's what Celtis is looking for in a vehicle..."

Celtis managed a forced smile.

"Let's try something a little less...high-risk, shall we?"

Vix shrugged.

"Suit yourself."

Kitara's eyes lit up as she moved onto her specialty.

"All right, now for the XG and XGRA categories! Both of these are bikes, and are similar in many ways, but share a relationship with each other that's a lot like the different Kinetic Suit models."

"The XG models were the first wave. They were the TW class' answer to the tank-like capabilities of the FW class. Fully armored, and with a completely enclosed cockpit that let the rider ride from more _inside_ of the bike than actually on it, the XG models are the heaviest of the TW classes, and are probably the safest. They've got a WHOLE lot of weapon options available to them, most of which can be switched with each other during the race. Hunter Missiles, Minelayers, Mortars, Shields...the list goes on. XG models hit hard, and can take a lot more punishment than anything else in their category, outclassing even some of the FWs in that regard."

"I like that idea." Celtis spoke up quickly "_Especially_ that part about taking a lot of punishment! I'll take one of those!"

Kitara and Vix exchanged looks.

"Sorry, but...not a chance."

"Wh-what?" Celtis' jaw dropped. "What do you mean, 'not a chance'?"

"To be honest, Celtis, you've got the attention span of a chipmunk. There's NO way you'd be able to divide your attention between controlling and switching weapons, and watching where you're going."

"Yeah." Vix admitted guiltily. "Sorry, but you'd crash and burn before you even made it to the first corner."

"Gee, thanks, guys..."Celtis grumbled. "Your confidence in me is touching, really."

Kitara gave a sheepish shrug. "Well, it IS true, you know..."

"Argh, fine, whatever!" Celtis huffed. "Just get to the point already! Since I'm apparently 'not qualified enough' to drive an XG model, and I'm not nutty enough to use a Kinetic Suit, I _assume_ that means I'm going to get stuck with an XGRA model, right?"

"Yep! And it just so happens that I've got one right here!"

Kitara turned and hit the large freight container behind her with an expertly aimed kick. In response, several locks around its frame disengaged, allowing the entire side wall of it to fall outwards. It hit the ground with a heavy clang, kicking up a cloud of dust with the impact.

What lay inside, however, quickly left that noisy entrance forgotten.

A white bike, streamlined and low to the ground, stood there, balancing perfectly on its two wheels. The front of it was arrowhead shaped, sloping smoothly upwards to form the windshield, and extending almost halfway back over the cockpit. And it _was _a cockpit. Unlike a normal bike's seating arrangement, this one was sunken in, and molded to the body of the bike. In other words, the rider didn't actually sit on the bike as lie on it, hunkering down behind the windshield to create a completely streamlined profile, minimizing the drag from wind resistance.

Omega's eyes narrowed as he realized where he'd seen this arrangement before.

"This is the type of model Ibelis was riding...!"

He looked up surprised. Celtis was staring at the bike, a worried look on her face. Amazingly, it seemed as though even she had recognized it. Perhaps she wasn't such a lost cause after all...

"Ibelis?"Kitara spoke up, a suddenly intent look on her face. "You mean Ibelis Royale?"

"What...? U-um, yeah, why? You know her?"

Kitara and Vix both shook their heads. "Only by reputation, and none of that's very good."

"She's got a reputation as one of the best racers in all of Legion, a title only further confirmed by her winning the FFA last year. She plays by the book most of the time, but when she steps outside the rules of the game, she does it in a BIG way. She plays fast and hard in her races, and demolishes anyone who tries playing dirty right from the get-go. Sure, she breaks the rules too, every now and then, but in her case, that's just good competition. She usually rides a modified XGRA, with armor and weapons ratings close to that of an XG model."

"But that was before she lost her sister." Vix sighed. Celtis suddenly stiffened. Did Vix know what Ibelis' sister had looked like? If that was the case, then she might have recognized Queenbee!

"Sh-she had a sister? Really?" Celtis managed, forcing nonchalance.

"Yeah, Vesper Royale was her name." Vix nodded. "She was a bit of a celebrity on the track, since she almost never took her helmet off. There isn't a single full picture of her face out there because of that. And then..."

Her face fell.

"Well, no-one really knows what happened. Only rumors surround her last run. Some say she raced against a Maverick, a speed demon that challenges the fastest racers. It was a serious possibility at the time, as ther had been numerous reports of the same kind of thing happening, but...well, we don't know for sure. Whatever it was that happened, it seriously injured her, more than likely taking her out of racing forever."

"Then what happened?" Omega cut in, an unusually steely look in his eyes.

"...Um...according to the reports..." Kitara said hesitantly, "She died of her injuries in the hospital."

"...I see." Omega said stiffly, his eyes narrowing. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Celtis' eyes widen slightly in surprise, before she managed to hide it again. She was learning fast, he had to admit. Maybe she WOULDN'T be as slow an understudy as he'd thought.

But to the heart of the matter, it appeared as though the whole mess with the real Vesper had been quickly and efficiently buried. Omega had a good idea just WHO it was responsible for such a fast cover-up, hiding her kidnapping and subsequent murder at the hands of a rogue mad scientist. It did, however, seem as though he'd caught a bit of a lucky break as well, since the real Vesper's face hadn't been all that well known.

Not to mention that with the outlandish scars and now-tanned features (a difference Omega had noticed between her and Vesper's twin Ibelis), it was unlikely that anyone would be able to draw the connection between Queenbee's alias and the real Vesper. They were just two, FAR too different individuals now, even though technically Queenbee WAS using the same body.

No doubt about it, Ace had moved FAST on this one.

"I see..."Omega muttered, before allowing an evil smile to spread across his face again.

"Well then...I'd say you guys have your work cut out for you, then."

Both weapons dealer and mechanic stared blankly at him.

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Omega's evil smile widened.

"See, Arcana here's decided that she's going into that race to BEAT Ibelis Royale."

Kitara and Vix's heads turned to Celtis, who was frantically making signals to Omega to SHUT UP.

And they both smiled.

"I've been wanting to try out that heavy duty training regimen I found the other day..." Vix grinned.

"You go do that!" Kitara smirked. "I'll go see if I can get us a track to use for training!"

_'A chance to take down the Royale reign...and we'd be responsible! Ohhhh man, this is the single greatest moment of my life!'_ Both girls thought, stars dancing in their eyes.

"Well, no time to waste!" Vix seized the back of Celtis' collar, stopping her furtive bid to escape, and charged off, dragging the hapless Hunter behind her. "We've only got two days to train a wreck like you up to pro material, so we've gotta make every second count! I'm thinking maybe a few hours of weight-lifting, some reflex training...ooh! And of course hour after hour of driving lessons on the track! Oh, this is going to be so much fun!"

Lost in her manic planning, Vix didn't notice Celtis digging her nails into the ground, in a desperate attempt to stop being dragged off by the race-crazy foxgirl.

And then Celtis saw Omega waving cheerfully after.

"Have fun!"

His only response from Celtis was another wonderfully expressive hand gesture, which unfortunately caused her to lose her grip on the floor, returning her to her previously scheduled appointment with doooooooooooom.

"Why does this crap keep on happening to meeeee?" she wailed, before the door slammed shut behind her.

Omega sighed happily, alone in the shop. "Y'know, it's moments like these that make life worth living."

"Is that so...?" A new voice purred. Omega opened one eye, immediately recognizing the sibilant tones.

"Yo, snakey. Didn't know you were back in town."

There was a rustling overhead, and the unmistakably serpentine figure of Syrene Nagato descended towards him. The Emerald Queen of Raiders, she was still as formidable as ever, save for her current affections towards Omega. Which, considering the sultry tone in her voice when she spoke to him, didn't seem likely to fade any time soon.

Not that he minded in the least, of course.

"Normally, I wouldn't be. But...I've heard some very interesting rumors about the FFA that's coming up that I figured you might really be interested in, so I came in person."

Omega gave her a calculating look. The FFA again...why was it that only now, all of these strange new things were popping up, all of them intertwined with that damned race somehow! First Ibelis, then Vesper, and now...whatever Syrene was going to tell him as well!

He was actually beginning to regret his decision to let Celtis race it for him. It was actually beginning to sound like a hell of a lot of fun!

Then he remembered that he'd already walked off with the 'grand prize', and suddenly everything was right with the world once again.

"All right, so what've you got?"

Syrene held up one finger teasingly.

"Ah-ah-ah...Payment first, if you don't mind..."

Omega smiled humorlessly.

"Sorry, but you'll get your payment once I've decided how useful this intel of yours is."

Syrene pouted.

"Aw, you're no fun...come on, just a little bit...?"

BONK!

"Ow!" The Emerald Queen rubbed her sore head. "What was that for?"

"That..." Omega replied easily, "was to knock that libido of yours down a few notches so you could give me the damn intel already!"

"Fine then..." she grumbled, before turning serious again.

" There's word of something weird going on in this year's Rally. Legion Security's out in force this time, and they seem to be a lot more well-informed than they normally are. Not only that, but the area that the Rally will be running through is rumored to be home to a dangerous group of Mavericks, a group that's taken control of that entire territory. Because of that, a lot of the lower-ranked racers are dropping out of the Rally. There's nothing but top-grade fighters in there now, and all of them are reportedly bringing in a LOT more firepower than they usually do."

"...And?" Omega prompted.

"Well...it's like Legion Security itself is getting ready for something big, like they expect something major to happen during that race. No-one seems to know anything specific, but that's the general vibe so far."

"I see..." Omega murmured. He stared up at the ceiling, his arms folded as he leaned back, a thoughtful look on his face as he contemplated this new information.

"Hmm...This whole FFA thing might turn out to be a bit more interesting than I thought...But what to do about it...?" He mused aloud, looking around the room idly.

Then his gaze fell on something in the corner of Kitara's workroom. A shroud-covered figure, half hidden behind a pile of other parts and spare pieces of other vehicles. Intrigued, he strode over to it. Regarding it curiously for a moment, he lifted one corner of the tarp and peered under it.

* * *

On her way to see about finding a decent space for Celtis to learn racing, Kitara felt her earpiece buzz, signaling an incoming call.

Surprised, she answered it.

"Hello?...Saber? But...I never gave you my number-! How-?"

She stopped, listening.

"You're interested in that old thing? Really? Wow, I never expected you to be interested in something like that! I mean, if you want it, sure, go ahead, but I don't think you'll be able to do much with it...even I haven't been able to get it working, or even finished for that matter!"

Another pause.

"Well, if you say so... But I don't really feel all that comfortable selling it off to you...I mean, it's not like I can put a legitimate price on something that might never work, so-"

She stopped, and then went bright red as she heard his response.

"Wha-wha-wha...n-no, I couldn't do that!" She hesitated, twiddling her fingers together shyly. "W-well...I _could_, b-but...I mean-! Hey wait, what do you mean 'it's settled then!' ? Wait-!"

The buzzing dialtone was her only response. Kitara simply stood there for a moment, completely bewildered by the rapid turn of events.

"What the...he just hung up!"

And then a few minutes later, when her brain had caught up:

"W-Wait...d-did he just get me to sell him that old thing for...for...!"

She went a brilliant shade of red, a puff of steam rising from her head as she overheated with embarrassment.

* * *

Back in the machine shop, Omega clicked his comms' line off again and grinned, tossing the tarp back over his new toy.

"O-kay then..." he said, a devious glint in his eyes as he turned back to Syrene. "Looks like I'll be needing your talents for a bit longer."

The Emerald Queen merely huffed.

"Very well, but I still at least expect to get paid! I AM still trying to run a business here."

The God of Destruction rolled his eyes, "Fine, here." He tossed a card over to her.

"That should be enough to cover the cost of hiring you again. Now are you interested?"

Syrene stared at the card, as her analysis of its contents came back.

"For pay like this, I'm MORE than interested. What do you need?"

"First of all, I'm going to need you to get your hands on the layout of that race."

Syrene nodded. "I think I know where I can get that. Shouldn't be too hard."

"Good." The God of Destruction murmured, and turned to look at the vehicle in front of him.

"And then...I'm going to need you to track down some parts for me..."

* * *

Alone in his office, high above the city, Ace stared out at the sunset-lit city, the red-orange glow of the fading day casting harsh shadows across his features.

"You're not getting away, this time, Thresher..." He growled. "Every single one of our past clashes, you've managed to escape me. But not this time!"

He clenched his fist, silhouetted in the bloody sunset.

"You're going DOWN!"

As if in response to Ace's unheard challenge, deep within the shadows of the Maverick controlled district, a strange, spectral machine revved its engine, it's eerie, echoing metallic howl resonating with its murderous yellow gaze.

* * *

A/N: And so the day of the infamous FFA Rally draws ever nearer. All of these different souls, all seeking to enter it for different reasons...

Celtis, to prove something to Omega, and to herself.

Ibelis Royale, to protect and retrieve her fallen sister's legacy.

Vent of the Guardians, to keep the peace.

Vix, for...the hell of it, mostly.

And two others, both seeking not to compete, but to instead use this as nothing more than a means to an end.

Ace Phoenix, the mysterious Scarlet Commander, who aims to use it to somehow deal with an unknown Maverick threat, one called 'Thresher'.

And Omega, the God of Destruction, whose motives remain unclear, as do any and all of his plans for this race.

Will he race, or does he have something else in mind for his new prize...?

Only time will tell...

See you then!

Later!

DarkShift Out!


	24. Chapter 23: SHOWTIME!

**Chapter 23: SHOWTIME!**

Disclaimer: ...Honestly, do I even need to keep doing this? I think you've got the point by now!

Well, here it is, the long awaited beginning of the battle of the FFA! Enjoy the show!

* * *

It was night-time in the city of Legion. The streets of the city were quiet, even the most hardcore of night-time partygoers and other such denizens of the dark hours having retreated to the safety of indoors.

The air over the city was heavy with expectation, Legion itself holding its collective breath in anticipation of the event that was to take place on this night.

The FFA Rally.

A brutal, no-holds-barred race through the streets of Legion, the FFA was simply a demolition derby hidden behind the mask of a street race. What would be fighting dirty in any other race was considered as merely good sportsmanship in this one. No weapon was considered illegal, as it was almost impossible to categorize any of the random, haphazard things that passed for weapons in this race. Lost Technology or modern technology, military-spec or civilian-spec, there was no difference. Once the person on the receiving end was in worse shape as a result of being hit with it, it qualified as a weapon.

A gathering of the greatest drivers the world over, it was the race that determined who would be the best of them all.

...and also who would survive to make it to next year's Rally, but let's not get into that...

In the main warehouse of an abandoned industrial estate, Celtis Gisborne-Wingates Arcana, possibly the only racer here against her will, stared out over the mass of humans and Reploids that made up the competitors of this year's FFA Rally.

With still some time to go before the race began, the racers were taking the opportunity to scope out the competition, or to simply hang out with a few friendly rivals, some of whom hadn't seen each other since the last race. An abandoned facility like this made for the perfect starting point, as the large amount of clutter and rusted metal overhead meant that Ace's overhead surveillance, satellite or otherwise, wouldn't be able to spot them.

Hence the carefree attitude of everyone here, Celtis decided.

One or two had drifted past her parking spot, curious as to who the newcomer was. She had actually been familiar with several of them, fellow Hunters who she never would have expected to be involved in something like this. Vix, on the other hand, had gotten _quite_ a few visitors already, and not all of them were male either. She had disappeared with her latest catch again, no doubt going off to enjoy the lucky guy or girl in a more private location.

She sighed and rubbed a hand across her eyes. One of these days they were _really_ going to have to find a way to curb Vix's sexual appetite...

Unfortunately, Celtis thought ruefully, it seemed the one thing that could take her friend's mind off of getting laid was training her for the FFA.

Vix had been utterly _merciless _in training Celtis over the last two days, tutoring her in the fine art of learning to race. Kitara had been no better, as whenever she wasn't training with Vix, Celtis had been forced to sit and listen to Kitara explain her bike itself, and how to work it and its many different functions.

Despite their earlier objections, both Kitara and Vix had, in the end, decided to equip Celtis with an XG model instead of an XGRA as they had originally planned. The reason? Well...to put it simply...she'd wrecked all of the available XGRA models.

It seemed as though they had both conveniently forgotten one key detail: XGRA bikes above the subsonic-class had an unfortunate tendency to kick into overdrive once they passed Mach 1. For a noob like Celtis, the sudden, immense acceleration was...difficult to control.

On straights, she was fine, but from the moment the track began to turn and curve...Let's just say the results were remarkably cringe-worthy.

Thus, she'd gotten herself a nifty red-hued XG model to use. It was a LOT slower than the previous XGRA's she'd crashed, but at least she could make it to the end of the practice course in one of these...

The only sleep Celtis had managed to wrangle had been the last five hours, before she was forced to get up again and then drag her half-awake carcass all the way over here for the race at last.

Vix and Kitara had tried to be positive about it, but at the end of it all, they had been forced to admit that two days simply wasn't enough to train a noob like Celtis into a rally-winning champ.

Thus, they settled instead for making her someone who wouldn't suck, but wouldn't exactly win any prizes either.

And more importantly, someone who (they hoped) would simply be able to _survive_.

So as a result of that, they'd decided to chip in themselves. Vix would run support for Celtis in case she ran into serious trouble during the race, as she was also competing, and Kitara would provide information and intel to them both from the sidelines, the three of them working as an unofficial team. Such arrangements were not uncommon in the FFA, as the level of sheer mayhem during the race was often more than the average competitor could handle.

Surprisingly, even Queenbee herself had volunteered to assist them, although Celtis suspected that was more Omega's doing than the Pseudoroid's. Queenbee would be providing information from an aerial vantage point, flying over the race course once it began. She'd have company up there, as many other racers would have spotters of their own.

And just like the racers themselves, they too would be fighting for supremacy, seeking any way to reduce the competition for their team-mates below. But considering that this was Queenbee, unless Omega had given her specific orders to assist, Celtis had the feeling she wouldn't be getting much help from that quarter. Then again, Queenbee might already have her hands full dealing with her other airborne rivals.

Speaking of the white-haired bastard himself…

Celtis frowned as she considered Omega's behavior over the last two days. The God of Destruction had been acting rather secretive, spending all of his time shut up in Celtis' garage. Doing what, she didn't know, but there had been some rather unnerving sounds coming from in there. He'd brought home something from Kitara's machine shop, that much she knew, but beyond that…Well, whatever it was, it was pretty damn big, and it had Omega in a _frighteningly_ good mood.

And anything that made HIM that pleased was bound to be bad news for everyone else.

He'd barricaded himself in her garage after hiding his new toy in there, and from the noises she'd been hearing in there…Well, let's just say that the mental image of the legendary maniac known as the God of Destruction, using _power tools_, was something that kept Celtis awake at night…

And not just him, either. Queenbee had been up to something as well, with Vix, and for once, Celtis suspected that it actually had very little to do with carnal matters…

Before she could continue, a strange chill swept over her. Celtis shivered for a moment, temporarily distracted. She looked around, suddenly wary. This wasn't the sort of chill you get from a mere drop in temperature. This was the chill you felt you suddenly became aware of a familiar presence, an enemy you've faced before. Celtis swallowed. Of all the enemies she had faced before, Model O or otherwise, only one of them had survived.

_'Please oh please let this just be me overreacting…!_'Celtis prayed fervently, hoping that maybe somebody up there would actually let her luck NOT suck for once.

Unfortunately, if any god _was_ listening, it was probably the God of Destruction, as Celtis' luck promptly went skydiving without a parachute. Her heart sank as she felt her hair beginning to stand on end, static electricity crackling through the air.

"Well, well, fancy meeting you here, Arcana!" A familiar voice chuckled. As a shadow fell over her, Celtis swallowed and turned around…

And more or less had a heart attack on the spot.

Gallidin Voltzer, the legendary Lightning Bullet and solo Raider with almost no equal, brought his armored head down to rest a few inches from her face and smirked.

"Surprise."

Several racers turned in surprise at the feminine shriek, and the crash of metal that followed it shortly afterwards.

Gallidin raised an eyebrow.

"…Well, that was new…"

"Wh-wh-whawhawhat are YOU doing here?" Celtis squeaked, her heart hammering in a mad panic.

The Lightning Bullet stared up at where Celtis was clinging tightly to one of the ceiling beams, all four of her limbs wrapped around it like her life depended on it.

"What ELSE would I be doing at a race this big, moron?" he growled. "I'd heard rumors of somebody going head to head with that bitch Ibelis, but I never expected it to be YOU of all people!"

Celtis barely heard him, her frantic mind turning over his first statement.

"Wait, you mean you're COMPETING?" she managed to sputter.

The Lightning Bullet rolled his eyes in disbelief.

"Give the lady a prize!" He shook his head. "No shit, Sherlock! What the hell else would I be here for?"

Hearing the mocking tone in his voice, Celtis managed to rally some courage to snap back.

"Yeah, well, you talk pretty big for someone who got beaten by this 'moron'!"

Gallidin shot her a murderous look, and Celtis pulled herself closer to the ceiling.

"I'msorrypleasedon'tkillme!" she squeaked.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Gallidin growled. "Besides, last _I_ checked, it had less to do with me losing to you, than it did me deciding to escape from that psychotic sonofabitch you call a Biometal!"

Celtis hung her head.

It was true, actually. While she _had_ in fact fought as Model O in both the battle with Gates, and also with Gallidin, only against Gates could she claim to have any credit for that victory. Against Gallidin, Model O was the only victor, the insane red tide that had drowned her consciousness and burned the world to a ruin in its wake.

Gallidin simply grumbled something to himself and gave her an expectant look.

"Well, either way, I don't care about that contract anymore, so are you planning to come down any time soon? It's kind of irritating to talk like this."

Celtis looked at him as if he'd gone crazy.

"What are you, NUTS?" She exclaimed incredulously. "Hell no I'm not! Last time we met, you tried to light me up like a Christmas tree! I'm staying way up here where it's safe, thanks!"

Gallidin looked blankly at her for a moment. Then he sighed, and reared up, stretching his sinuous body out to its maximum height. His head now easily on the same level with her, he stared her straight in the eyes.

"Do I even need to say anything at this point?"

Celtis felt a sweatdrop slide down the back of her neck.

"…Huh. Uh…you're, um, taller than I thought…" She managed a nervous grin, and started to sheepishly climb back down.

* * *

Some distance away from them, a blue-clad racer watched Celtis and Gallidin. Reaching up, he tapped his helmet, the image zooming out again. His features hidden safely behind a triangular, black visor, the racer frowned. This was not an entirely unplanned development, but it could still work. He turned to look back at his vehicle, a Lamborghini painted a deep blue. Like every other machine in this race, it was FAR more than it appeared, but in his case, that was an understatement!

It wasn't his usual color, the racer decided, but it would do for now.

Turning to look around the basement of the abandoned facility, he swept his gaze over the assembled participants.

It seemed as though this would be an interesting race indeed…

* * *

Vent hummed a little tune to himself as he finished polishing his car's wing mirror. A man who fully supported the tanklike capabilities of the FW class, he shamelessly pushed them to the limit, regardless of how utterly cheap a tactic it was. His machine exemplified this perfectly. A heavily customized and modified Bugatti, it was a make of car that had once been hailed as the fastest street racer of them all. A rarity nowadays, it was Vent's pride and joy, boasting more horsepower than most jets, and with enough concealed weaponry to outclass a tank.

He called it Vizier Vent, for practically no other reason than the fact that it sounded really epic when you yelled it at the top of your lungs.

Outwardly, he appeared calm and nonchalant, but inwardly he was on full alert, inconspicuously scanning the people gathered here for signs of any threat. It was almost _guaranteed _that Ace was planning something for this race. There was NO way that the route of the FFA was a mere coincidence.

Aile and the Guardians were already on standby, his troops ready to go at a moment's notice. He himself had both his capabilities as a Chosen One, with both Models Z and X hidden in the Vizier already, as well as his Vizier's massively overwhelming combat power. Not to mention he'd convinced Ashe to run as his spotter as well. It had been _bloody_ expensive, but she'd agreed in the end.

He was fairly confident that he'd be able to handle any normal threat that might occur, but the problem here was that where Ace Phoenix was concerned, the definition of 'normal' was so far off the deep end you needed a telescope to find the damn thing.

Either way…

He turned to look across at Celtis, his eyes narrowing. Whatever Ace's plans were, they were certain to revolve around that girl…!

* * *

Ibelis leaned back, resting on the seat of her bike. The XGRA model known as Templar, it was one of the only remaining 'superbikes' of the XGRA class, and was vastly superior to the model she'd destroyed in her surprise attack on the crimson Reploid called Saber.

_Saber…_

Ibelis' orange eyes narrowed, a troubled expression crossing her face. She wasn't quite sure what to think of that man, even now. He was as contrary and unpredictable as a forest fire, a blazing heat that scorched any who got in his way. Despite him taking an interest in her and her connection to her sister, he had responded in entirely the opposite way, stepping aside and instead pushing his assistant into the limelight. It was as though it was all merely a game to him, as if he was simply testing Ibelis, and possibly Celtis as well, by pitting them against one another like this. What the purpose of this test was, she had no idea, nor did she know why this strange, troubling sensation had haunted her ever since they had parted ways.

She had the strange feeling that somehow…she hadn't heard the last of the mysterious Saber…

Ibelis'eyes hardened. Well, in that case…she looked down at her right hand, with the black leather glove her sister had always worn for her races.

In that case, let him come! She glared out at the familiar green hair that marked her opponent, Celtis Gisborne-Wingates Arcana. Whatever it was he wanted her to prove, she would prove it! Both to him, and to herself! For the sake of protecting her sister's memory, she would win this race!

And maybe…her thoughts turned towards this race's particular route.

Just maybe…she could avenge her sister's defeat…!

* * *

Queenbee perched on the outcropping of one of the buildings in the abandoned industrial zone. She crouched down, enjoying the sensation of stretching her muscles, one of the few perks of this new body. Once more clad in the armor of her Vespa form, minus the huge weapons-carriers, of course, she looked around, the blue eyes of her helmet flashing in the night. She could see others up here, the spotters from the other teams. Some were simply drones, flight Mechaniloids that were remotely controlled by a pilot from the ground. Others were considerably more advanced, humans or Reploids possessing flight capability.

Queenbee, however, considered herself superior to them all, with the possible exception of two others…

A rustle of feathers, and then one of the people in question landed next to her.

"Hi there!"

Queenbee tilted her head to look across at the newcomer.

"Hello." She replied.

The newcomer was a human female augmented with the signature look of a harpy-type model. Much like Vix and Kitara's respective modifications, only more extensive. Her hair was short and windswept, the latter probably a side effect of her time in the air. Clothing-wise, she wore nothing more than a sleek gray bodysuit, padded in places with close-fitting, streamlined armor. Queenbee could actually make out a faint sheen where the suit was stretched tightly over the girl's curves, a faded reflection of the city lights in the distance. Her one oddity was the old-fashioned aviator's jacket she wore over her top, currently open at the front to let in the cool night air, along with a pair of flying goggles to go with it, currently pushed up onto her forehead.

Like Vix and Kitara, however, she too possessed features which immediately identified her as a modified human. Her legs from the knee down were covered in fitted, armored boots, segmented in a regular, repeating pattern that gave them a vaguely scaly appearance. The ends of it looked no different than a normal pair of boots, save for the two mechanical talons mounted on either side of each boot's toe, and a third one attached to the back of the heel. These were currently clamped down on the rooftop edge, automatically locking in place to hold their user there. At the base of her spine, a fan-like array of spiky metal 'feathers' twitched in the breeze, each of them a foot long and glowing with lines of energy, indicating their standby mode. Finally, her most obvious identifier was the strange design of the armor covering her arms. Clawed gauntlets covering her hands, they continued on to form a sleek metal casing along the outside of each arm. From the information Queenbee had accessed from her databanks, she discovered that these casings were the energy emitters that produced the Harpy-model's 'wings'. In truth, they were nothing more than a set of linear boosters, running along the inside of the casing, and along the arm of the user. The casing hinged open at the wrist, flipping outwards like the outer edge of a real wing. The so-called 'wings' were actually just the energy given off by these boosters, similar to the effect given off by Model H's wings.

The Harpy, noticing Queenbee's questioning look, started, and gave a sheepish grin.

"Oh, sorry about that. I'm Ayano!"

"I am…er…you can call me…Queenbee?" Queenbee hazarded. She wasn't exactly happy about using her real name here, but she had little choice. Here, somebody was bound to notice the use of the name Vesper.

The other girl blinked.

"Oh, nice name!" She smiled. "It really fits you well!"

"Erm…thank you?" Queenbee replied, feeling utterly lost. Aside from her Master and his cohorts, she really didn't know all that much about talking to people.

Fortunately, the strange girl, Ayano, seemed not to notice her discomfort and had looked up as a fresh breeze blew past.

"Nice night for flying, isn't it?"

Queenbee blinked and looked in the direction of the breeze. This, at least, she could understand.

"Yes, I suppose it is." She admitted. Ayano turned to look back at her.

"So who are you flying for?"

"Excuse me?"

Ayano gestured to the surroundings. "Well, you're here, so I'll assume you're flying as a spotter for one of the racers here, right?"

"Oh, uh yes, I am." Queenbee caught on. "I'm flying for Celtis Arcana."

Ayano's eyes lit up.

"Really? Oh wow, that makes us rivals!"

Queenbee blinked. "It does?"

"Yep!"Ayano nodded. "I'm flying for Ibelis Royale!"

Queenbee stared at her in disbelief. And just like that, her number one rival in this race had dropped right into her lap.

* * *

A crash of metal, and the God of Destruction cursed aloud.

"Ow, my FOOT! Stupid, lousy...!

_'I _told_ you to turn on the lights, didn't I?'_ Saber's irritated voice echoed in his mind. _'Instead you argue something about 'dramatic lighting' and get annoyed when you trip over your own feet.'_

Omega gritted his teeth.

"All right, first off, I did NOT trip over my own feet! I tripped over an engine block!There _is_ a difference!"

_'And that would be...?'_ Saber prompted.

"This hurts more...!" Omega whined, rubbing his sore shin.

"Anyway, as I was saying...and second! Never underestimate the power of dramatic lighting! After all, what better way to keep all of my fans in suspense as they await my grand appearance! Haaahahahaha!"

Throwing back his head, he laughed arrogantly, allowing his egotistical nature to show for a few brief moments.

At which point he then tripped over the conveniently shadowed form of his new vehicle and smashed face-first into the concrete floor.

Saber sighed.

'_Well, that was certainly 'grand'.'_

"Shut up and keep an eye on the feed from Queenbee, would you?" Omega shot back, his angry retort muffled by the hard floor.

* * *

And finally, in the air over the abandoned factory estate, something swooped and glided through the air, the mysterious figure flying through the air with the grace of a fish through water.

The second of the two flyers that Queenbee had estimated to be as advanced as her flitted through the night as silently as an owl. Coming to a stop in midair, the figure fanned her red wings outward, hovering as it observed the activity far below her. Folding her arms, she raised an immaculate eyebrow and sighed. She didn't mind flying, but the moisture up at this altitude was a bit too cold for her tastes.

Still, despite that discomfort, she would rather be up here, rather than down in the FFA, preparing for the danger that was to come.

She hoped her employer knew what he was doing...

The mysterious flyer paused to consider that statement.

Her boss ALWAYS knew what he was doing. The only problem was that sometimes, that 'what' fell a liiiittle too far into the realm of batshit insane...

Gallidin growled as he heard the sound of a klaxon blaring. It was the sound that signaled the call to arms for the racers, the warning that the race was about to begin. He looked back at Celtis, who was still carefully keeping her bike between him and her.

"For the last time, I am not here to kill you!"

He paused, considering the fact that they would be competing in a race KNOWN for high fatality rates.

"Okay, well, not deliberately, anyway." He admitted.

"Yeah, that's what worries me..." Celtis muttered.

"But that's not what I'm here for!" Gallidin stomped forward, slamming his hands down on her bike and pushing his head forward until he was almost in her face.

"That little psychopath of yours...do you have it under control?"

"Wha...you mean Model-"

"Don't say that aloud!" The Lightning Bullet hissed. Celtis shut up, more out of surprise than anything else. Gallidin looked around shiftily for a moment before turning back to her.

"...yeah, so, uh, don't say that name around here if you know what's good for you." He coughed, recovering his composure.

"What? Why?"

The Lightning Bullet looked around again before answering.

"...I don't even know why I'm telling you this," he muttered, "But there's something very very wrong with this year's Rally...Finding you here's only served to further confirm that suspicion. Somebody's playing this whole thing like a board game, and I don't know what they're aiming for."

"...You're saying this is all part of someone's plan?"

Gallidin nodded.

"I've been hearing some weird rumors about the area the Rally's going through...and almost all of them have to do with Mavericks."

Celtis' blood chilled at the mention of the name.

"Mavericks? Here? B-but...! Shouldn't they be cancelling the race or something then? Why are we still going out there?"

Gallidin stared at her.

"You do realize that everyone else around here pretty much hunts Mavericks on a daily basis, right? Do you honestly think they're going to just turn tail and run just because of a few rumors like that?"

"W-well, no, but..." Celtis hesitated, and then looked him in the eye.

"Why come to me? Why not go to Vent? I know he's here somewhere, and he's the leader of the Guardians, isn't he? Why come talk to me? Last time, you were trying to kill me, and now...this?"

Gallidin shrugged.

"I'm a merc. I just do the job for money. It's nothing personal. But more than that..." He gave her a calculating glare.

"This race is one of the few things in my life that I actually enjoy. I will NOT allow anything to endanger it, and that includes that psychopath alter-ego of yours!" He jabbed a clawed fingertip into her chest.

"But if push comes to shove, if this whole race is nothing but a setup...that insane Biometal of yours might be the only thing that can get us all out of this mess."

Celtis stared at him, surprised. "But...I'm just here to race Ibelis! I'm not even SURE how to use this Biometal!"

"Doesn't matter." Gallidin turned to leave. "If you can't control it, or you can't call it, then just make sure it stays out of my way! The FFA is MY turf, and nobody, but NOBODY screws around on the Lightning Bullet's home ground!"

"Y...wait, YOUR turf?" Celtis started "I thought Ibelis was the reigning champion!"

Gallidin looked back at her.

"Royale? Give me a break!" he gave a derisive snort. "In the TW class, maybe...But guess who has the fastest time of them all!"

And with that, he disappeared into the teeming crowd of racers as they all headed out to their vehicles, his eight foot frame easily visible head and shoulders above the rest of them.

Celtis simply stared after him, her face blank.

"...well this sucks."

* * *

High atop one of the taller structures in the industrial facility, was a parked airship. It was surrounded by a number of FFA officials, all preparing the camera and sound equipment they'd need to provide a commentary of the race for all of the fans watching from various underworld bars and hacked transmission feeds throughout Legion. The airship's engines were already warming up, in preparation for the race's imminent start.

"Okay, people! Are we ready?" One of the officials yelled.

"Yeah, we're good! All transmissions successfully encoded, and all data feeds transmitting A-OK!"

"All right, then let's get this show on the road!" The official turned and waved frantically up at the cockpit of the ship.

"Get moving, ya lunkheads!"

The pilot replied with a rude hand gesture, and the low humming of the engines accelerated into a steady, high-pitched whine. As it took off, the pilot shook his head and grumbled.

"Lousy, cheap-assed bastard...This hunk of junk should've been scrapped YEARS ago!"

"Aw, come on, Captain! Relax! We've got the best seats in the house for the FFA, man! We're COMMENTATORS!"

The Raider pilot turned to look back at his companion.

"Steve, sometimes I wonder what goes on in that head of yours..."

"Eh, lighten up, Cap! Besides..." Steve, the other Raider, grinned and held up several bottles.

"Free drinks!"

Cap stared at him for a moment, then clapped one hand on Steve's shoulder, an almost proud look on his face.

"Steve, old friend...*sniff*I have taught you well!"

"I'd drink to that!"

"Amen, pal!"

There was a clink of glass, and both of them started on their respective bottles.

"Now all we need is a couple of girls up here, and this'd be the best job of all time!"

"Oh, I dunno..."Steve commented, staring out of his binoculars. "There's plenty of eye candy down there if you ask me!"

Cap stared straight ahead for a moment.

"You seeing Vix down there?"

"Mm-hmm."

There was a pause.

"She wearing that Kinetic suit from last year?"

A wolf whistle was his only response.

"GIMME THAT!"

"Hey, these are my binocs! Go get your own-ow, watch it! Gimme-"

The airship rocked crazily from side to side for a moment. Eventually...

"Hot DAMN will you look at that ass!"

"I don't even know how to drive this thing!" Steve yelled.

"Just turn the circular wheel thingie and don't touch anything that's shiny!" Cap hollered back, almost hanging out of the side door as he continued to ogle the female scenery below.

"Damn, I'm telling you, man, she is DEFINITELY the hottest piece of tail in the whole freaking CITY!"

Then Vix turned, looked directly up at him and blew him a kiss, winking suggestively.

When the Raider had finally managed to stop bleeding through the nose, he looked back at Steve.

"Steve, did you by any chance TURN ON the broadcast...?"

"It wasn't shiny, I swear-ACK!"

* * *

Celtis stared down at the radio on her bike in mixed disbelief and embarrassment as several loud thumps and crashes echoed from it, along with the occasional scream.

She keyed up Kitara.

"So, uh...this happen often?"

Kitara groaned.

"Every single TIME there's a male commentator. As you can imagine, Vix enjoys the attention."

Celtis sweatdropped as she looked over at Vix, who was almost purring with satisfaction as she strutted across the tarmac, preening as several other female racers shot glowering looks of jealousy after her.

"Yeah, I can see that."

"There was that one time with a female commentator, but...let's not go there now. Anyway, once those two nutcases finish beating each other up, they'll start the race. You ready for this?"

"I want to go home..."Celtis whined.

"Good! You'll do great out there!"

"I hate you all." Celtis grumbled, and killed the connection just in time to hear Cap come back on.

"-and we'd like to apologize for the recent technical difficulties. Anything before that, I SAID NOTHING AND YOU CAN'T PROVE ANY OF IT! Ahem, now over to my companion!"

Steve shot Cap an annoyed look.

" 'Don't touch anything shiny' you said...Well HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT MEANT GLOWING STUFF AS WELL?"

"Oh shut up and drink your damn booze!"

Steve considered that for a moment, then shrugged.

"Fair enough."

He got halfway through a bottle before he remembered he was supposed to be commentating.

"PFFFFFFT-oh shit, sorry Cap- Anyway, yeah, uh, this is the FFA, and all of the racers are in position, so...START!"

"Wait, WHAT?" Celtis gaped. All around her, engines roared to life and every racer in the FFA took off in a cloud of dust and smoke.

"That's the start? Are you KIDDING ME?" She yelled, frantically starting her own bike.

"Uh, yeah...didn't we mention that?" Vix asked, a slightly guilty tone in her voice.

"NO YOU FRIGGING WELL DID _NOT_!" Celtis screamed back, and roared off after the other competitors.

* * *

Gallidin had to grin as he heard Celtis swearing behind him. It was always fun to hear a noob's reaction to the abrupt start of the FFA. Just like everything else around here it was as chaotic and unpredictable as...well, everything else around here!

Lightning crackling in his wake, he zig-zagged through the pack, frying engines and shocking riders as he blasted through. Then he caught sight of a familiar machine ahead and a predatory grin spread across his face.

"Royale...!"

A single dash brought him alongside the FFA's supposed champion.

"Yo, bitch."

Ibelis gave him a cool glance.

"Voltzer."

"I'm surprised." He grinned. "I figured you'd be too busy chasing your sister's ghost to show up tonight."

Ibelis' eye twitched. "Watch your mouth, weasel. I won't tolerate ANYONE speaking of my sister in that casual manner!"

"Oh please, and what are you gonna do, poke me? You KNOW I can kick your ass, both in this race, AND in fighting! You want to start something, bitch?"

His right hand ignited in a cascade of electrical power.

"Go ahead and try. I fucking DARE you."

Ibelis Royale turned to look him full in the face, her mouth tightening into a cold smile.

"You're on."

In that instant, Gallidin noticed three things and knew something was terribly wrong.

First, while they had been talking, he hadn't been paying much attention to the surroundings, or to his speed, simply pouring on enough to stay level with Ibelis. As a result of that, he only now realized that for their entire conversation, other racers had been shooting past them, accelerating on ahead until the road before them had become a veritable mess of battling competitors.

Secondly, he saw Ibelis' dashboard readouts. Despite the fact that her machine could go all the way up to 600 mph, she was carefully holding it at a little over 140mph. Gallidin hadn't thought much of their speed, as he knew that keeping pace with a mere bike was WELL within his capacity, and had ignored his speedometer.

And thirdly, he saw the icon flashing on her dashboard's screen, and he recalled that Ibelis' vehicle of choice was an XGRA model.

All of these pointed to one inescapable fact: Ibelis was _deliberately_ letting racers overtake her!

And that fact, when coupled with the knowledge of just WHO Ibelis Royale was the sister of, left Gallidin with only one possible reason as to why she would do that.

"MOTHERFUCKER!" All of the air left Gallidin's lungs in a single, explosive curse and he instantaneously hit the ground, all four clawed appendages slamming deep into the asphalt, firing every single one of his boosters in reverse as he desperately sought to get as far behind Ibelis as possible, while bringing up every layer of shielding he could possibly generate.

Ibelis smirked.

"That's what I thought."

A single rusty-orange key appeared in her hand. She paused for a second, looking down at it, the legacy her sister had left behind for her.

She shut her eyes, closing her hand tightly around the relic to shut out the wave of emotion that rose up from within her memories.

As the icon on her bike's computer beeped once more, she took a deep breath, and opened her eyes once more, her orange irises hardening.

"Rules be damned…" She whispered. "For your sake, sister, I would burn the world…!"

The Key slid home with dreadful rasp of finality, and Ibelis twisted it with a single savage jerk.

"Now, watch the power of Royale, Saber, and cower in fear…!"

Celtis's vision suddenly went black and white, her Demon's Eye warning her as the night sky suddenly flashed a brilliant shade of blue tinged light. Something slammed into her bike, knocking it sideways, and she realized Vix had tackled her.

"Celtis! Hit the brakes, NOW!"

Not too far away, Vent and the mystery racer in the blue Lamborghini looked up and swore in shock, slamming on the brakes as they swerved off of the track.

The night sky split in two. The clouds above Legion City vanished in an instant as the dark died, a single, brilliant lance of energy spearing through the night. A bolt of unrestrained divine fury plummeted from the heavens, to strike the earth far below, a flash of blue-hot light casting stark shadows across the cityscape, steel, titanium, concrete and even ceratanium vaporizing under the almighty power of Ibelis Royale, a second sun appearing on the surface of Earth. Everything within a range of fifty meters of its target point simply vanished, disintegrated by the impossible power of the laser cannon.

For that is what the source of the colossal beam was.

Of all of the TW models, the XGRA model alone possesses the single most devastating weapon add-on of them all: The orbital satellite cannon with the codename of Deathstrike. The rarest of the rare Lost Tech, use of it is almost classified as a crime against humanity. The Deathstrike itself is a military satellite left in orbit since before the days of the Cataclysm, a relic preceding even the orbital monstrosity known as Ragnarok. As it was simply a conventional weapons platform, its power paled in comparison to the likes of Weil's Ragnarok.

However, the secret to its fearsome reputation lies with two causes.

The first is that it is Lost Technology, and quite possibly one of the oldest examples of such. Thus, it is a technology and science beyond what can be accomplished with modern Legion tech. What makes it so truly astounding is the fact that it is SPACE-based Lost Technology. The world of 23XX, despite the best attempts by maniacs like Ace, still falls just short of that achievement. Not due to any lack of intelligence, but rather due to the fact that the environment at the time simply spared no time for dreams like that, what with the threat of Mavericks constantly looming over the horizon.

The Deathstrike is a weapon hidden beyond the reach of man. And it would have stayed that way, had not one extremely lucky person found the so-called keys to the kingdom.

There was but one key, one program, to open the gates to heaven.

One key, that could reach out into space, and make the legendary relic move once more.

A one of a kind item, in every sense of the word, there was literally only one of them in the entire world. It could not be duplicated, and only a fool would destroy such a magnificent weapon.

Only the software of an XGRA model vehicle can operate it, as for some reason the Key is only compatible with the software of the bike, which in itself is reverse-engineered from Lost Technology.

This air of mystique and rarity, is the first reason for the reputation of the weapon.

The other, in three words, is: Ace. Goddamned. PHOENIX.

As Legion's official Hero of Justice (and yes, they ARE capital letters where the Scarlet Commander is concerned) an enemy like this, a miracle machine from the days of old, that is OUT OF ANY POSSIBLE REACH of any of his plans, an enemy which can attack his city without him being able to lay so much as a finger on it…

Well…let's just say after the grand failure of Operation Turn-Legion-HQ-Into-A-Giant-Laser-Cannon-To-Wreck-That-Damn-Orbital-Toaster, the Deathstrike is a bit of a sore point with the infamous Commander.

And when Ace Phoenix is upset, he tends to spread the misery around.

With a BIG shovel.

Thus, the Deathstrike Key is classed right up there with Promethium weapons as a Grade A contraband, possession of which qualifies your sorry ass for some very bad things…

The trail of the Key, however, went cold with the hospitalization, and subsequent kidnapping and murder of Vesper Royale at the hands of Donovan Gates, which left Ace Phoenix going ballistic with outrage.

Except now, it seemed as though Vesper had left her younger sister with more than just a chip on her shoulder…

In Celtis' garage, Omega seized the screen in both hands and stared at it in disbelief.

"What the FUCK was that?"

"I-I...I don't know, Master!" Queenbee stammered, hardly able to believe the sight before her, hurricane winds howling around her in the aftermath of the terrible attack. A crater over a kilometer wide had been blown in the exit gate of the industrial complex, mechanical and organic body parts strewn here and there over the molten, charred surface of the blast crater. A perfect chokepoint, one which every racer was sure to pass through on their way out to the race course, it had presented a perfect opportunity for Ibelis to strike a devastating blow against her competitors.

It had worked too.

Over a quarter of the competitors were now smoldering piles of ruin within the crater, and still another quarter had been badly damaged. They would lose valuable time getting their machines back up and on the road again. Time that would give Ibelis, and the lucky few that had gotten past the chokepoint before her satellite cannon hit, a massive head start.

Ibelis slammed another biker out of the way, and smiled grimly as her bike cannons chewed the back of another competitor's car into ruin.

"Just you watch, sister..." She murmured, "I won't let anyone stand in the way of my victory!"

Omega stared at the screen, and slowly, he felt a smile begin to form on his face. An evil, terrible smile...

"I think I know who I want for my prize...!"

* * *

"Oh wow, she broke out the Deathstrike already?"

Queenbee looked across to see Ayano floating in the air, her energy wings extended.

"That's definitely going to piss Ace Phoenix off when he finds out! I mean, I'm pretty sure using something like that's illegal within city limits!"

"Er...what about all of the people who just got hit with it...?"

Ayano made a dismissive gesture at Queenbee.

"Eh, there're emergency transfers in place for any vehicles that get wrecked. There's a fifty-fifty chance of them getting transferred out in time."

Queenbee sweatdropped.

"Er...right."

"By the way, who do you keep calling 'Master'?"

Queenbee blushed a brilliant crimson as she realized Ayano had overheard her talking to Omega.

"Um, uh...my, m-my uh..."

Seeing Queenbee's obvious discomfort, Ayano grinned knowingly.

"Oooohhhhh...Now I get it! You get a kick out of that kind of thing, huh?"

Steam rose from Queenbee's head as she was rendered temporarily speechless with embarrassment.

"There there, don't get all tongue-tied now!" Ayano whacked her on the back companionably. We're all girls up here!"

She shot a dirty look at one of the nearby flight droids.

"Well, some of us are, anyway...So there's nothing to get embarrassed about!" She grinned. "I'd always wondered what that was like, anyway..."

"AYANO!" The Harpy-type leapt about a foot into the air as her boss' voice rang out in her earpiece.

"Stop standing around swapping sex stories and get to work!" Ibelis snapped. "We've got a race to win!"

Ayano winced. "Ouch. Should have remembered to keep the comm off."

"I HEARD THAT, YOU NYMPHO!"

"...aaaand I should remember to label the off button properly..." The Harpy winced, this time hitting the right button.

She turned to Queenbee and gave a friendly wave.

"Well looks like we're on the clock now, so I guess our chat'll have to wait! Try not to die, okay? Bye now!"

And with a flash of energy from her arm mounted boosters, Ayano was gone, arrowing off through the groups of spotters dotting the night sky with the flash of weapons-fire already emanating from several of them as they locked into combat with one another. Queenbee absent-mindedly decapitated an aerial Mechaniloid that strayed too close, staring after Ayano in disbelief.

"...What just happened?" she asked finally.

"I have no idea." Omega replied blankly, "But she's hot, so I don't care. See if you can score me a piece of that while you're off killing everything."

"I'll...see what I can do...Master?" Queenbee answered uncertainly.

As she heard Omega cursing at some random tool that had annoyed him again, she shrugged. He was her Master, so that meant he knew what he was doing. She decided not to question his order regarding the harpy girl and instead promptly set to work on his first order.

I.e Genocide the FUCK out of anything with wings.

And if she did in fact happen to get the harpy girl for her Master...well, that might not be so bad either, Queenbee mused, a thrill running through her as she remembered her encounters with Vix.

Not too far away, a blazing green energy whip slashed through the air, decimating several other spotter mechaniloids, to the chagrin and outrage of their operators far below.

The red-winged combat Reploid sighed as she caught sight of Queenbee's sleek armored form mauling another griffon.

"There're even crazy people all the way up here too, huh...?"

* * *

Vent cursed in every language he could think of (which were QUITE a few) and smashed the accelerator pedal to the floor. The Vizier roared its revenge and catapulted the entire vehicle forward, careening across the shattered crater left by Ibelis' Deathstrike.

"Ooh, watch that temper, Vent!"

"Ah, shaddap Ashe! Now find me that bitch Ibelis! I am going to fucking VENTILATE her fucking CARCASS!"

Ashe thought briefly about mentioning his repetitive swearing, then decided against it. Ibelis HAD just cut loose with a war-crime class weapon RIGHT in front of his face, inadvertently mocking his position as Guardian leader, as well as almost killing about thirty-eight racers.

Of course, there were also the several million dollars worth of property damage it had caused upon impact, but somehow she didn't think Vent cared much about that.

So yeah, she figured he was entitled to vent a bit.

Heh, get it? Vent needed to 'vent'...? No...? Ah, fuck it.

Ashe rolled her eyes at the lame joke and leapt to the next building, Siarnaq's speed and agility serving her well as she swung and jumped across the outside wall.

The high pitched whine of a familiar engine grew louder behind her, and she glanced backwards.

"SWEET SON OF A BITCH!"

And swore in a panic, desperately seizing a nearby flagpole and frantically launching herself upwards. She flipped upside down just in time to see Vix, her antigrav wheels easily clinging to the wall of the building, hip-slam a male racer in another Kinetic suit right in the spine, grinding across the building on the unfortunate racer's face, still seated comfortably on his back.

Reaching the end of the wall, she jerked her hips back one more time, slamming him into the corner of the building and launching herself off into the gap separating the next building from the previous one.

Whirling into a tight corkscrew, she speared through the air and grinned as she saw her suit's secondary gauge gaining energy from the motion.

"Jusssssst right..." she said with satisfaction. "Now, BOOST!"

Kinetic suits are all outfitted with a built-in generator. Rapid motion or rotation of any kind by the suit will allow the centrifugal forces caused by that motion to spin up the generator, building up a charge within a set of secondary batteries. This energy can then be shunted directly into the suit's engine, allowing for a boost function to be carried out.

In other words: More tricks, more Boost Energy!

Breaking out of the spin, Vix braced herself as her wheels suddenly screamed to life with bright orange light, jerking her forward as they blasted out energy in their wake. Now with enough momentum behind her, Vix sailed easily over to the next building. Landing safely, she skated across the wall for amount, skidding around so that she came to rest facing back the way she had come, just as almost a dozen more Kinetic suit-wearing racers leapt from the building she had just jumped from. She grinned as her onboard gadgets flickered through the list, selecting the perfect weapon for the situation.

The lead racer saw Vix perched on the side of the building, a malicious smile detectable even behind her helmet. As the armor on her back suddenly rose a few inches above the surrounding metal with a pneumatic hiss, blue energy beginning to crackle around the disc-like segment, he, along with the other racers around him, started yelling in desperate panic.

"Oh no...no, you wouldn't dare...!"

Vix smiled.

"Lights out, boys!"

And then she triggered her Burst Attack.

A circular shockwave of blue-white energy expanded outwards from Vix, the front of it slamming into the other racers. As it struck them and continued onwards, a long beam of electrical power reached out to each trapped racer, pushing them backwards, away from Vix.

The Burst Attack ability of the Kinetic suits is probably the suits' only real offensive capability. It is little more than an extremely short-range EMP lightning storm, which serves the double purpose of repelling any and all other opponents away from the user, out towards the edges of the field, and reducing their speed almost to zero in the process, as the affected target vehicles will suffer some electronic malfunctions, which will persist until the Attack is finished.

It lacks any kind of 'finishing-blow' type power, as it is more of a hindrance to other racers, rather than a real, life-threatening danger like the murderous Deathstrike. However, in the hands of a skilled Kinetic suit user, it can be used quite well in conjunction with its surroundings to make it a considerably greater problem for any opponents.

Six seconds after its' activation, the Burst Attack cut out, recessing back into Vix's armor. The other racers, their forward motion completely stopped by the Burst Attack, hung suspended in midair between the two buildings for a few moments, before they all gave various shouts of outrage and wails of panic and plummeted down to the concrete five floors below.

Vix watched them go with a satisfied smirk, wincing as a loud crash floated up. Still clinging to the side of the building, she retracted her helmet and yelled down after them.

"Aww, don't worry, boys...! When this is over, stop by my place! I'll make sure to relieve all of those pent-up frustrations of yours..." She gave a sultry purr, licking her lips at the thought.

Somewhere down at ground level, the defeated Kinetic racers picked themselves up, considered that statement for a moment, and then subtly exchanged high-fives.

Vix looked up to see Ashe sprawled clumsily along the flagpole's length, still wheezing from almost being turned into roadkill. The foxgirl blew her a kiss and winked.

"That offer goes for you too, beautiful!"

"Oh, for the love of-THAT WAS A ONE-TIME THING! I WAS DRUNK! And don't you have a freaking RACE TO WIN?"

Vix batted her eyelids.

"Aww, don't be like that! Anyway, I'm only here to keep an eye on Celtis. The rest of these guys can fight over top rank, I'm just here to baby-sit and maybe score a few hot guys to score _with_ afterwards." She glanced across at Ashe. "...And maybe a few girls if I can manage it. Besides..."

Vix grinned teasingly. "You enjoyed it too, didn't you?"

"Wh-wh-wh...G-GET THE HELL OUTTA HERE, YOU MINX!"

Vix gave a teasing laugh, and darted away, her helmet closing as she skated through a hail of kunai to rejoin the race. Ashe watched her go, an exasperated look on her face.

"I swear, that woman's got some MAJOR problems with that appetite of hers..." she muttered, shaking her head.

Then, a flash of blue, and the mysterious cerulean Lamborghini rocketed through the streets below her, a flurry of Sidewinder missiles punching a hole through the ground floor of a building, and leaping through the new pathway in a shortcut which gave it the drop on six other racers. A shrieking hail of Gatling bullets later, and there was nothing but scrap metal left in its wake as it roared off.

She whistled.

"Okay, that was pretty smooth...Whoever that is, they're no amateur, that's for sure. Reckless, but not an amateur." Her eyes narrowed. "If I didn't know any better, I'd swear that guy was driving like-"

Ashe was interrupted by the sound of Vent yelling over the comm again.

"Ashe, where's that bitch?"

The female Chosen One winced at the volume, before replying in annoyance.

"Goddammit, hold your horses, will you? Geez!"She huffed, before looking around again.

"I still haven't been able to get a fix on her! She's been moving around too quickly for me to keep track!"

"Aw come on! Can't you do any better than that?" Vent snapped, skidding the Vizier around a corner with enough force to sideswipe a nearby opponent clear off of the road and halfway through a parked car. Not even waiting to straighten up from the turn, he reached down and seized the gearstick, his thumb pressing down hard on one of the fire control keys.

Twin 120mm Gatlings rose from the Vizier's hood and cut loose with their trademark screeching howl. The back of one of the bikes in front of him shredded instantly, the rider vanishing in a flash of light as the safety transfers kicked in, leaving the unfortunate racer to rage impotently from the sidelines as Vent plowed straight through the mangled remains of his bike. The Guardian leader gave a savage smile as his Vizier's ceratanium reinforced prow smashed the enemy vehicle to pieces, sparks and shrapnel showering over the black armored carapace. And then he was gone, roaring down the streets as the shattered wreckage of the bike clattered to the ground in his wake.

Unknown to him, it was in a manner remarkably similar to the way the mysterious Lamborghini had dispatched its own opponents a few moments prior...

"Uh, Vent?"

Vent turned up the volume as he heard Ashe contact him again.

"Please tell me you found her. I really, REALLY need to shoot something." He paused.

"Well, something ELSE, I mean." he amended.

"No, I didn't find her." Ashe said tersely, looking out at the brilliant light that crackled and roared through the streets below her. "...But I think I found someone who did..."

Vent gave his comm a sidelong glance, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"What do you mean you 'found someone'...?"

At that instant, the intersection ahead of him blazed to brilliant, eye-burning life.

"Aw, crap." Vent muttered.

Raw lightning crackling and hissing through the air around him, the lights of nearby streetlights and houses flickering erratically with his presence, the legendary Lighning Bullet, Gallidin Voltzer tore through everything in his path, hell-bent on reaching Ibelis. Darting around a volley of missiles, he slashed at their source, launching two crescent shaped waves of electricity at them. As the car skidded crazily across the road, its' electronics fried, the driver looked up to see the massive figure of Gallidin looming menacingly over him.

"Get the _hell_..." His talons glowed with brilliant green light, sparking as he brought them down, plunging deep into the offending vehicle.

"OUT OF MY WAY!" Screaming with anger, he snapped his arms outward, shredding the car, armor and all, in a fit of rage. Metal parted from metal with a horrendous, agonized shriek, and with another roar, the Pseudoroid reared up and launched the tattered remains end over end towards another cluster of racers.

As the road lit up with the resulting explosion, several other racers yelling curses as they veered around the wreck, Gallidin snarled and dropped back down to all fours, lightning dancing over his body as he charged another one of his signature dashes.

Then, a flash of light, the crack of a sonic boom and he was gone, blasting a molten trench three feet deep into the asphalt, windows blowing out in showers of glass in his wake.

The Vizier's tires screeched as Vent skidded it around the corner. He raised an eyebrow as the damage and chaos left by Gallidin rolled past him.

"Well, he certainly looks like a man on a mission all right...WHOA!"

Uttering a startled curse, he frantically swerved as a blurred figure on a bike blew past him going at a speed comparable to even Gallidin.

"_AghohcraphowdoIsteer'scusemecomingthroughHEEEEEELP!"_

Vent leaned out of the window for a moment, staring after the disappearing figure in disbelief. At that moment, there was a yawn from the backseat, and Model Z floated up into view.

"...Mornin'..." It yawned again. "Was that Celtis just now?"

* * *

The answer to that question, as it turned out, was yes.

Celtis clung to the handles of her bike for dear life, doing her utmost not to get blown clear off of it in the hurricane of wind screaming around her. She had long since given up all hope of making it around any sharp corners, and had thus settled for just pointing her bike in the general direction of the finish line and prayed that her shields and armor would be tough enough to punch through any walls or other obstacles that didn't get out of the way quickly enough. As a result, she was rather grateful that Vix and Kitara had decided to put her in an XG model.

For one thing, there was a nice, protective shell of armor all around the cockpit, meaning a lot less chance of her getting brained by a flying piece of concrete, or worse, random weapons fire.

As for her original objective, well, she'd lost track of Ibelis once the massive Deathstrike attack had touched down.

At that moment, she heard Kitara come on the line.

"Celtis, watch out! There's a couple of enemies closing in on your position! Vix is too far away to intercept, so you'll have to handle them yourself!"

"Wait, WHAT?" Celtis yelped. "H-hold on a sec, I don't think I'm ready for this kind of thing yet!"

"Sorry, Celtis, but it doesn't look like you've got any choice..." Kitara said apologetically. " If you can hold them off long enough, I can probably get Vix to reach in time to back you up!"

Celtis swallowed as she heard the sound of engines growing louder.

"That...that'd be helpful, thanks...Any chance of maybe getting Qu-uh, I mean...Vesper, down here too?"

There was the sound of a keyboard being tapped, before Kitara shook her head.

"I, um...I don't think so-Wow, was that a guy's HEAD? I didn't even know you could DO that!- Yeah, uh, she's a little-oh that is disGUSTING!-busy with the other spotters up above..."

Celtis winced. A masochist, and a willingly obedient servant Queenbee might be, but she was still a Pseudoroid at heart. Combine that with any number of psychological scars left by Gates and then throw in the absolutely HORRIBLE influence of the God of Destruction, and Celtis was suddenly almost HAPPY to be down here in life-threatening danger.

And then she saw a maroon colored bike pull up on her left, and her heart plummeted into her stomach.

"Oh no..." she swallowed, as she remembered that Kitara had tracked TWO bikes closing in on her. Hoping against hope that she wouldn't see what she thought she would, she slowly turned to look to her right.

There was a moment's silence as she stared at the very thing she'd been dreading.

"Uh...Kitara...?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you getting any signs of a magnetic disturbance around me?"

"Ummm..." The mechanic checked her instruments, and frowned. "...Huh, that's weird...Yeah, there is, actually...and it's getting stronger!"

"Oh, CRAP!" Celtis yelped, and slammed on the brakes. Seconds later, as her bike skidded away, she saw a brilliant sphere of angry vermilion energy flash into life in the spot her bike had previously occupied, carving a perfect semicircular depression out of the asphalt and crushing everything inside the radius of the sphere into nothingness. And then, as fast as it had appeared, the sphere winked out, leaving nothing but a fine dust behind.

Celtis groaned as the object of her dread, a SECOND bike, almost identical to the first, pulled ahead of her, rejoining with its counterpart as both bikes lined up in front of her.

It wasn't the bike itself that she had a problem with. Her problem lay in the fact that it was identical to the first bike. And in all of Legion, she knew of only one duo that possessed matching maroon bikes, that demonstrated attacks like the one that had just almost totaled her. As if to further confirm it, both bikes suddenly veered towards each other, and with a metallic clang, locked into place, forming one combined vehicle.

"A cheat vehicle that can fit in both TW and FW classes..." Celtis groaned. "Nord and Surd!"

Matching laughs rang out in response.

"Well, it looks like you know our names!" A male voice sneered.

"Yes, it's so nice to know that our reputation precedes us!" A female voice laughed.

Kitara groaned.

"Oh for God's sake...Celtis, PLEASE tell me it's not really those two..."

"Sorry." Celtis sighed. "It's definitely them alright."

Nord and Surd. A pair of bounty hunters that ALWAYS work as a team. Wherever Nord goes, you can be sure Surd is never far behind. A duo that was drawn together by their fascination with the powers of magnetism (no pun intended), they were essentially a pair of scientists moonlighting as bounty hunters whenever their current research funding ran out. Despite the fact that they lacked combat power of their own, they made up for it with their high tech arsenal of magnetic technology. When combined with their genius intellect, Nord and Surd were a force on par with any of the other big-league Raider bosses. Working on both sides of the law, they were responsible for quite a number of high profile takedowns, their devotion to furthering their research giving them an almost fanatical zeal in their battles.

And unfortunately for Celtis, their research fund was currently only a few hundred bucks from running empty. She swallowed.

"Ace forgot to shut down that bounty on my head, didn't he..."

Kitara laughed nervously. "Yeah, I think so..."

Nord and Surd laughed again, the almost perfect synchronization of their speech bordering on the unnerving.

"Celtis Gisborne-Wingates Arcana!"

"A three hundred and fifty grand target!"

"You'll be a perfect prize to support our research!"

"Now, prepare yourself!"

"Here we-"

Whatever they were going to say was cut off by a startled yelp as their combined bike suddenly dropped out of sight. Still motoring backwards down the highway, they hadn't seen that a huge hole had been blasted in it, courtesy of an earlier fight between other competitors.

Celtis stared blankly at the spot they'd occupied a moment ago, and then stopped, carefully drove _around_ the hole, and then went on her way.

Kitara raised an eyebrow.

"Well, that was...different..."

Celtis was about to respond when Nord's voice rang out again.

"REPULSOR!"

And suddenly, Surd's bike blasted into view again, punching up through the road, streams of vermilion lightning trailing from it as it slammed back down on the asphalt surface. Celtis' tires screeched as she swerved to dodge the maroon bike.

"ATTRACTER!" Surd cried out.

The electromagnetic lightning intensified, and suddenly Nord's bike reappeared as well, shredding the tarmac again as the magnetic forces ripped it back up to the surface. It crashed back onto the road with a metallic screech as it too accelerated past Celtis to join back up with Surd, both of them turning to face her again and driving backwards once more.

"Heh...It seeems you are more cunning than we gave you credit for..." Surd admitted grudgingly.

"Yes, indeed." Nord rumbled. "To skillfully maneuver us into a predicament such as that is no small feat!"

Celtis stared blankly at them.

"Uh...I didn't actually do anything..."

"You have earned our respect, Arcana!"

"Prepare yourself! Now we shall hold nothing back!"

And again in perfect synchronization, they both roared, "POLARIS...COMPRESSOR!"

Celtis cursed and jerked the steering to the left as the road in front of her crackled to life. Seconds later, the glowing area imploded, crushing everything inside it dust.

"Watch out, Celtis!" Kitara yelled, alarmed. "That's their Polaris Compressor! If you touch that glowing area, you're done for!"

"Wait, why can't I touch that? This bikes fast enough to get across it before that crushing thing happens, isn't it?"

"Er...no it isn't. That glowing energy's a magnetic field! If your bike comes into contact with that, it'll stop entirely! And then Nord and Surd will crash their repelling polarity fields into one another and crush everything in there!"

Celtis winced as another perfect sphere of matter was crushed out of existence, Nord and Surd's pinpoint control of magnetic fields showing to its full, devastating effect.

"Seriously, this looks more like something that'd qualify as gravity control instead of just magnetism!"

"Nope." Kitara winced. "Sorry...they basically just magnetize everything in that area and use their bikes' polarity generators to smash it all into one tiny little dust ball."

Celtis swallowed at the image that appeared in her head.

"...Thanks, I _really_ needed that image..." she groaned, "Any advice on how to deal with them?"

"Just the usual." Vix chimed in, cutting into the conversation. "Shoot them as much as possible while not getting shot yourself!"

"..." Celtis stared wordlessly at the speaker for a few moments in disbelief.

"I give up." She muttered, and killed the communication. She stared out at where Nord and Surd were still circling her, their magnetic generators blasting holes in the air and the ground around her.

Well, she'd come here to prove something to Omega, and to herself, by taking on Ibelis, hadn't she? Now was as good a time as any to start, she supposed.

"After all..." She growled, "I'd HATE to have to see that smug look on that bastard's face again...!"

And with a rev of the engine, Celtis gritted her teeth, swallowed the urge to panic and flee, and launched her counterattack.

* * *

Twenty miles away, Omega's ears pricked up. He stood up, and turned to look towards the northwest, the direction of the FFA. His eyes narrowed slightly, an unreadable look on his face, before he turned and stalked back over to his vehicle, pulling up the video feed of the race.

Saber, noticing his vague unease, spoke up.

"_Is something the matter?_"

Omega stared at the screen, now showing the battle between Celtis and the twin magnetism expert.

"If I had to put it into words...I'd say it was a 'disturbance in the Force'." He smirked.

"The...what?" Saber asked, bewildered.

"Almost like the sweet sounds of a thousand cowards' voices before they were suddenly silenced..." The crimson King of Destroyers snickered, ignoring Saber's confusion at his obscure movie reference.

"Maybe, just maybe...she's not entirely a waste of space." He grinned evilly to himself, watching the events unfold on the screen. "Dance, Arcana, DANCE...! Kekeke...!"

* * *

Celtis reached down and flicked the weapon-select dial. As a familiar icon blinked up at her, she took a deep breath.

"All right...first, I need to break this zone around me!" She looked out at where the two maroon bikes of Nord and Surd were circling her, generating the field that allowed them to crush any point within the field with inhuman accuracy. Only Celtis' desperate dodging (i.e. flailing the steering in whatever direction happened to be the furthest away from the new attack) and her Demon's Eye enhanced sight had kept her bike from taking a direct hit.

With this particular weapon...she could get out!

"Okay, then..."She gritted her teeth. "OverShield!"

Instantly, a solid sphere of energy appeared around her bike, a wall of plasma that would protect her from all but the most powerful of attacks. This ability only lasted for a few minutes once it was activated, but for what she was planning, it would be enough!

As soon as the Overshield had blazed to life, Celtis seized the handles of her bike and yanked it hard to the right, her Demon's Eye's short-term prediction ability giving her all the info she needed.

Caught off guard by Celtis' sudden swerve towards him, Nord had no time to react as her bike slammed into him, smashing his bike brutally against the side wall of the highway. For an instant, Celtis saw his helmeted features a few feet away from her separated by their respective cockpits, and her burning shield, before the male magnetic specialist cursed and slammed his hand down on a button on the dashboard. Instantly, a pair of high power pistons punched out of the base of his vehicle, striking the floor beneath with explosive force, catapulting the entire bike upwards and away from Celtis. Startled, she felt her own bike continue sideways, free of Nord's obstruction, to grate along the concrete wall for several meters before she recovered.

As her shield faded, she looked back in time to see Nord hit the ground hard, his tires screeching in protest as he spun, temporarily out of control, before his bike skated around to face her once more. Surd, with a startled yell, used her bike's own polarity generator to pull him forward until he was once more level with her.

However, the damage was done. Celtis had escaped their magnetic cage and was accelerating down the highway.

"Tch...!" Nord growled, irritated, "That damn brat!"

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Surd demanded, "Let's get after her! That new particle accelerator isn't going to pay for itself!"

Nord rolled his eyes. "I _told_ you not to buy that, but did you listen? Nooooo! We had a perfectly good one already, but no, you just HAD to get a newer model!"

"So sue me!" Surd barked back at him. "It's not MY fault you can never remember to upgrade the parts on the old one! Buying a new one was cheaper than fixing that old piece of junk!"

"P-Piece of...!" Nord sputtered, "IT'S LESS THAN A MONTH OLD!"

Celtis stared at the arguing couple in her rearview mirror, a bead of sweat sliding down her neck. She'd heard rumors that Nord and Surd had gotten married, but had just written them off as idle speculation. Now though...she sweatdropped again as she watched Surd's bike veer over towards Nord's again, close enough for her to reach over and belt him over the head with her helmet.

"WOMAN! I am TRYING to work here!"

"Oh yeah, I can see that! Good job on getting a face full of plasma shield just now, by the way!"

Celtis sighed. "You know, I almost feel bad for doing this..."

Nord and Surd's shouting match was interrupted by the sounds of their bike computers suddenly blaring a warning.

"What the-?"

Both looked up, just in time to see several panels on the back of Celtis' bike open up, revealing the evil-looking nose cones of a dozen missiles.

Nord's face fell.

"Oh bugger."

"Ehehe...Er,sorry..." Celtis said sheepishly, and fired.

Surd looked over at her husband in annoyance.

"I blame this on you, by the way."

Ska-BOOOOOOM!

Celtis winced as the roadway behind her lit up with explosions, the handiwork of a twelve shot salvo of rear-fire rockets. They weren't all that great in terms of accuracy, but they sure did a heckuva job cleaning out the road behind you!

Then, before she could breathe a sigh of relief, the telltale spike of pain shot through her head as her Demon's Eye sounded a warning.

"REPULSOR!" A male voice shouted.

Celtis gasped, and looked back in time to see Surd's bike hurtle upwards, launched clear out of the expanding cloud of debris, before plummeting downwards towards her, prow first.

Cursing, Celtis gunned the engine, accelerating away as Surd's armored front wheel smashed into the ground with enough force to break everything in a range of ten feet around the point of impact. Her own engine roaring, Surd shot out of the crater before dropping down into a skidding, 360-degree turn.

"ATTRACTOR!" She yelled triumphantly. Too late, Celtis saw the trail of magenta-colored electromagnetic energy leading back into the remains of the explosion. A second later, Nord's bike emerge, shooting forward like a bullet as Surd's Polarity Generator launched him straight at Celtis like an iron missile on wheels.

"Incoming!" He laughed triumphantly.

At that breakneck speed, Celtis had no time to dodge, Nord's bike slamming into her like a one ton cannonball from hell. She was smashed sideways, crashing straight through the concrete guardrail, and flying out into the night, before her bike hurtled through the glass wall of a nearby building's tenth floor, and giving an unfortunate Ashe yet another near-death experience.

Ignoring the fragments of glass dancing across her bike's frame, Celtis gritted her teeth and forced it back out of the skid, smashing sideways through two structural pillars in the process. The back wheel skated in entirely the opposite direction for a moment, before the cycle straightened out and roared off, barreling down the empty hallways.

"And another flawless victory for science!" Nord crowed.

"Oh, pipe down, you..." Surd grumbled, but she too was smiling. "Now let's get after her!"

Without another word, both of them gunned their engines and charged through the broken guardrail, easily covering the distance to the building Celtis had disappeared into and punching two more holes in the glass wall.

Neither of them noticed the silver-haired Chosen One, still clinging to the side of the building, yelling profanities after them.

And she in turn, distracted by nearly getting road-killed for the second time in fifteen minutes, missed the brilliant flashes of light overhead that signaled that a tremendous aerial battle was unfolding.

Thus did the furious battle of the FFA rage ever onwards.

Gallidin Voltzer and Guardian Commander Vent, locked in combat, or at least well on their way to that scenario.

Celtis Gisborne-Wingates Arcana, battling desperately against the twin threats of Nord and Surd.

Queenbee, locked in battle high above the city.

And a mysterious blue Lamborghini, hell-bent on smashing its' way through to the end.

All different individuals, tied together by their connection to one more...Ibelis Royale!

And she in turn has another secret of her own...one that lies at the heart of this race, and the fate of Vesper Royale.

Deep within the mechanical catacombs of Legion City, the beast stirs from its slumber, it's engine rumbling to life as it turns toward the familiar sounds of racing engines...

* * *

**A/N:** And we're off!

Eh...not exactly my best start to a combat chapter, but not exactly my worst either... Well, you guys decide!

And just a side note: You may want to research these three racing games: Kinetica, Extreme G 1+2 and XGRA. I'll probably be pulling a lot of references from those series, so it might help if you're familiar with them.

Also, they're probably some of my favorite bike-combat games of all time, so yeah, they kick ass!

Also, yes, I apologize for the wait. My regular schedule has been completely shot to shit by the recent exams, so I'm only now getting around to putting things in order again. Also, Persona 4 happened.

Well, see you next time!

DarkShift Out!


	25. Chapter 24: The Battle of the FFA

**Chapter 24: The Battle of the FFA**

Disclaimer: I don't own Capcom's official characters, I just make them more kickass.

* * *

High above Legion City, the brilliant flashes of weapons-fire lit the sky like fireworks, all of the various flyers and spotters for the racers below locked in fierce and savage combat as they tore into one another. One less spotter meant one less source of information for their respective racer, and in a race like this, where the knowledge of your opponents' position and the condition of the route ahead was vital to success, the loss of such an important intelligence asset was often highly crippling.

But even in the midst of this chaotic melee, one fight stood out above all others.

Queenbee whirled, her eyes narrowing. A brilliant green arc of energy shrieked out of the darkness, and she threw herself sideways. The blazing whip scythed through the air, slicing off the tip of her shoulder armor as easily as if it were cutting through paper.

The ex-Pseudoroid gritted her teeth and boosted backwards. Just as she'd suspected, there had indeed been another flyer up here, one that was on the same level as herself!

Whoever they were, this mystery opponent was no small threat. They were using the darkness to their advantage, and with great skill as well. All Queenbee had been able to make out, in the rare glimpses she'd had of her opponent, was a flicker of red wings before that thrice blasted energy whip came shrieking out at her again. That annoying whip, along with the speed at which her enemy was moving, put her at a colossal disadvantage in terms of range. Not only could she not see her opponent, with the range of attack of that whip, it was almost impossible to predict where the next attack would come from.

It was taking everything Queenbee had just to avoid taking a direct hit from that thing, and she was quickly running out of options for a counterattack.

Even worse, her opponent was pushing her into airspace over a more deserted area of the city, meaning that what little light she had to see by was gradually getting less and less. And on top of that, she'd lost sight of Celtis, meaning that both Kitara and more importantly, her Master, now had no way to see what was going on down there.

Again the whip lashed out, and again, Queenbee dodged, this time taking damage to her right leg. Desperately, she flung a spread of needle spines at the source of the whip. Without her weapons carriers, and with her only real weapon the vast swarm at her command, this was her best form of ranged combat. Her swarm, though it was powerful, lacked the response time to challenge an opponent this fast, and worse still, one that she could barely see.

The whip flickered back out of sight, and Queenbee instantly knew her attacks had missed.

"Curses..." she growled. If she could only get an opening of a few minutes, she could order her swarm to spread out in a vast cloud around her, forming a perfect sensor web to locate the enemy. She had been continually releasing her drones as the fight went on, but at this rate, she would wear herself out before completing her detection web.

And then she heard it. A subsonic whine that cut through the air like a knife, rattling the teeth, and she sensed her opponent recoil. Then, something blew past her, blasting a hole in the very air with the force of its passage.

"Compressor...CAAAAAAAAAAANNON!"

There was a curse in the dark air, the sound of metal clashing against metal, and then a figure hurtled downwards, crashing through the top floor of one skyscraper and slamming into another.

Queenbee recovered quickly, her wings flaring, and looked up as a familiar figure drifted to a stop in front of her.

Her eyes widened.

"You!" she uttered in surprise.

Ayano, the Harpy-model Reploid she'd met earlier, pushed up her goggles and grinned cheerfully.

"Yo!"

"What are you doing here?"Queenbee asked bewildered, "Didn't your Master order you off to fight the other flyers?"

"Well...yeah, but to be honest, they'll mostly just waste each other ANYWAY, so I figured I'd come over here to see what the ruckus was about!"

She winked.

"Plus, this looks way more fun than breaking a bunch of lame drones...!"

Queenbee stared.

"Er...okay?" Then she started as a rumble of masonry from below caught her attention.

"Oooooh boy." Ayano grinned nervously. "Looks like somebody's ready for Round Two..."

Even as she said it, the wreck that Queenbee's opponent had disappeared into erupted, and a reddish blur shot out of it, hurtling up towards them like an arrow with wings.

Ayano's 'wings' blazed as her boosters revved themselves up in preparation.

"All right, guess it's on now-what the-?"

Her statement ended in a startled yell as the mystery opponent's energy whip lashed out again, coiling itself around Ayano's arm, disrupting her boosters. Almost simultaneously, the whip-user seized the whip with both hands and pulled _hard_, brutally yanking the Harpy out of the air with a panicked yelp. Queenbee started, caught off-guard by the sudden attack and plunged after Ayano.

The red winged opponent's grip tightened on her whip handle.

"Ambush _me_, will you...?" She smirked, "Let's see how well _you _handle a few buildings!"

Spinning around, she pulled on the whip again. Ayano looked up to see a solid wall of cityscape approaching her head on at high speed. She paled.

"Oh shi-!"

KRAAAAAAAAAASH!

The red winged opponent continued her turn, tracing a path of destruction across the faces of almost four towers as she smashed Ayano through wall after wall, a cloud of smoke and debris trailing the unfortunate Harpy-type's passage. Switching back to a one hand grip, she whirled to face the oncoming Queenbee.

With a single, rapid motion, she snapped the whip around again and launched the half-stunned Harpy head over heels at the rapidly approaching Pseudoroid, the whip finally releasing its grip on her arm. Already moving at near her maximum velocity, Queenbee barely had time to be shocked before Ayano crashed into her face, knocking her several feet backwards and temporarily stunning her.

Ayano's dazed form still draped over her, the Pseudoroid recovered her senses just in time to see her opponent charging directly at her, at a speed almost double her own.

"Damn...!" Barely able to react in time, she snapped one hand out towards the onrushing red wings and called up a Bastion Wall of her swarm mechaniloids, the hexagonal wall materializing at the speed of thought.

And then at the last second, milliseconds away from smashing headfirst into the golden wall, the red blur flashed sideways, executing an utterly _impossible_ ninety-degree left turn, blasting across Queenbee's right flank to hurtle on past her, onwards and upwards towards the sky behind the stunned Pseudoroid.

Caught off guard for the third time in less than the same amount of minutes, Queenbee's brain scrambled to pick up the pieces as she turned to follow her enemy.

But by then, it was already too late.

The mystery opponent, having already gained a kilometer's distance in the split seconds it had taken Queenbee to recover, executed another impossible turn, blasting back the way she had come, and hurtling towards the still-reeling Pseudoroid at almost three times her previous acceleration.

This time, completely off balance from the complex series of attacks, Queenbee had no chance to react.

The red winged figure flipped around, one long, shapely leg snapping forward to smash directly into the startled Pseudoroid's gut. At that speed, it was like being hit with a Praetor Railgun at point-blank range. The dropkick smashed Queenbee backwards, sending her crashing through her previous, still active Bastion wall, the golden plate shattering like a stained glass window. Shards of it danced in the air as the three combatants plummeted earthwards, the red-winged enemy's booster's howling as she put every ounce of her power into the devastating attack.

Like a bullet from the blue, they smashed back into the cityscape, utterly demolishing a whole slew of buildings.

Gallidin swore and swerved sideways as the wall ahead of him exploded, something blasting across the road in a hurricane of debris and destruction.

"What the hell-?"

From a distance it was easy to trace the path of destruction. A huge plume of smoke raced across the city, striking multiple buildings, before it came to an abrupt halt, the end of it erupting upwards as a figure leapt back into the sky.

As the last traces of smoke fled from her body, her red wings spread out to the night sky, her energy whip blazing, the red angel laughed aloud as she danced through the cool air.

"Ah, it's so good to be able to enjoy the sky like this...!"

"Oi, oi..." A voice crackled in her headset. "You're just here as observation, remember? What was with the overkill just now?"

"Oh, come on..." The female flier chuckled, "That wasn't even a full 'kill', much less _over_kill!"

And sure enough, in the ruins of a second floor office, Queenbee coughed, and staggered upright, blood seeping from cracks in her broken armor. Next to her, Ayano moaned weakly and pushed herself up on her arms.

"U-ughh...What the hell hit me...?"

"Several buildings, I believe..." Queenbee winced, and stared up at where the red-winged angel still soared, barely visible in the glow from the city lights.

"Oh." Ayano replied, shaking her head woozily, "That explains why my whole mouth tastes of cement dust then..."

As the Harpy type picked herself up, spitting out a bloody molar, Queenbee contacted Omega.

"What are your orders, Master?"

Omega stared at the figure silhouetted against the night sky, his eyes narrowing. Whoever she was, this new enemy was familiar to him...He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but he knew he'd come across a design like that before. Then again, with a list of female conquests as long as his, it was possible he was simply mistaking her for someone else. Either way, it didn't change the fact that she was a major obstacle in their way.

He hit the communication button.

"Alright, servant...new plan!" He grinned savagely.

"Forget Celtis for now! I've got a feeling she's got things under control, at least for the time being...Whereas you're not gonna get anywhere fast with this broad in the way. And so..."

He paused for a minute, enjoying himself. He could almost _hear_ the aching in Queenbee's body as she tensed up, thrills of anticipation running throughout her quivering body.

Pain, even that which she was enduring now, was nothing after what she had lived through at the hands of Gates, and at his own hands to free her.

She lived only to please him, following his every command to the letter with an eager obedience that would see her destroy herself for the sake of doing what he asked. A frightening ally, one who would not rest, who would not stop, until she was victorious, ignoring the cost to herself so long as she annihilated whatever obstacle stood in the way of her beloved Master...

The legendary God of Destruction smiled a dark, evil smile. He had no intention of ever pushing her that far, however, as that was the realm of assholes like Weil and Gates. No...she was his willing slave, a woman who had _chosen _devote herself to him and his ambitions, whatever those were. She was one of the rare few living beings that had garnered his interest, and that alone should say all that was necessary about her strength.

Now it was time for her to demonstrate once more...the strength and the soul that he had deemed worthy to be considered his treasure...!

Omega lunged forward and seized the sides of the communications panel.

"QUEENBEE!"

The female Pseudoroid jerked upright with a gasp of delight.

"Y-Yes, Master!" AT long last, the moment she had been waiting...no, _craving_ for...!

"This is an iron-clad order! It is to be carried out absolutely, with not even the slightest chance of deviation!"

Even Saber, observing from within the God of Destruction's mind, was taken aback by the raw authority, the sheer force radiating from the legendary destroyer's every word.

Queenbee shuddered, clutching at her shoulders as she quivered in anticipation, her breathing coming in short, hot gasps of air.

"Y...yes, Master...!"

**[Cue Music: Megaman Zero Mythos- Final Battle]**

"The opponent before you is nothing more than a mere obstruction, an obstacle in the path of victory! Rise up, NOW!"

The God of Destruction's eyes blazed with the fires of hell, a burning red glow in the darkness around him. He brought up one fist and clenched it in a burst of power that shook the very air, the satanic smile of a war devil splitting his features.

"AND GO! CRUSH ALL WHO WOULD OPPOSE ME, WHO WOULD DARE STAND IN THE WAY OF MY SERVANT! UTTERLY ANNILATE ALL THOSE FOOLISH ENOUGH TO CHALLENGE A TREASURE OF THE CRIMSON KING OF DESTROYERS!"

High in the air, the red angel suddenly recoiled, as if struck.

"What in the..." She spun, to look back down at ruins she had hurled her opponents into.

Ayano stared in open-mouthed disbelief.

Queenbee stood there, her body shuddering with delight, her hands gripping her shoulders tightly, her entire frame trembling with renewed ecstasy at the sound of each word. Around her the air boiled golden, a brilliant, metallic haze dancing through the air. Steam hissed from vents in her body, whether as a result of her arousal at her Master's thunderous order, or simply a preparation for the immense onslaught that was to be released, not even Queenbee herself knew. Shattered armor renewed itself, broken skin closed and in the end all that was left was the burning, boiling heat that raced through her veins. Everything faded, save for that intense heat, and the aching anticipation for the final command.

Her entire body and mind, her very soul, strained at its leash, begging, no, pleading, for release, a craving for the one man in the world she would obey, to unleash her.

Omega's fist tightened. Whipping it upwards into the air, he gave a mad laugh and snapped it forward, one finger pointed directly at the screen with an over-dramatic flair that would have put even Ace Phoenix to shame.

"ATTAAAAAAACK!"

Ayano was knocked clear off of her feet with the shockwave.

The ruined building collapsed in on itself, crushed under an immense pressure as a brilliant golden flash exploded upwards.

"Sonofa-"was all the red angel managed to get out before fifty kilograms of Pseudoroid slammed into her at almost Mach 1.

The impact was insane, a bonecrushing blow that snapped two of the angel's ribs, fractured another, and punched her clear out of the sky.

She crashed down through a water tower, slamming into a disused crane. Coughing blood, she scrambled to her feet, frantically searching for the Pseudoroid.

"What the HELL was that?"

A flash of gold, and she threw herself into the air, a flurry of golden spines shattering the crane's superstructure.

"Christ!" She swore, and turned her head upwards, tracking the spines' path. It wasn't until she heard the creaking groan of bending metal from behind her that she realized her mistake. She whirled in shock as Queenbee seized the arm of the crane, now broken off from the body by her earlier spine attack in both hands, her crushing grip strong enough to bend the tempered steel like paper.

One second later, that crane arm was on a direct collision course for the red angel's face, accompanied by a bloodcurdling howl from Queenbee herself as she swung it forward at breakneck speed.

Unable to evade in time, the angel had no choice but to fold her wings in around herself, gritting her teeth against the terrible impact. Despite her quick defense, she was still smashed halfway across the Legion City skyline, ricocheting from one building to another in a cascade of destruction and debris.

"Ugh...! S-so...this is the secret of...the Ex-Pseudoroid...!"

Queenbee, her makeshift weapon snapped in half with the force of the blow, narrowed her eyes and shot after her prey, hurling the ruined crane aside like a piece of trash.

Utterly merciless, without a shred of remorse, this was the true power of the Ex-Pseudoroid known as Queenbee. The ultimate legacy of the savage Gatemaster, Donovan Z. Gates. The scars left by her time under his command, followed by her subsequent liberation at the hands of the almighty Crimson Lord had shaped her mind, and her body, into a unique fighting machine.

Thanks to both Gates and Omega, Queenbee herself had become entirely addicted to Omega's dominative tendencies, her mindset becoming almost that of a sadomasochist in the process. As a result, a simple order from Omega would be enough to have her swooning with delight. While she was capable of independent thought and action, allowing her to carry out relatively non-specific orders, like in this case, observing the FFA and wiping out the rival spotters, it was an order that lacked any strictly defined parameters, meaning that a fraction of her sizable processing power was directed towards analyzing the situation, and deciding what was defined as mission acceptable or not.

However, a full force order, roared with the God of Destruction's savage delight, an ironclad directive aimed at the defeat or destruction of a single, set target, no matter the cost, and with no limits imposed on her, with victory the only thing demanded of the battle...Ah, _then_ was the moment Queenbee's true power was unleashed.

There was no longer any reason to think of unnecessary things like the state of the surroundings, the current standings of the race, the proximity and number of the remaining enemy spotters...All other thoughts vanished, Queenbee's full mind and body focused solely on the target before her. No room for misinterpretation, her Master's thunderous command still ringing in her mind, her body burning with the heat of lust, and her heart singing with delight, Queenbee's power could only grow, until it surpassed any enemy that stood in her way!

It was like taking the wide spread of a shotgun blast, and funneling it into a single concentrated beam, condensing its power into a single brilliant beam of light that would pierce anything in its path.

That was the true nature of the God of Destruction's treasure, the Ex-Pseudoroid known as Queenbee!

The red angel cursed and straightened herself, her battered wings flaring open to reorient herself in the air.

"All right then, Ex...It's _on_ now!" With a reckless grin, the red angel lunged forward, her armored hands leaping forward to crash against Queenbee's, the two fighters glaring across at one another in the distance separating them.

"Then attempt to defeat me if you can...!" The Ex-Pseudoroid growled back. "For I WILL NOT FAIL!"

* * *

Far below them, the side of glass fronted office building exploded outward in a hail of gunfire.

Inside, Celtis ducked and weaved, her tires screeching in protest as she desperately attempted to evade Nord and Surd.

No longer using just their Polaris Compressor, the duo had altered their strategy, using their magnetic connections to launch each other into the fray, their bikes crashing against Celtis repeatedly, shaking her XG's sturdy frame with teeth-rattling collisions. So far the XG's toughened armor was holding up well, but Celtis knew it was only a matter of time.

She'd stopped being scared a while back, mostly because she didn't have room for it, as the vast majority of her brain had switched over to FUCKING PISSED OFF.

"For the last time...ENOUGH...WITH...THE...GODDAMN..._RAMMING!_"

She spun her bike, and heard a startled curse from Nord, accompanied by a most satisfactory sounding impact. Seeing Surd already closing in to take his place, Celtis brought up the weapons panel and just brought her fist down on it, not even bothering to look at it.

RAILGUN SELECTED.

Surd paled.

"Oh shitbiscuits."

Two circular steel rails appeared around Celtis' bike, orbiting it in a horizontal pattern. Suspended between those two rails, a gray steel orb appeared, clamps locking it onto each rail, one above and one below. The orb moved along the rails until it came to a stop pointing directly at Surd. A panel irised open on its' front, revealing the reflective lens of an energy projector.

"TARGET LOCKED."

Ten seconds later, all of the windows along that floor blew out. The muzzle of the Railgun tracked Surd everywhere she turned, traveling along its rails as it kept up an impossibly fast barrage of plasma bullets, a neverending stream of fire that chewed through concrete, steel, wood and glass with ease, filling the air with shrapnel and turning the entire floor into a demolition derby.

"'dthatcomefromholyGoddoesn'?" Surd wailed, dodging, ducking and diving as she desperately sought to stay ahead of the stream of bullets.

Celtis felt a little guilty about it, but after the hell these two bozos had been giving her, she figured she was entitled to a little payback.

"Stay the hell..."

She looked up in shock as Nord reappeared, his bike hurtling through the air towards her, the front wheel crackling with energy.

Celtis uttered a profanity that would have made Omega proud, and bolted, the Railgun retreating back into her XG's hull.

"...AWAY FROM MY WIFE!"

Nord roared angrily, his front wheel smashing the floor where Celtis had been moments ago into ruin, and punching a five-foot wide crater into the reinforced steel, blasts of magnetic energy erupting from the point of contact.

Surd, her hull scorched from multiple hits looked up, teary eyed with relief.

"Nord...!"

Nord grinned and flashed her a thumbs up, his teeth flashing in a victorious smile.

And then the floor cracked and gave way, breaking up from the force of Nord's attack and dropping them both down to the level below.

"Nord, you IDIOOOOOOT...!" Surd wailed.

"...Well, shit." Nord groaned, before he too disappeared from sight.

Celtis stared blankly at the hole in the floor for a moment then pressed a hand to her features.

"Why me?" she asked plainly. Then shaking her head, she turned and hit the gas, knowing that she had only a few minutes to move, as either Nord or Surd would use their Repulsors to catapult the other back up to her floor. Pulling up the weapons control panel again, her fingers danced across the keys.

MINE SELECTED.

Grinning, Celtis confirmed it, feeling a metallic 'clunk' as her bike ejected the heavy antivehicular mine, leaving it as a nasty surprise for anyone coming up behind her. Then she brought up another weapon.

As she moved to confirm this one as well, a deafening explosion erupted from behind her, consuming most of the corridor in the blast. Judging by the slew of outraged curses that accompanied it, Celtis guessed Nord had been the one to be launched back up. Sure enough, a few seconds later, his bike punched through the wall of flame, hell-bent on revenge.

He wiped the soot off of his face and coughed.

"Oh, you are gonna PAY for that one, Arcana...!"

Briefly wondering just what the hell Nord and Surd's bikes were made out of, Celtis hit the confirm command and brought her XG screeching around to face back towards Nord. Throwing the engine into reverse, she floored the accelerator as her computer spoke again.

MORTAR SELECTED.

As a long, oblong canister emerged from the top of Celtis' XG, the sides and front of it ejecting as it angled slightly upwards, Nord's shoulders sagged.

"Oh, for fuck's sake..."

Celtis shrugged apologetically, and pulled the trigger.

The rack of launchers spat fire, and over a dozen mortar shells screamed through the air, the arc-like trajectory leading them to smash into the walls, ceiling, and floor around the hapless Nord, not to mention a considerable few striking his bike itself.

In the enclosed space, the effect was devastating.

Celtis threw a hand up to shield her eyes from the glare as the corridor before her erupted in a sheet of white-hot flame, the entire passage vanishing amidst a fury of explosions. She felt the building shudder with the detonations and realized she had probably just taken out one of the main support columns. Add to that the several she'd smashed through on her way here, and Celtis got the feeling sticking around in here wouldn't be a good idea for much longer. As she turned to leave, the ground exploded underneath her, and the voice of Surd yelled triumphantly.

"GOT YOU!"

Celtis' bike was rocked by a massive impact, Surd punching her clear through the wall of the corridor, all the way through to the empty air outside the building. She spun through air, her wheels spinning aimlessly, before another crash of glass announced that she'd been smashed clear out of the previous building and into a new one.

The XG crashed to the floor on it's back, rolled, bounced and landed back on its wheels. Head spinning, and dizzy from the motion, Celtis dimly remembered stepping on the gas before a second blow struck her.

Nord's helmet was visible for a second, a smug grin on his face as he spun his bike in a 360-degree turn, swatting Celtis away again.

"Thought you could get rid of me that easily, did you?"

Surd crashed in through the glass, her front wheel angled down to crush Celtis' cockpit. Fortunately, the specialist had mistimed her dive, instead smashing it straight into the side of the XG, hard enough to actually rupture the armored carapace and knocking it six feet sideways in the process.

"Oh, nice." Nord rolled his eyes. " 'Piece of cake to hit the cockpit' you said. Well, you MISSED!"

"Oh yeah?" Surd shot back, "Well, at least I managed to hit her at all, unlike you with your flashy moves back there!"

"Well, excuuuuuuuse me, Princess!" Nord mocked. "My bad! Next time I won't bother trying to save you, then!"

"Wha-? Uh...w-well, who asked you to come save me?" Surd shot back, red faced. "I-I had the situation completely under control!"

With each reply, the magnetic specialists slammed into Celtis one after another, alternating for each attack. First Nord struck her, his bike crashing into her rear wheel, then as he veered off, continuing to argue with his wife, Surd's bike hit the XG's front, spinning it around crazily, and shouting back her own argument.

Finally, Nord's patience ran out.

"Okay, that's it! Forget this crap, let's just finish this off now and move on to the next target!"

"About time!" Surd grumbled, "I'm getting tired of this! Besides, you're still wrong!"

As their respective magnetic generators spooled up, engines revving until their high-pitched whine rattled the broken glass scattered over the floor.

"DOUBLE..." Nord growled.

"MAGNETIC..." Surd whooped.

"VIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICE!" Both yelled at once.

Just like the first time Celtis had encountered them, the two magnetic specialists' bikes hurtled towards one another, their opposite magnetic fields yanking Surd's left side in to meet Nord's right side, the two bikes locking into place alongside one another to form a single vehicle.

This time, however, Celtis' bike was caught between them.

With a deafening crash that shook the whole XG, the bikes slammed together, a massive metal vise that sought to crush the life out of Celtis' machine. Amidst the horrible crescendo of screeching metal, the XG's armor slowly warping under the crushing force of Nord and Surd's vice-like grip, Celtis gave a cry of pain as her head smashed hard against the XG's canopy, warning lights flashing up all over the control panel.

Clutching at her face with one hand she gritted her teeth in pain, her other hand clinging desperately to the steering wheel as she fought to control the XG, despite the pounding pain in her skull. Every time she almost recovered, a fresh shudder from the XG's mortally wounded frame would send the world spinning around her again, as the valiant bike did the best it could to protect its' rider. Sparks danced across her instrument panel, one of the screens already cracked. Worse still, the blow to her skull had thrown the Demon's Eye system into disarray, the world flickering in and out of black and white, flickers of static crackling across her view.

She fought the urge to throw up, the erratic view sending a wave a nausea through her body.

Gritting her teeth against the pain, Celtis forced open one eye, desperately trying to come up with a way out.

"If I could just Megamerge...!" She gritted, then gasped, biting down hard on that thought.

"No! If I Megamerge now, I'll destroy my bike!"

And without a bike...she would be disqualified from the race!

Any sane person would have long ago thrown in the towel, deciding that enduring this bloodthirsty excuse for a competition, one that they hadn't even entered of their own free will, wasn't worth it.

But Celtis...Celtis winced, looking out at the cracked windshield through flickering eyes. She had been forced into this race, true, but after that, she had decided on her own to compete, and to at least defeat Ibelis, just to prove something to Omega, and to herself. Omega didn't care about the outcome in the slightest, as the rules of this petty world didn't interest him in the slightest. But she on the other hand...

Celtis gritted her teeth, forcing her head to rise.

"I...I'm not as...strong as he is...nor am I as...brave...but...I still...have my...pride...as a Hunter!"

At that instant, one thought raced through Celtis' mind.

_'If only...there was a way...to use Model O's power...without Megamerging...!'_

Unnoticed by anyone, the blue gem on Celtis' forehead, all but forgotten, began to glow faintly, a familiar sign slowly beginning to materialize in its' depths...

Outside the wall of glass that separated the three fighters from the rest of the world, the fierce battle in the skies continued to rage. As a griffin mechaniloid plummeted from the heavens, striking a rooftop, it exploded, the massive cloud of flame lighting up the city for blocks around, and casting the skyscrapers and office complexes around it into sharp relief.

Had anyone been watching carefully, they might have noticed one strange anomaly.

As the light from the blast flashed against the mirror-like exterior of the building in which Celtis struggled to survive, the shadows flickered, a single one standing out where none should have existed.

The silhouette of a man flashed into existence, outlined by the harsh orange light, magnified to a several-story tall height by the radiance of the blast.

And then it was gone.

* * *

A white, empty void.

Suspended in its chains, Model O stirred restlessly as it heard the sound of footsteps. It didn't even bother to look up, knowing that only one other person could, or rather, _would_ enter this place.

It stirred plenty though, when the ground suddenly came up to smash it in the face. Sputtering in surprise, it scrambled back upright, looking around in bewilderment.

"Surprised?"

The corrupted Biometal brought its head up to stare into a familiar pair of shades.

Sure enough, the black-clad stranger, the owner of the chains that bound it here, stood before him. Ignoring him for a moment, the Biometal turned its attention back to the chains that bound it. Sure enough, they were still there, attached tightly to its body. Now, however, instead of being drawn tight, leaving it suspended in the air high above the ground, the length of the chains had increased, granting it enough slack for the Biometal to actually move around.

And also, suspiciously enough, just the right amount of chain to let the unsuspecting Model O plummet down from it's former position to smack facefirst into the floor...

It eyed the black clad man with a suspicious look, and hefted a length of chain questioningly.

He shrugged.

"Consider it a reward for your good behavior."

And already seeing the thought forming in Model O's vicious mind, he added:

"And no, you're not free."

The Biometal growled a curse, one of the few parts of its speech protocols that remained functional, and started gnawing on the chain.

Ignoring that, the black-clad man spoke again.

"She's in trouble you know."

Model O ignored him.

"And you already know that if she dies, so do you."

A noncommittal grunt.

"And yet, she does not wish to access your power now."

A low growl this time. The stranger smirked.

"I thought so...However, her refusal to call upon you does not stem from reluctance, nor does it stem from any kind of fear of your power."

Silence again. It seemed as though the corrupted Biometal, despite its almost animalistic nature, was almost...puzzled by that fact. The man supposed it made sense. After all, both of those reactions were the usual thing one would expect from someone with an insane God of Destruction living in their head. Model O, with its broken logic circuits, probably couldn't make heads nor tails of it.

Also, he suspected it was rather pissed at not being able to participate in all of the mayhem and destruction taking place around Celtis.

The man smiled, the emotion not quite reaching his eyes. And now for the bait...

"It seems that her refusal is due to the fact that summoning your true form will cause her to suffer a loss which she is not ready to accept. However..."

The man's next words rang out at the same instant that Model O heard Celtis' desperate thought.

_'If only...there was a way...to use Model O's power...without Megamerging...!'_

"What if..." the black-clad stranger's teeth glinted in the white light, suddenly seeming almost like those of a shark.

"What if there was a way for her to use your power _without_ forcing you to fuse with her? A way to allow you back into the real world, instead of fully imprisoning you here...?"

Model O turned to stare at its jailor.

His shades flashed, and for a moment, that dark smile flickered across his face once again.

"Limits and rules...things meant to be followed by all who live. Your soul is fragmented, an incomplete remnant of something that lived once. The rules of death, and the rules of life. Biometals, Reploids and humans, all are bound by the chains of fate...But you, the broken soul without a body...None of these rules apply to you. Your only restriction is to serve Celtis Arcana. Whether it be her own body, or merely a machine that she controls, to you, there is no difference."

As Model O lifted one hand curiously, the man simply nodded.

"I have loosened the chains binding you. You are still irreversibly bound to Celtis Arcana, unable to consume her as you would another host. You now simply have a greater degree of freedom to release this power of yours."

The man turned and began to walk away. He lifted one hand in a farewell salute.

"After all...for those with a broken soul, the actual body doesn't matter..."

And with that, he disappeared, stepping through a rippling gold shimmer in the air.

Model O stared after him for a moment.

Then it tugged on the chains again, chewing on the invulnerable steel almost hopefully. After several minutes with not even a scratch appearing, in gave an annoyed snarl and spat it out in disgust. It sat there for a moment, considering its options with animalistic simplicity.

After a few seconds silence, it gave an infuriated growl and punched the ground in irritation.

It was still bound to this damned human, meaning that it had no choice but to ensure this annoying host stayed alive, even if only to guarantee its own survival! And with said host refusing to call on the Biometal's power, for whatever inane reason, Model O couldn't do anything to ensure that survival!

The Biometal gritted its teeth, jagged fangs grating against one another.

It seemed it had no choice but to take matters into its own hands, just as its jailor had intended...!

Jet black chains rattling around it, the corrupted Biometal threw back its' head and roared, its rage and fury resonating throughout its strange prison.

And as the stark, empty void became stained the color of blood once more, it brought its head back down, its jaws twisted into an angry snarl.

If its form was the reason it could not be used, then it would simply take on a different one!

* * *

Celtis' eyes snapped open in surprise, a wave of energy coursing through her. Her vision, still erratic, suddenly flashed out, the Demon's Eye software rebooting and returning her sight to perfect condition.

"Wh-what...? What's going on?"

As the XG's engine suddenly roared to life with an almost feral scream of rage, the blue crystal on her forehead suddenly blazed, the brilliant sigil of Model O shining as bright as the sun.

**[Cue Music: Super Robot Wars OG-Break Out by JAM Project]**

The XG's hull shattered, chains darker than night erupting from the breaches. Both Nord and Surd gave startled yells, the chains slamming into their bikes with the force of missiles and sending them skidding away as they fought for control.

"What in the...what the hell is this?"

Nord ignored his wife, instead focusing on the readings his instruments were picking up from Celtis' vehicle.

"No way...!" he breathed. "It...it _can't_ be...!"

But it was. Fragmented hull plating crumbled off of the XG, like a molting carapace. In it's place, glaring crimson armor shone, burning with life and vitality. The old cockpit dome was blown off, ejected as a new, jet black dome of polished glass hissed out of the windshield mount, arching back over a surprised Celtis to lock into place on the rear of the bike. She gave a startled yelp as she suddenly felt her self drop a few inches, the front and back ends of the bike shifting position to extend the vehicle's length, the midsection dropping downwards to compensate for the moving machinery. The entire cockpit shifted and changed, until Celtis found herself all but lying completely prone, her arms stretching forward to hold the steering, the dashboard now just below the level of her eyes.

The tires of the XG exploded, bursting apart as new, hardened wheels formed in their place. Spikes extended from their circumference, and then retracted, in the same manner that a cat might test its' claws. At the back of the bike, two sections folded out to the sides, forming two powerful external thrusters, their support pylons angling upwards until the boosters were raised forty-five degrees above the bike's body. Their insides suddenly glowed orange, a high pitched whine beginning to sound as they warmed up. Machinery moved and shifted, opening and closing to reveal any number of weapon ports as the new beast tested its new equipment and form to ensure all systems were functioning.

The XG's length had extended to the point where it had gained almost a third of it's previous length, now as long as, if not slightly longer than, a regular car. It was hunkered low to the ground, a sleek, form-fitting canopy that would have made any fighter pilot jealous. With its previous two wheels having been traded in for four, a double wheel arrangement mounted in the front and the back, the extra width adding to the bike's stability, the thing had a distinct...animal-like feel to it, as if the machine itself was alive, a predator ready to strike.

Then, as two long crimson ridges extended from either side of the windshield mount, locking into place on the surface of the canopy over Celtis' head, she paled as she recognized them as the unmistakable crimson fins of Model O.

"Oh _hell_ no...!" She looked down at the dashboard in panic.

Sure enough, as the various instrument panels shifted and moved around, forming a high-tech array of information, a single screen glowed to life in the center of it. The picture was in color, shaky bolts of static disrupting the quality and causing the image to glitch erratically.

Despite all this, Celtis could still immediately recognize the silhouette half hidden by the erratic interference. Savage triumph in its eyes, a murderous smile the only thing visible on its hidden face, Model O grinned back at her.

She stared blankly at it for a moment.

"Fuck."

At the same time, the two specialists Nord and Surd were making their own observations of the new enemy.

"I don't believe it!" Nord exulted, "The rumors of her having an unknown Biometal were _true_!"

"What are you, nuts?" his wife demanded, "What kind of Biometal Megamerges with a BIKE?"

"Does it matter?" Nord shot back excitedly, "If anything, that just makes it even more amazing! Imagine, a Biometal that doesn't only power up a normal Chosen One host, but can even augment vehicles with its power! Think of the advances we could make with technology like that!"

Surd's eyes lit up.

"Not to mention the amount of money we could make _selling_ that tech...!"

Nord rolled his eyes in exasperation.

"God, fine! I was trying to think about it from a genuine, _scientific_ perspective, but fine! Yes, we can sell it for money too...!"

Surd punched the air in triumph.

"Yessssss! Attaboy Nord! Let's bag this sucker!"

Nord groaned and pressed a hand to his features. "Sometimes I wonder why I married you..."

Nevertheless, he slammed the accelerator to the floor, his free hand flying over the keys of his computer as he prepared for their attack. Surd gave a triumphant whoop and did the same.

Before Celtis could recover from the shock of having her bike taken over by the renegade Biometal that was supposed to be sealed inside her, she heard Nord and Surd's engines revving up, both specialists charging headlong at her again.

"Shit!" She cursed, and jerked the controls.

It was just a reflex action, without any real thought or planning, but for Model O, connected directly to Celtis' mind, it was PLENTY. Her instrument panel glowed to life, and the dark Biometal gave a howl of challenge, the colossal machine leaping forward to meet the specialists' attack like a wild animal.

"What the-?" Nord's eyes widened and he yanked the steering sideways, skidding as he veered out of Model O's unstoppable charge. Surd wasn't as lucky however, Model O crashing into her head-on. Her bike went flying, plowing through another column on the way, with a panicked yell from Surd herself.

Nord whirled.

"SURD!"

Then as his computer blared a warning, he looked up and swore. Model O skated sideways across his view, drifting as six weapon panels opened, revealing almost a dozen missiles.

The crimson bike seemed almost to laugh insanely before firing, all twelve missiles hitting Nord at almost point-blank range, blasting his bike clear off of the ground and sending it pinwheeling crazily through a wall.

As the dust settled, Model O's canopy slid open and Celtis slowly sat up, breathing hard. She could scarcely believe her eyes. In less than ten seconds, she'd all but wiped out Nord and Surd, her new bike moving almost at the speed of her thoughts. It was like an extension of her own body, as if each piston, each spinning gear and whirling cam-shaft were her blood and bones. Slowly, she lifted one hand in front of her face and opened and closed it hesitantly. In response, she felt the engine rev up and rev down, growing louder, and then returning back to idle. She concentrated, and the sides of the bike suddenly extended outwards slightly, concealed racks of weaponry revealing themselves at her command. She stopped, and they retreated back into hiding.

"Incredible..." She whispered. "It's like I'm Megamerged with the bike itself...!"

She remembered her last desperate thought, when Nord and Surd had been crushing the life out of her, and she looked down at her hands again.

"But what..._why_ did this happen? Something like this defies all the known laws of Biometals! It shouldn't be possible! And even then, Model O shouldn't have activated like this! Wh...what the hell is going on here?"

An annoyed growl from Model O was the only response she got. It seemed the Biometal itself wasn't too happy with way things had turned out either.

Wait...Celtis cocked her head and looked at the Biometal's screen quizzically.

Was it possible that...

"Did you do this...to protect me?"

Model O's image gave an angry growl and folded its arms, chains rustling as it looked away in a huff.

'_Not a chance_' its' body language seemed to say. _'It was just convenient, that's all._'

Celtis stared at the screen in blank disbelief.

For one thing, it was almost unbelievable that something as inhuman and psychotic as Model O was even capable of showing some kind of understandable emotion, much less something that looked kind of...suspicious...

Although Celtis figured she was probably reading a little too much into that second one. After all, from what the mystery man in black had said at their first meeting, Model O was sort of sealed in her, meaning that if she bought it, Model O'd probably kick the bucket too.

Thinking that, Celtis hung her head.

"It really was just self-preservation, wasn't it..."

An emphatic snort from Model O only served to confirm that statement.

She sighed, and lifted her head again, a rueful smile on her face

"Well, either way...Thanks, I guess."

Model O really did lose its composure this time, looking positively taken aback. It sputtered for a few moments, apparently at a complete loss as to how to deal with that.

For cripes' sake, it was used to dealing with people screaming and running away, or just killing everything that moved! It wasn't built for dealing with this kind of stuff!

Fortunately, it was saved from embarrassment by an angry yell.

"Arcanaaaaaaaaa!"

Celtis' head jerked up, Model O's canopy slamming shut in reflex. Moments later, a furious Nord's front wheel crashed into the transparent barrier, inches away from Celtis' face. She yelped and jerked backwards, Model O's engine revving as it leapt forward, freeing itself from Nord. The magnetic specialist crashed back to the ground, swinging his bike around to face Celtis and Model O again.

"It seems I underestimated the capabilities of that Biometal you possess..." he growled, his eyes narrowing. I _had_ planned to bring you in alive, but it seems as though that will no longer be possible."

Nord threw his head back and roared.

"NOW, Surd!"

"Okay!" came the response.

Seconds later, Model O's frame shuddered, a familiar maroon glow emanating from the ground beneath it. The Biometal roared and bucked, struggling to free itself from the powerful magnetic field.

"Wh-what's going on?" Celtis clung to the steering desperately, Model O's furious struggles throwing her from side to side.

"Gotcha!" Surd crowed triumphantly, appearing from the shadows. Sure enough, Celtis could see the tell-tale energy glow from her generator, marking as the source of this field.

"Nothing personal," Nord growled, "but I'd appreciate it if you just died right now!"

Weapon compartments opened up all over his and Surd's bikes.

"Sure, we specialize in magnetic tech," Surd winked, "But that doesn't mean we don't know the value of more 'conventional' hardware as well!"

In that instant, right before they fired, Model O ran its calculations, swore profusely and made its' move. Inside the cockpit, the steering assembly suddenly flashed bright red.

Celtis looked down in surprise.

"What was-"

Then she saw the steering handles beginning to disintegrate.

"H-hey, hold on a minute...!" she started, her eyes widening.

Before she could finish, the handles shattered completely, breaking up into fragments that looked an awful lot like data, before they spiraled around her wrists. A flash of light later, and a metallic clank, and Celtis found herself staring at two familiar looking gold wristguards. Except now, they were more like manacles than anything else.

Two more clanks, and Celtis found her ankles bound in a similar manner, now inescapably binding her to the machine. Her arms then glowed red, before being replaced with a set of crimson gauntlets that looked strikingly familiar...

"These are...Model O's arms!"

"FIRE!" Nord roared, and both bikes cut loose with a storm of firepower that shattered windows throughout the entire floor.

At the same instant, Model O's armored canopy slid open again, the Biometal snarling.

Celtis groaned, already knowing what she had to do, and not at all happy with it.

"Yeah, yeah, I know already...!" Rearing up, twin O-Busters materialized in her waiting hands. Red spirals blazed a path across her irises as she brought them up to face the oncoming assault and she pulled the triggers.

"O..._**BUSSSTEEEEERRRSSS!**_"

Crimson glowed in her eyes, and Model O's Dual Busters roared in her hands, lock on signal after lock on signal flashing across the monochrome world of the Demon's Eye. Every single bullet, every single missile, every single _projectile_ launched by Nord and Surd...

Each and every single one of them was tracked, Celtis' Busters spitting brilliant death.

Conventional munitions met Buster blast, and both lost, winking out in a flash of mutual annihilation.

Missiles, rockets, grenades, bullets...None were spared. Celtis gritted her teeth, not letting up, not even for one second, even as the impossible recoil of her Busters sent shock after shock of bone-pulverizing pain racing up her arms, threatening to tear them right out of their sockets.

Ten thousand attacks.

"No way..." Nord's voice was shaking.

Ten thousand counterattacks.

"It...it's not...possible!" Surd whispered, fear in her voice.

Ten thousand seconds.

But it was. Celtis let out a final, desperate scream, a wordless howl of pain and desperation, as she pulled the triggers one last time, the metal of the Busters burning red hot with the heat.

And then, nothing.

The world fell silent, the air heavy with the stench of gunsmoke and metal, the acrid tang of ozone permeating the stillness.

Not because the two specialists had finally decided to end their attack.

Nord's finger still continued to pull on the trigger, even as his ammunition counter clicked to zero. He stared out aghast at the sight before him.

"All...all of our attacks..." he managed, his face aghast.

"Everything we had...!" Surd uttered, shaking.

Stopped.

Completely and totally stopped.

Neutralized by the figure before them.

The Model O possessed bike stood there, balancing easily on it's wide wheels, the engine almost purring with the Biometal's smug demeanor. And there, seated atop it, was Celtis.

She coughed, and half sagged, half collapsed forward, catching herself with arms that could barely hold her. The Busters disappeared, Model O dispelling them once more.

"...d...Damn..." she managed a weak grin. "I don't...remember those things having..._that_ much kick to them..."

In its' prison, Model O gave a grudging growl of irritation. It seemed it had been right to first reinforce Celtis' arms first. The Biometal's Busters had been specially designed for it to use with its' colossal, inhuman strength. For anyone else to use them would have been a fool's errand. Had it not at least partially reinforced Celtis' limbs and body, it was quite likely that the repeated recoils would have simply torn her arms off altogether.

Which left the perplexing puzzle of why it was she could fire the massive hand-cannon called the Hades without suffering such pains, despite the O Busters having less of a recoil to them than the Phoenix Artifact...

Model O narrowed its' eyes. It would not be able to fully armor her, as it had already Megamerged with the bike. The most it could do would probably be the arms alone. With that said, Model O put a few more layers of reinforcement into Celtis' arm armor in preparation for the future combat that was no doubt soon to come, before turning a not entirely insignificant portion of its power towards regenerating the damage to her muscles.

Seeing Nord and Surd already beginning to shake off the shock Celtis had given them, the Biometal's eyes narrowed. With Celtis' arms still weak from the hammering the O-Busters had given them, she wouldn't be good for anything until her muscles finished regenerating. Model O growled in annoyance at the inconvenience of being bound to such a total n00b, and made its' move.

Celtis started as two safety belts appeared, looping up from Model O's chassis and around her back in an x-shape, yanking her down with a surprised yelp as the belts plunged into a pair of matching clamps that materialized on the long seat beneath her.

"H-hey, what are you-Hyaaa!" Celtis broke off in a high-pitched squeak, reddening as she felt the belts tighten, pressing her body down against the Biometal's length, the reclining seat shifting to press tightly up against the contours of her body.

"W-w-w-watch where you're touching...!" she sputtered, reddening slightly as she tried to move her hips.

Ignoring her, Model O extended the black canopy over her once more, sealing her inside its armored hull again. As the mighty engine snarled to life with a bestial roar, the weapons-select screen flashed, scrolling through the XG's arsenal at Model O's wordless command.

**OVERSHIELD SELECTED.**

Celtis looked up, Model O's violation of her personal space temporarily forgotten.

"Hey, that's..."

Even as the whirling field of energy blazed to life around it, Model O's tires screeched, catapulting it forward and knocking aside the startled specialists in the process.

Celtis had managed to get her still shaking arms up just in time to find a handhold on the Model's body before it took off, and winced as she watched Nord and Surd bounce off of the energy barrier with painful sounding crashes, the Biometal disappearing into a narrow hallway before they could react.

"...Hey, that was actually pretty good." she admitted. "...Although I find it vaguely unsettling that I actually managed to see that one coming..."

Model O rolled its' eyes and gave a snort of annoyance. Celtis gave it an odd look.

'_You know...when I first met this thing, it looked like little more than a wild animal, out to kill everything, but now..._'

Now Model O seemed to actually have some kind of personality locked away beneath the constantly snarling exterior. Or failing that, it at least had a working grasp of sarcasm, irritation and malicious delight. Not to mention at least a _tiny_ amount of protective instinct towards her, although in all fairness that probably was more because of the peril to itself rather than to her.

Celtis felt a bead of sweat slide down her neck as she realized how oddly familiar this was. Aside from the protective instinct...

"Guess you and that psychopath aren't really as different as I thought..." she muttered sheepishly.

Model O shot her a dirty look, and gave the belts a yank in retaliation.

"Yeek! Wh-What did I tell you about staying out of my personal space?"

The Biometal managed a malicious chuckle, made all the more creepy by its static-riddled voice. Celtis, still red in the face, tugged the belts pulling her down until they were loose again, glowering at the screen in embarrassment and irritation.

"You're just as unpleasant as the real thing, all right..." she grumbled.

Then she paused, an odd look on her face.

"Hey...what's that sound...?"

Model O raised an eyebrow, but tuned up the bike's senses anyway. A dull, repetitive crashing noise became faintly audible. Celtis cocked her head.

"Wait...that sounds like..."

And then the walls exploded on either side of them.

Celtis looked around in alarm as familiar maroon shapes materialized through the smoke, battered hulls glowing menacingly. Model O's head jerked from side to side, a distorted expletive escaping it's non-existent throat. This damn bike's sensors were so shitty it hadn't even been able to pick these bastards up until they'd dropped right on top of it's fucking head!

God it missed having a real body...Albeit its 'real body' at the moment (I.e Celtis) wasn't exactly perfect (I.e it had boobs), but hell, even that crappy body was better than this damn hunk of junk!

"Uh...O? Little help here?"

The corrupted Biometal snapped out of its random thought processes, a constant hazard in a fragmented program structure like itself, just as Nord and Surd's voices rang out in unison once more.

"MAGNETIC..."

"VIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICE!"

Celtis had time to swear once, before both bikes slammed into her again, once more seeking to crush the life out of her body, another angry expletive sounding from Model O as it reeled from the impact of two bikes smashing into it's body with tremendous force.

"Ugh...!" Celtis winced, before looking up in surprise as she heard a startled curse from Nord.

"What the HELL...?"

As she followed his startled gaze, her eyes widened in surprise.

The hull of the Model O-enhanced XG hadn't even taken a scratch, sparks flying from where it continued to clash against Nord and Surd's armor. Rather, it was _their_ machines that were taking damage, Model O's crimson hull crushing the toughened steel easily.

Model O roared triumphantly. As a new icon appeared on her screen, Celtis couldn't help but grin. Psychotic, insane bastard it might be, but she had to admit...

"I like the way you think...!" She managed to laugh, and floored the accelerator.

Hearing the XG-O's engine suddenly scream to life, Surd looked up, her eyes widening.

"Is she crazy...? There's no way this thing'll be able to go anywhere with both of us hanging onto it like this!"

Even as she said it, Model O's tires screeched uselessly against the floor, unable to get enough purchase to move the three vehicles' combined weight.

"Hah!" Surd laughed. "See, I knew it!"

A vein twitched in Celtis' forehead. In Cyberspace, a similar look was on Model O's face, its' fangs grating together so hard that they were actually throwing off sparks. It growled something, the sheer irritation in its voice making the translation all too easy to know that SOMEBODY was about to get ROYALLY fucked over.

"Why you...!" Celtis grated.

And then just like it would have if she was Megamerged normally with Model O, the knowledge of what to do simply appeared in her mind, as if it had been there the whole time.

Spikes punched out of the XG-O's tires, the sharp metal points screeching as they dug into the tiled floor. Almost instantly, the entire bike jerked forward.

Surd paled.

"Oh bugger."

Nord's eye twitched, as he could already see what was coming next.

"Just so you know, I blame this one on you." He grumbled.

Celtis grinned. "All right, let's try this again...!"

She slammed her foot down on the accelerator, pushing it as far as it could go.

Model O gave a crazy laugh, and its engine roared in response. The twin boosters mounted on the back of its' hull gave a high-pitched howl, and the whole bike shot forward, it's spiked tires clawing savagely at the floor.

Shattered tile and masonry flying in its wake, the Biometal-possessed machine catapulted down the halls, even the howl of the engine sounding suspiciously like a mad, metallic laugh, Model O cackling insanely, chains rattling and whipping around its sealed Cyberspace, as if they were stirred by a raging wind.

Celtis hung onto the steering desperately, her hair blown backwards by the sheer G-force of Model O's insane speed.

"S-son of a...Zero to Mach 1 in twenty seconds...!" She sputtered. "Son of a BITCH!"

Once again the familiar icon appeared on her control panel, blinking as Model O's insane smile glitched into life again.

"Oh shut up...!" Celtis growled. "I know already!"

She slammed her hand down again, wincing with the impact.

REPULSORS SELECTED.

Even over the screaming winds and the howl of Model O's engine, Nord managed to hear Celtis' weapon choice.

"Repulsors? Are you fucking SERIOUS? We _specialize_ in magnetic technology! Do you really think your bike's little generator is going to crank out anything even CLOSE to what ours can?"

A vein pulsed in Model O's forehead. Seizing a handful of chains, it's fist tightened and then it pulled.

HARD.

And the entire floor exploded outwards.

Twin maroon bikes shot out of the building, each from an entirely opposite side from the other, spinning wildly through the air.

There was a vague scream of "MOTHERFuckeeeeeeerr...!" which dopplered off into the distance, before being drowned out entirely by the colossal noise of the bike smashing through two bridge supports, closely followed by an even louder explosion as said bridge then collapsed on top of the bike, leaving Nord spouting a stream of outraged curses that would have peeled paint had they been audible.

Surd was a bit more fortunate, in that she didn't hit anything on her crazily careening flight through the air. Instead, she smashed into the road a good hundred meters away, cartwheeling wildly, before plowing a thirty-foot long trench across the road's surface, ending with a pinwheel straight into a nearby storefront.

One final explosion from the building, and a crimson flash erupted from it. Model O's engine roared as it hurtled forward, landing on the side of yet another building. Laughing maniacally, it fired its boosters once again, carving a path of destruction down the front of the structure as it raced back down towards the street.

Right before it hit ground level, the Biometal bike fired a pair of pistons similar to Nord's from it's underside, kicking off from the building and landing firmly on its wheels.

As it rocketed off again, Celtis hardly even needing to press the accelerator, the female Hunter shook her head woozily and straightened up.

"Holy crap, that actually _worked_..." She looked around at the plumes of dust that marked the two specialists respective crash sites and winced.

"Well, you certainly pack a punch when you're ready..."

Nord and Surd might not be dead, but they'd certainly be delayed for a HELL of a long time, not to mention would be PLENTY pissed if they ever managed to dig themselves out.

Nord kicked the cockpit dome angrily, and cursed again as he received nothing but pain for his troubles.

"OW! Son of a BITCH that hurt!" He shot the rocks above a dirty look, as if blaming them for trapping him here in the first place. He picked up the handset mounted on the dashboard.

"Oi, Surd! Come in! I'm stuck here, and I can't get the damn bike open. Get over here and dig me out, will you?"

There was silence. Nord raised an eyebrow and flicked the handset button again.

"...Surd? You there?"

"...Wheeee...Look at all the pretty colors...!"

Nord groaned and banged his head on the dashboard at the sound of Surd's dazed giggling.

"Oh for fuck's sake..." he moaned. Now it looked like in addition to his bike being completely pinned, his partner had gone and gotten herself a bloody concussion to boot.

"Snap out of it, you ditz!" He yelled in annoyance. "If we don't move it now, we're going to lose Arcana!"

There was a moment's silence from the other end. Then...

"Zzzzzzzz..."

Nord face-faulted with another groan.

"And now she's passed out. Just freaking perfect."

And so he watched in despair as Celtis disappeared from his radar range, completely helpless to do a damn thing about any of it.

His eye twitched.

"Well, there goes our paycheck for THIS run..."

"Nyu...Hey, Nordy...I wanna new Jacuzzi..."

A vein pulsed in Nord's forehead as he listened to his partner/wife's dazed sleep-talking.

"GOD DAMN IT AAAAALL!"

He hurled the headset back at the dashboard in a fit of frustration.

It bounced.

"OW MY FACE!"

* * *

**A/N:** Well, that's ONE team out of this race! Or _are they...?_

MUHAHAHAHAHA! Bow to the author and his command of cliffhangers! MUHAHAHAhaha...ha...

Why the hell am I talking about myself in the third person?

…

Anywayyyy...I had some rather entertaining moments coming up with Celtis' bike for this race. After realizing that I'd more or less come up with NOTHING on par with my usual genius, I had a flash of genius!

When in doubt, go for cheap-ness!

And so, Model O's new power was born! A Biometal that remains bound to Celtis, and yet does not only need her body to be used as its base...Basically, it's a multi-purpose, multi-cheapness excuse to allow Celtis to use pretty much any kind of vehicle, and STILL pack all of Model O's godkilling overpower!

Using a Bike? Model XG-O, ready to kill!

A car? Think Vent's Vizier, but on freaking STEROIDS.

A boat? Eh, think of your own example here...

A jet? Redefine the Shinespark Blackbird!

Do I even need to continue?

It makes sense, since let's face it, Model O (at least, my version of it) functions by its own set of rules. Also, this way, I'm no longer limited to having to only do epic mech combat scenes with Vile! Although of course, Celtis has a LOOOOOONG way to go before she gets that awesome.

So yeah, Model O can take over any machinery or vehicle, acting as a conduit between Celtis and the machine, and letting her use it almost as an extension of her own body. A convenient Deus Ex Machina that takes care of her more or less mediocre driving/piloting skills.

I'm a genius! …Or at least very, very good at being cheap.

As you've no doubt noticed by now, things are getting hectic in terms of chapter content. Juggling this many characters is having an effect, like I expected. So you can expect about two more chapters to wrap this little mess up, followed by the usual non-combat chapters, possibly two of them, to compensate for the additional length.

Also, bonus prizes for whoever manages to guess the new mystery character! The prize will be...uh...whatever I happen to find in my pocket at the time...?

What? I'm broke, dammit!

And also, what, you thought I gave Queenbee all of the slave/master/masochism whatever for fanservice? Psh, hell no (okay, maybe a little, shut up) as always, it's all part of the plan! Or at least, provides a neat way for me to give her some kind of 'Awesome Ass-Kicking Mode'.

Well, see you next chapter!

Later!

DarkShift Out!


	26. Chapter 25: Aerial Warfare

**Chapter 25 : Aerial Warfare**

Disclaimer: Capcom owns, I don't, etc. etc...Christ do I ALWAYS have to do this?

Yeesh...

Anyhow, enjoy!

* * *

Vent bared his teeth in a savage smile as he saw a familiar set of headlights ahead of him.

"Found you, Ibelis...!"

The Vizier hurtled forward as Vent gunned the engine.

"Play God on MY watch, will you...?" His finger hovered over the weapons control panel, just WAITING for Ibelis to come in range.

The reigning champ of the FFA caught sight of Vent's headlights in her mirror, and she gave a slight smirk.

"Come and get me, Guardian...If you can!"

As the Vizier's targeting system beeped its confirmation, and Vent gave a victorious yell, a brilliant flash lit up the night. He heard Model Z's warning shout, and barely had time to react as something massive slammed into the Vizier, with enough force to rock it back on its reinforced suspension. The Guardian leader let out a savage curse and fought the wheel as the Vizier skidded out of control, still hardly able to see through the blazing light.

As he finally brought the Vizier to heel once more, the light suddenly vanished, and the leader of the Guardians found himself face to face with a pissed off Gallidin Voltzer.

"YOU!" he cursed angrily. "I thought I ditched you a mile back, after I locked onto Ibelis!"

Gallidin sneered. "As if one measly bunker-buster would be enough to knock ME out of commission! You just caused a minor setback, that's all!"

He dug his claws into the armor of the Vizier, sparks flashing as his Pseudoroid talons dented and scratched the hardened ceratanium.

"Listen up, hotshot. BACK THE FUCK OFF! Ibelis is fucking MINE!" The Lightning Bullet snarled. "You and your precious Guardians have NO authority down here! This race is MY ground, so all of you little punks can just get lost!"

He reared up, right arm raised above his head as he powered up his green arm blades.

In response, Vent gave a feral roar of his own and slammed his hand down on the control panel.

" LIKE _HELL,_ ASSHOLE!"

A blast of compressed air, and the Vizieer's _entire windshield _ejected, blasting out of the frame to smash itself to pieces on Gallidin's face. The force of the entire pane of munitions-proof glass breaking itself on his features was enough to stun even the Lightning Bullet's Pseudoroid body, rocking him back on his feet with the force. Shaking his head blearily, he lunged forward again, arm blades whirling to life.

"You'll pay for that, you little-"

Gallidin's angry yell was cut off as a fully charged X-Buster muzzle smashed itself into his snout hard enough to rock him back twice as far, Vent's Megamerged form actually coming halfway _out_ of the empty windscreen with the momentum of the follow-through.

"X-action...HAAM-MMAAAAAAAAAAAH!" The Chosen One roared, before he cut loose with BOTH Charge Shots at once.

Needless to say, the two high power blasts, following milliseconds behind one another, and delivered from a muzzle that was practically _embedded_ in Gallidin's face, had rather spectacular effects.

Ibelis swore and yanked the steering sideways as Gallidin hurtled past her, landing a good fifty meters ahead, and bouncing and rolling for a good dozen more again. With another roll he managed to get back to his feet, still skidding backwards. Spotting Ibelis heading towards him at full speed, he grinned and cracked his jaw back into place, his claws already starting to glow once more.

"Well, far be it from me to look a gift horse in the mouth...COME HERE, YA GENOCIDAL BITCH!"

He leapt forward, ready to do what he did best, as Ibelis gritted her teeth, already trying to bring her front weapons to bear on him.

Vent's eyes widened as he realized his mistake.

"Oh, HELL NO YOU DON'T! NO KILLSTEALING, YOU BASTARD!"

Dropping back behind the Vizier's wheel, he opened up with a full salvo of rockets, not even bothering to aim, his Buster arm blazing away through the open windscreen.

In return, one of Ibelis' mines blasted the Vizier ten feet straight up, while a dozen rounds of her Vulcans managed to tag Gallidin in the shoulder, rocking him back even as he continued to charge at her. Gritting her teeth, Ibelis veered sideways as the Vizier crashed back to earth, narrowly avoiding crushing her beneath its armored frame. Vent spun the wheel crazily, bring the rear of the car around to clock Gallidin straight across the face and sending him spinning upwards into the air with a strangled yell of anger. The Guardian commander was forced to dodge himself, however, as a wave of energy tracers shot past him, courtesy of a vengeful Ibelis.

She cracked a slight smile at Vent's frantic evasion, before Gallidin landed back on top of her, woozy, but still PLENTY mad enough to start hammering away at her bike with both fists.

"Really, two of you guys for just little old me? I'm flattered..."

"Eh, just means it's two desperate guys." Vent shrugged. "Or at least, _he's_ desperate, anyway. At least I've still got a 'friend with benefits'."

Having long since lost track of Vent in the chaos, Ashe suddenly got the vague feeling that she should be blushing for some reason.

Gallidin paused for a moment, his eye twitching, before he turned and flipped Vent the bird.

"Yeah, fuck you too, asshole." The Pseudoroid growled, before Ibelis blasted him clear off of her with the activation of an OverShield of her own.

"OW! God damn it!"

With the combatants once again in motion, the battle began anew!

And then Queenbee kicked half a building down on top of them.

"Oh for the love of-NOT THIS SHIT _AGAIN_!"

* * *

Ignoring Gallidin's outraged wail, Queenbee blasted through the clouds of smoke, hot in pursuit of her red-winged enemy.

She caught sight of her just in time to receive an energy whip across the face for her troubles. Undeterred in the slightest, the Ex-Pseudoroid retaliated by swinging an ENTIRE FRIGGING WATER TOWER at her.

"Son of a-!"

WHAM!

Queenbee smacked her opponent halfway across town with a single strike, and then, almost as an afterthought, flung the entire tower after her. Pausing for an instant to regenerate her face, because after all, she did have to look good for her beloved Master, otherwise she might not get another chance to experience that amazing thing he could do with his tongu-

The Ex-Pseudoroid realized her body was heating up again, and she shook herself out of her perverted daze, blushing. Wiping off the drool, she charged back after her prey, rattling windows with the force of her passage. Right now, there was only room for one thing in her mind, and that was her Master's order. A single command that drowned out all other thoughts, that demanded and would receive nothing but one hundred percent of her willing obedience!

She could fantasize about the rewards for her body AFTER this was done...

"WAIT UP, GODDAMMIT!"

Panting, Ayano finally came to a stop in Queenbee's most recently vacated spot.

"Jesus...frigging...Christ...!" She wheezed. "How the hell...does she move SO DAMN FAST? One minute...she's getting thrashed as badly as me...and then the next she's a one woman demolition derby!"

She paused as she considered Queenbee's reaction to her 'Master's' last command.

"...Wow, she must REALLY be into S&M..."

Then she noticed Queenbee's golden form dwindling into the distance.

"ARGH! JUST...STAY STILL, DAMNIT!"

Yelling in frustration, Ayano's energy wings blazed, launching the harpy girl after the ex-Pseudoroid once more.

In the ruins of yet another office complex, the red winged angel staggered back to her feet, grimacing. After crashing back to earth from Queenbee's last strike, she had barely managed to avoid being crushed by the water tower that had been thrown afterwards.

Now, spotting Queenbee charging towards her once more, the nameless flier managed a grin and licked a trickle of blood off of her lips.

"All right then...Come and get it!"

Her whip lashed out once more, the end looping securely around a strut of the discarded water tower.

"How about a taste of your own medicine?"

Queenbee had no time to react to the gleeful challenge, as seconds later, the entire water tower came swinging around at her, firmly attached to the end of her opponent's glowing green whip. The massive, makeshift flail smashed her clean out of the skies, like swatting a fly with a wrecking ball. She demolished a multi-storey car park with the force of her crash landing, only to be hit even harder by a second swing of the massive weapon.

As the red wings of the mysterious fighter lifted their owner back into the sky, the flyer's eyes widened as a flash of gold emanated from the wrecked car park.

"Shit...!" Yanking her whip free, she dove as the water tower, now _shredded into two pieces_, shot past her, disappearing into the night. Before she could make any comment about that, she heard a familiar humming sound and looked up to find Queenbee right in front of her, and _swinging an entire pickup truck at her face._

Another devastating impact, a crash of metal, and a scream of twisted steel, and the flyer hurtled back to earth, blasting a sizable crater in the road with the force of her landing.

"Seriously, _WHAT THE FUCK?_"

Ignoring the outraged yell of her enemy, Queenbee charged up her swarm, the golden fog coalescing into a single, mighty lance. Energy crackled over its' surface as Queenbee pumped more and more power into it, almost too much for the weapon to withstand. Cracks racing through the blade, light shining forth as the condensed nanomachines fought to contain the overwhelming force sealed inside, Queenbee drew her arm back, still channeling power into it.

"**BROOOOKEN...!**" Her eyes blazing, she leaned forward and put the full force of her body behind it, the recoil of the throw great enough to send her four feet backwards.

"**STIIIIIIIIIINGEEERRRRRRR**!"

They felt the effects of the resulting detonation as far as thirty kilometers away, the plume of light emanating from the explosion bright enough to light up Legion City airspace for miles around. Solid steel and concrete simply disintegrated, vanishing in a haze of destructive glory.

In terms of sheer overwhelming force, it was comparable to even Ibelis' almighty Deathstrike laser.

In the FFA, so close to Ground Zero, racers went flying, their vehicles picked up and thrown head over heels through the air as the shockwave rippled outwards.

* * *

"Son of a..." Above the city, Steve jerked the airship's controls, pulling it away from the massive explosion. Leaning halfway out of the open hatch in the cargo bay, one hand gripping tightly to the ceiling rail, Cap slowly lowered his other hand away from his headset.

Staring in complete disbelief through the hurricane force winds raging past him, he actually had to stop for a few minutes while his brain thought of a suitably pithy comment to make about the sight before him.

After several minutes, he gave up, and instead settled for:

"Okay, the rally Champ, I can understand. Maybe even that crazy-assed Guardian leader, because he's got goddamned BIOMETALS. But a goddamn SUPPORTER? Seriously, is there _ANYONE_ in this race WITHOUT A FUCKING TACTICAL NUKE OF SOME KIND?"

"Well...there was that Gallidin guy, wasn't there?" Steve yelled back.

"He's a Pseudoroid! HE'S ALREADY A WALKING HOLOCAUST!"

"Oh." Steve seemed to consider that for a moment. "Okay, I got nothing."

The raider Captain facepalmed with his free hand.

"I better be getting paid for radiation treatment after this..."

"Hey, I heard alcohol is good for that!"

"Wha...Okay, that is officially THE dumbest thing I've heard you say all day, and BOY was there a lot of competition. There is NO way that's true."

Steve leaned back, hefting a bottle of vodka.

"Does that really matter?"

The Captain stared at the bottle for a moment.

It sloshed invitingly.

"You make a convincing argument, Mr. Steve. Now GIMME!"

* * *

As the colossal mushroom cloud before her slowly faded, the white hot fires of destruction cooling to a dull orange glow within its' billowing heights, Queenbee lowered her arms, breathing hard.

As the rush of her Master's command finally faded from her system, she gave a relieved sigh. She had done it, accomplishing her Master's first real order!

"Wing...**FIIIIIRE!**"

The cloud of smoke burst apart, a massive crimson beam of energy shooting skyward, ripping apart the air to slam into Queenbee with the force of a train.

"Gah!" Recoiling, she did her best to shield herself from the intense heat. "Wh...what is this...?"

In response, the beam intensified, a burning wave of blazing heat that set the very air on fire, powerful enough that even a fire-type Pseudoroid such as herself couldn't withstand it. An explosion on her back and Queenbee cried out in pain as her wings overloaded, blasting her out of the beam's path and sending her careening back to earth.

Or at least, that would have been the case, had she not been caught halfway by a familiar pair of hands.

Ayano gave a grunt of exertion, sinking a few feet with the impact, before managing to level out.

"Holy...Man, you REALLY need to lay off the snacks!"

Queenbee shook her head slightly, still a bit dazed from the explosion.

"U...uuuu...Wh-what happened?" She looked up. "Ayano?"

"Yeah, it's me." The harpy-type grinned. "I FINALLY managed to catch up to you! I _told_ you to stop and wait for me, but noooo, you wouldn't listen!"

"What was that attack that hit me...?"

Ayano looked past her and paled.

"I uh...I think she might have something to do with it..."

Turning to follow the harpy's gaze, Queenbee saw all too easily what she was talking about.

Rising from the blazing wreckage left by Queenbee's earlier attack, her still nameless opponent appeared, rising slowly up towards them. Her massive red wings were spread out behind her majestically, open at last to their full extent. This however, was not drew her attention.

Her wings were glowing.

Looking closer, Queenbee's eyes widened as she realized the source of her foe's attack. Too small to be seen at a passing glance, every square inch of her opponent's wings were covered with miniaturized microwave emitters, dozens of tiny rectangular prisms, each glowing with the heat of molten lava. From here she could make out at LEAST a thousand of the things, on one wing alone, with possibly more simply invisible from this distance.

Seeing Queenbee's stunned expression, the angel smirked, her arms folded as she continued to rise.

"Impressive, aren't they? My Burning Wings can carve their way through anything, melting even the most resistant of metals! Not even Fire or Thunder-element opponent's can survive a blast from these!"

She gave Queenbee a smug look.

"That means you too, hybrid machine."

Queenbee paled. Could it be...that this woman knew who she really was?

Seeing the unspoken question written all over Queenbee's startled features, the nameless angel grinned and brought one finger up to level it directly at her.

"If you want to know the answer, then just try to defeat me, Ex-Pseudoroid!"

At that challenge, Queenbee growled and started to get back up. She didn't have time to be lying around like this...! Her Master had given her a command! She could not lose so long as that command remained unfulfilled!

Ayano winced slightly as Queenbee half collapsed back onto her shoulders.

"Ow...hey watch what you're doing!"

Queenbee ignored her, instead looking around at the source of her sudden lurch. It seemed the damage to her wings had been more extensive than she'd thought. It would be at least another seven minutes before they were repaired enough to fly properly. Until then, she could just barely manage to hover in place.

"Uh...you okay?"

At Ayano's question, Queenbee merely shook her head.

"I can defeat her, but I need to finish recovering first. As it stands now, I can't move properly."

Ayano stared at her for a moment longer, then appeared to come to a decision.

"All right then!" She let go of Queenbee, allowing the startled Pseudoroid to find her own balance as she came to a stop in the air.

"Wh-what are you doing?"

"Well, what's it look like? You need somebody to stall her until you get back up to par, right?" Ayano slammed her fists together, lightning crackling over their surface.

"You're a Fire-type, and I'm a Thunder-type! Between the two of us, I think we can manage!"

Queenbee stared at her, bewildered.

"B...but why? Aren't you supposed to be on Ibelis' team? Why are you helping me?"

Ayano simply grinned.

"Because it's more exciting this way! What's the fun in just sitting back when there's a cool fight like this going on? Besides, this is how it always goes in all the manga, right?"

Queenbee sweatdropped.

"Uh...I guess?"

"All right then!" Ayano, drew her claws apart, tracers of electricity dancing between them, and fixed the angel with a dangerous grin.

"That means there's only one thing left to do!"

She straightened up, and pointed one finger to the sky,before swinging it down dramatically at the unimpressed enemy.

"The name is Ayano! Ayano Stratova! Flyer for Team Royale, and current holder of the world airspeed record! I'm your opponent, starting now!"

Dropping back down to a pose of readiness, she snapped her aviator goggles into place and gave a challenging smile.

"Your turn!"

The red angel stared blankly at her for a moment, then pressed a hand to her forehead with a rueful chuckle.

"It seems I'm forever destined to cross paths with straight-laced people like you..." She sighed. "Then again, I suppose I don't exactly hate that sort of thing..."

"All right then, my turn it is..." Resting one hand on her hip, she struck an arrogant pose as she responded to Ayano's challenge.

"I am Ferham of the Red Wings! Mercenary currently hired for the duration of this race, and holder of the current altitude record!"

Relaxing, she gave a grin. "So, how's that? Good enough for you?"

Ayano gave a whistle. "Wow_, you're_ Red Wings?"

Ferham gestured to her, well, red wings. Ayano sweatdropped.

"Yeeeeeah...In retrospect, I _probably_ should have caught that a little earlier..."

Queenbee simply stared.

"Um...This seems a bit...silly."

Ayano grinned. "Well, yeah, I'll admit it's a bit cheesy, but a duel's a duel, right?"

Ferham simply shrugged. "Don't look at me, I'm just playing along for fun."

Her aviator goggles glinting, Ayano's face turned deadly serious again.

"Then...here I come!"

** [Cue Music: The Cage- Sonata Arctica]**

Clenching both claws into fists, there was a flash of light, a rumble of thunder, and she punched two crackling meteors of energy towards Ferham.

She, in turn, simply rolled her eyes and smacked them aside with one wing, commenting to herself.

"...Gee, now why does this whole thing sound so familiar...?"

Somewhere in Legion City, Ace sneezed.

Ayano's wings flared, boosters powering up, and then she was gone, a sonic boom rattling windows in her wake.

"Wing...FIIIIIRE!" Rearing up, the red angel cut loose with another beam of blistering heat.

Not even stopping, Ayano did a perfect barrel roll, looping up and over the stream of fire, before slamming claws-first straight into the startled woman's chest.

"Argh!" Gritting her teeth against Ayano's raging electrical attack, she drew up one arm and smashed her elbow down onto the Harpy's back.

"Get the hell...Off of me!"

"Hell no!" Ayano shot back. "I'm not giving you a chance to break those wings of yours out again!"

Spinning around, she reared up, spreading her wings as she brought her powerful legs up. Metal sprang outwards from the sides of her boots, tilting upwards and locking into place as her talons appeared, all twelve inches of cold steel ready to do what they did best.

Her wings keeping her in position, she cut loose with a barrage of kicks that would have made any Street Fighter proud. A roundhouse right, followed by a spinning left, and then a dozen rapid, stabbing strikes, all seeking to do as much damage as possible, while she continued to alter the angle of her boosters, always keeping herself up close and personal with her opponent.

For her part, the red angel couldn't help but be forced backwards, barely able to shield herself from the furious onslaught. As blow after blow rained down, she growled and lunged to the counterattack. Catching Ayano's next kick on her forearm, she knocked it upwards, letting the sharpened claws whistle past her ear. Rearing back, she snapped the same arm forward, smashing her fist directly into her opponent's chest. As Ayano reeled backwards with a yell of pain, Ferham lunged after her. Seizing the Harpy girl's boot with both hands, she spun around, swinging Ayano in a wide arc, slamming her into a nearby flagpole, hard enough to bend it into a U-shape, before spinning around in the other direction and releasing her, hurling the girl tail-over-talons straight into a nearby wall. She crashed through it, and into the room behind, broken masonry following in her wake as she tried to recover.

"Wiiiing...!"

Ayano looked up and cursed as the familiar red glow lit the air. Digging both talons into the ground in a frantic search for traction, she threw herself into a sideways boost, her wings propelling her through the air in a desperate attempt to dodge.

"FIIIIIRE!"

The beam swept out, tracing a path of destruction through the environment as Ferham turned to follow Ayano.

The harpy girl ducked through one window, spun through a door and plunged down a hallway, before shattering another window and escaping as the building behind her burst into flames, Ferham's Burning Wing cutting through steel and concrete alike.

Turning to look back at Ferham, she swept one hand out.

"Thunder Needle!"

Four of Ayano's metallic tail 'feathers' separated from her, hanging in the air for a brief moment, before miniaturized engines whined to life and they shot off towards Ferham. The red angel dodged around the first two and struck out at the third, only to have them dart away, flying around her at a safe distance. After a few moments of ducking and dodging, the four feathers finally stopped, their pointed ends aimed directly at Ferham.

"Crud." The angel said succintly and dove. Moments later, all four feathers fired, beams of light intersecting at the point Ferham had occupied moments ago.

Looking up, she was rewarded by the sight of Ayano charging in again, taking advantage of the distraction in another bid for close quarters combat. Her eyes narrowed.

"Ohhhh no you don't..." Charging her right wing, she dodged two more of Ayano's electric spheres, waiting for the harpy girl to get close enough, before swinging the now-superheated wing around to smack her clean out of the air and into another maze of unfinished construction.

"Owww..." Ayano groaned, shaking her head even as she forced herself into a run, leaping off of the steel beam beneath her just in time to avoid another high power beam from Ferham's wings.

"Damn, you really like spamming that move, huh?" She grinned, already charging her claws in preparation for her next attack.

Then she caught a flash of green from Ferham, and her grin faded at a surprising speed.

"Ohshit."

With a panicked yelp, she ducked, Ferham's brilliant green energy whip slicing a few strands of hair from the top of her head. Firing her boosters, she yanked her legs up desperately as the whip cracked past her again, threatening to take them off at the knees. Throwing herself into a corkscrew, she spiraled through a maze of steel girders, spinning left, then spinning right, before-

"Wiiiiiing...!"

-a warning flash of red light ahead of her caused the Harpy girl to curse, braking _hard_.

"FIIIIIIRRRE!"

Unable to stop in time, Ayano made desperate grab for a passing support beam. Her clawed gloves scoring deep grooves in the metal, the I-beam groaning in protest as it bent under her weight, she managed to swing herself onto a new trajectory. Unfortunately, it wasn't as smooth as she would have liked, as the momentum from her 90-degree swing pitched her through a pile of building materials, bouncing her across a half completed floor before she finally crashed through another wall, back into the open air.

"Ugh..." she groaned, pressing a hand to her head. "Note to self: Work on landings..."

Then Ferham came around the corner with a vengeance, wings already charged for another shot, and Ayano cursed.

"No time to dodge...!"

And that really only left her with one option.

"What in...?" Ferham barely had time to finish her stunned sentence, her eyes widening in shock as 54 kilograms of Harpy-type reploid cannoned straight into her. Her Burning Wings discharged reflexively, the blasts passing scant inches away from the sides of Ayano's head and, incidentally, demolishing the penthouse suite of a hotel several miles away, but who cares about that, right?

The two flyers hurtled out of the air and into the side of another half-finished building, Ferham's whip clattering to the ground in their wake.

This structure, however, seemed to have been built much tougher than the previous buildings that had suffered the effects of their battles. As the dust settled, the smoke parted to reveal the two combatants embedded in a sizable crater in the wall, broken bricks and mortar falling around them. Ferham's back was to the wall, both legs pressing hard on the weakened stone as she fought back against Ayano's pressure. Her hands were locked with the Harpy's, in a furious contest of strength as they sought to overpower one another. Ferham, to get free of Ayano, and Ayano to crush Ferham into the cold stone wall.

"Geh...you're pretty tough for a non-combat model...!" Ferham gritted.

"Power...isn't everything...!" Ayano managed. "Speed's plenty tough...once you know...how to use it...!"

Sparks flew from their clenched fingers, Ayano's clawed grip struggling against Ferham's elegant gloves.

"And up close..." Ayanno gave a dangerous smile, "I've got more than enough...power, too!"

Her arm mounted boosters, the false 'wings' that made her a Harpy-model, roared to life, plumes of energy erupting and blasting twenty feet into the air behind her. Ferham's eyes narrowed as, bit by bit, she felt her hands being pushed back. The wall behind her cracked and began to shift, ruptures spreading out around her.

"Damn...you weren't kidding...!" She gasped, her forearms beginning to shake with the exertion.

And then...she smiled.

"But I'm far from done."

Ayano's eyes widened. "What do you..."

Before her surprised gaze, a hairline crack raced down the center of Ferham's breastplate, parting to reveal a perfectly concealed vertical seam. As the last locks released, her breastplate snapped open, each half swinging out to the sides on hinges built into the armor.

Ayano stared at Ferham's exposed chest.

"Um...those are certainly...impressive..." She managed, a slight trickle of blood flowing from her nose.

"You haven't seen anything yet." Ferham grinned.

The skintight black under-armor that barely managed to contain Ferham's ample assets began to glow ominously.

And it was an all-too familiar, menacing red glow.

"Breaaaaaast...!"

Ayano's face went white.

"Oh you have got to be fucking KIDDING me."

**"FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRRRRREE!"**

SKA-BOOOOM!

The secret of Ferham's power was her extraordinarily powerful thermal generators. One for each wing, and a third one that served as her core. This third one, therefore, was considerably more powerful, as it was also responsible for keeping her functioning. It is this very same generator, however, that fuels her hidden ace, the frightening heat of her chest-mounted Fire Blaster, which she then renamed for more...anatomical accuracy...

The blast was twice the power and intensity of anything Ferham had thrown out yet. At point-blank range, it blasted Ayano straight in the face, smashing her free of Ferham and catapulting her half a mile backwards, a trail of explosions following her rapid passage across Legion City's skyline, accompanied a brilliant red lance of thermal energy.

In the silence that followed, Ferham's high-heeled boots tapped down lightly on the roof her whip had fallen to.

"It never fails." She grinned. "No matter who they are, not even the most battle-hardened opponent can resist a view like this...And if they're all straight-laced, upstanding characters like X, then they get too flustered to think straight."

Stretching her hands over her head, she let the cool night air wash over her exposed chest, the scantily-cut black armor still smoking from the intense thermal blast.

Satisfied that she'd done enough fanservice for one fight, she triggered her armor's locks, the pink and red breastplate closing over her chest once again.

Ayano gave a weak groan, and struggled to rise. After a moment, she fell back, her body still smoldering. It was only because she had been thrown back by the blast that she even had a face left. As it was, she was going to have a BITCHING sunburn for the next few weeks.

Ferham looked at the faint column of smoke that marked Ayano's crash site and smirked.

"That was a good line about power and speed, I'll give you that." she said finally, "But you forgot one thing."

"If power and speed aren't enough, then relying on your wits and cunning will always pull you through."

Bending down to pick up her whip, she spread her wings and took to the skies once again.

"Now..." Her eyes narrowed as she searched the dark air above Legion City. "Time to finish off that Ex..."

A flash of gold from up ahead, and she grinned.

"There!"

Her brilliant whip carved a bright green arc through the night as it lashed out at Queenbee-!

And stopped, as firmly as if it had struck a wall.

Ferham halted, a surprised look on her face. Tugging on the whip yielded no result, other than to pull it taut.

"What the hell...?" she muttered. Following the luminescent green line all the way to the end, her eyes widened in disbelief.

"Son of a bitch...!"

Queenbee slowly raised her head, blue eyes burning in the dark. Gone was the previous appearance. Now, heavy golden armor covered her arms from shoulder to fingertips, her hands encased in oversized, clawed gauntlets. Forged from the bodies of hundreds upon hundreds of her loyal micromachines they were an almighty armor that refused to yield, even to the most powerful of attacks. Seized firmly in their grip was the end of Ferham's whip, the brilliant green energy crushed between Queenbee's merciless talons.

In Queenbee's eyes, the seven minute timer expired.

"HaaaAAAAAH!" With a wild yell, she clenched her fists, green energy flashing outwards as it sought to escape her iron clutches, and then she yanked hard on the whip, a powerful pull that jerked Ferham forward before she could react.

Almost immediately, Ferham released the whip handle, already knowing where this was heading. Breaking off, she reared back, flaring her wings out to their full extent, and pulling her breastplate open with both hands.

"No time for mistakes now...!" she gritted, already realizing that this Queenbee was going to be a lot tougher than the last.

**_"Teraaaa...!"_**

Queenbee reeled back, caught off guard by Ferham's release of the whip.

_**"Fiiiiiiire...!"**_

The Ex Pseudoroid whirled back around to see Ferham's wings spread wide, her chestplate open, and a brilliant scarlet light already blazing like the heart of three suns in one.

_**"BLASTEEEERRR!"**_

A supernova in the night sky, the burning glory of the Red Winged Queen of Flame as she unleashed the full power of her triple generators.

On the ground, Celtis looked up in amazement.

"What the hell is that?"

Model O followed her gaze, and roared.

A lion's roar that echoed through the streets of Legion City, unnerving many of the other racers, and sending a chill down the spine of those who knew that roar.

As one, Gallidin Voltzer, Ibelis Royale and Vent paused in their relentless war with one another to look up at the burning sky.

"Is it just me, or does that sound like somebody's about to get FUCKED UP?"

Gallidin gave a brief shudder at his last memory of that roar.

"Buddy, you have NO idea."

Ibelis said nothing, staring wide-eyed up at the specter of her sister outlined against the brilliant light above her.

"SISTER!" For a brief second, she almost swerved, a blind panic overcoming her, before she managed to force it down, the image of her sister fading, to be replaced by the sight of Queenbee in all her armored glory, facing the oncoming blast.

The younger Royale sister gritted her teeth in anger, at herself for that moment of weakness, and at Queenbee, for wearing her sister's face...

Celtis gunned the engine, and sent Model O rocketing up the face of another building.

"Shit...! If she gets hit by that...!"

Lowering Model O's canopy, she reared up, already reaching for the Hades at her waist...

Only for Model O to give an angry growl and slam the cockpit shut on her again.

"OW! Hey, what the hell are you-?"

She stopped as she saw what happened next.

[**Cue Music- GaoGaiGar OST: Yuusha ou Tanjou!- Masaaki Endoh]**

Queenbee gave a savage growl and hurled aside the useless whip. As the blazing holocaust of heat raced towards her, vaporizing all in its path, she drew herself up, snapping her left hand out, palm open and aimed directly at the brilliant scarlet beam.

** "PROTECT SWAAARRRRM!"**

A wave of gold erupted, spiraling in front of her open palm to form a massive, whirling field, a brilliant galaxy of golden lights.

Ferham's beam slammed into it, the raging heat of destruction versus Queenbee's glorious light of genesis. As fast as the micromachines were destroyed, still more reappeared, taking their place in a neverending cycle of rebirth.

Every cloud above the city was blown away, a colossal wave of force blasting outwards from the clash between the two forces.

And then it happened. Cracks racing up the golden armor of her left hand, Queenbee gave a triumphant yell as the whirling shield before her glowed with new life. The light of Ferham's Tera Fire Blaster shrank, condensing into a new form, as the Protect Swarm distorted it into a single bright sphere of energy.

Ferham recoiled, stunned. "Wh-what in the... My attack!"

The scarlet sphere began to move, tracing a path of light over the golden galaxy of Queenbee's Swarm. Up, down, across, it moved, tracing a perfect pentagram. As the sphere of light connected the last line, it disappeared, rejoining the energy making up the pentagram. Queenbee drew her arm back, the red pentagram blazing brilliantly and in a single motion, snapped it forward.

The golden galaxy disintegrating behind it, the external armor of her left hand shattering away into dust with the force, she hurled the entire construct of energy straight at Ferham.

Still stunned from the defeat of her Fire Blaster, Ferham couldn't react in time, the burning pentagram striking her head on. A flash of light, and it detonated, releasing the pent up power of Ferham's own attack in a single, devastating burst of power.

She gave a howl of pain, her exposed chest armor cracking as it took the brunt of the attack. As she flew backwards, propelled by the explosion, her armor battered and cracked, still red hot from the heat of her returned attack, she managed to brake with her still functional wings and looked up, gritting her teeth as she sought to find Queenbee once more.

It wasn't hard. The Ex-Pseudoroid stood in the same spot, the last of her left arm's armor disappearing as it returned to normal. Ferham gave a savage smile and reared back, her wings flaring up.

"I've lost my chest blaster, but I've still got these wings! Let's see you block this without that left arm ! Wiiiiiiing...!"

"Not this time!" Queenbee snapped. Gold light glinted around Ferham and she looked up to see an array of deadly golden spines surrounding her. They struck a second later, striking her from all angles.

In that brief moment, the Ex-Pseudoroid whipped her right fist up to the heavens. It, along with the armored forearm of her gauntlet began to spin, whirling until it became little more than a golden blur.

Ferham finally broke out of the storm of needles, her wings charging once more, and reared up, preparing to fire.

Then, as Queenbee drew her arm back, a determined look on her face, the Red Angel realized what was coming.

"Fiiiiiir-!"

**"BROKEN...REVOLVEEEEER!"**

Queenbee's hand shot forward, launching the entire spinning assembly forward like a giant bullet. The rest of her augmented armor shattered, its' work done.

Even as Ferham desperately tried to fire, it was too late. The Broken Revolver smashed through her left wing with a sound like breaking glass, the entire wing shattering into jagged fragments.

She screamed then, clutching at her left shoulder as the loss of her precious wing struck her like a red-hot knife to a raw nerve. Her right wing still fired, but the beam went wide, missing Queenbee by a mile. Then the Revolver returned, curving back to strike her right wing this time, and self destructed, destroying it completely.

Ferham plummeted from the sky, crashing to earth on the roof of a building with an agonized screech.

Still not down for the count yet, she staggered back to her feet, coughing blood. Her two ruined wings ejected, a new pair materializing almost instantly and locking into place in the empty sockets. With a savage snarl she turned to look up at the sky, energy charging in her wings once more, this time rerouting power from all three generators to fuel this strike.

And stopped, an expression of disbelief written all over her face.

"What in the hell...?"

The golden swarm circling her once more, a massive figure was taking shape on front of Queenbee.

A pair of armored legs, clad in heavy titanium boots.

Two arms, locked within massive, clawed gauntlets, three spikes emerging from the black banded knuckles of each.

An oversized, badass longcoat of sheer gold that whipped in the raging wind.

A blank face, with no discernible features, little more than an empty slate.

And finally, a long, unruly mane of spiky hair, and her masterpiece was complete.

Celtis' jaw hit the floor, and Model O gave a strangled squawk of outrage.

"N-n-n...No...freaking...WAY. Is that...?"

In Celtis' garage, the God of Destruction managed a half choked profanity. Translating the unspoken question from her vantage point within the Zweihander, Saber glanced at the screen and nodded.

"Yes, I believe your servant Queenbee has just finished creating an artificial golem whose appearance is almost completely identical to yours."

Queenbee swept her hands out to the sides, a triumphant gleam in her eyes.

"Now GO! The ultimate representation of my devotion! **Gold...Saber..._GAAAAAAAAAAAR!_**"

The brilliant golden fake-Omega slammed its fists together and gave an unearthly, inhuman roar, one that shook the very air itself. Leg and back mounted boosters thundering to life, the machine gave a howl, and launched itself forward.

GoldSaberGar roared once more, apparently unhindered by its lack of a mouth and drew its right arm back, a familiar violet energy beginning to build around the clenched fist.

Within Legion City, Celtis, Ashe, Craft, Gallidin Voltzer, Syrene Nagato and hell, pretty much anybody else who had seen any of the fights Omega had been involved in since his awakening in 23XX, yelled in one outraged voice.

**"ARE YOU FUCKING _KIDDING_ ME?"**

"Omegaaaa..." Queenbee yelled, the fires of victory blazing through her body.

Ferham's wings drooped as the massive figure's shadow fell over her.

"I'm not getting paid nearly enough for this."

"_**IIIIIIIIIMPAAAAAAAAAAAAAACTTT!**_"

And the entire skyscraper exploded.

* * *

Omega stared blankly at the screen for several long minutes. Occasionally, he would open his mouth, as if to say something, only to close it again a few seconds later.

This went on for a while.

Unbeknownst to him, Celtis and Model O were having an almost identical reaction.

"Did we just..."

Growl.

"...that was..."

Snarl.

"How in the..."

Another growl.

"She...she just...!"

Emphatic nod.

Ashe on the other hand, was in danger of falling off of the flagpole she was standing on as she stared blankly up at Queenbee. Her thoughts on it were fairly easy to understand.

"HolyshitholyshitholySHIT I am SO fucking glad she couldn't do that back then."

Ayano, who had by this time regained consciousness, simply stared.

"That was THE COOLEST GODDAMN THING I HAVE EVER SEEN." she finally managed.

It was, ironically enough, the two commentators who finally managed to put into words what everyone else was thinking.

"_**WHAT IN THE NAME OF HELL, HEAVEN AND EVERYTHING ELSE IN BETWEEN**_ _**WAS**_ _**THAT SHIT?**_"

* * *

Somewhere at ground level, amidst the clouds of smoke, there was a cough.

Flat on her back, both wings broken to pieces for the second time in as many minutes, Ferham stared wordlessly up at the sky.

Her eye twitched.

"See, THIS is why I don't take contracts from you guys. It's because of shit like this."

"Hey, in my defense, I just wanted you to keep an eye on things! YOU were the one that started this whole mess! And besides..."

There was an uncomfortable silence.

"I, uh...I hired you independently...He doesn't know about this..."

Ferham blinked, before a slow grin spread across her face.

"My my...! Is that so? Well, you've certainly fallen hard for him!"

Ferham could almost _hear _the other person's blush, accompanied by a bout of embarrassed spluttering.

"I-I-I...He...Erk...! For the last time, I am NOT IN LOVE WITH THAT BASTARD!"

Ferham simply laughed.

"Well, whatever. Either way, it's not like I ever owed that bastard anything, so I'll just put this one up as a freebie."

Before either of them could say anything more, an eerie, otherworldly wail, pierced the air. A dull, ghostly moan, it seemed to start from the very depths of your soul, resonating through your bones, shaking the air, and vibrating up through the very buildings themselves.

It went on for almost a minute, a vibrating, incoherent..._sound_, for lack of a better word. The world shivered under its onslaught, the air itself cooling as fog slowly began to appear.

Ferham kicked off of the ground, her wings lifting her back into the air. Looking around, she spotted Queenbee supporting Ayano as they headed off towards the race once more.

"Hm. I take it you lot were expecting this to happen."

"A little, yeah." her employer admitted. "That's not all, either..."

The eerie howl sounded again, a wave of sonic vibration that echoed through the very bones of all who heard it. Even the two commentators felt it, as high above the city as they were.

"...hey, Steve?"

"Yeah, Captain?"

"You know that weird feeling I get that always tells us to get the hell out of Dodge before some weird shit or the other happens?"

"Uh...yeah."

The Captain stared bleakly down at the darkened area the race was heading for. Unlike all of the other districts they had passed through, where even the most run-down of them had at least some kind of lighting, even just a streetlight or two, this area...had nothing. It was just shadows, the darkened buildings lit only by the faint light of the moon.

And for some strange reason, an extremely localized fog bank was beginning to appear in and around it.

"...I'm beginning to get that feeling again..."

Down at ground level, Vent's knuckles whitened on the steering wheel.

"...Ashe. What the hell is that?"

Ashe was in Model H form now, leaping from building to building as she homed in on Vent's position.

"I...I have no idea...! I've never heard anything like this before...There's no Maverick or Mutos I know of that makes a sound like that!"

Vent risked a glance sideways.

Not just him, but Gallidin and Ibelis had paused in their fighting, the Pseudoroid's head flicking from side to side as he looked around uneasily. He too looked unsettled by the strange noise.

Ibelis, on the other hand...

"This is the same…! This is the same as that time!"

Vent jerked, startled, as Ibelis' engine roared. He caught the barest glimpse of her features, contorted into a rictus of rage and anguish, before she blew past him, hurtling headlong into the darkness ahead of them.

"Wh-what the…The hell was that about?" Gallidin demanded, pissed off.

Vent's jaw tightened as he stared after Ibelis' fading tail-lights. After a long moment of silence, he reached forward and slowly picked up the comm.

"…Aile. Come in, Aile."

He hoped he was wrong about this idea.

His sister's image appeared seconds later, as she'd been worriedly hovering over the communications line ever since the FFA had started.

"What is it?"

"First off, are you guys getting this?"

Aile looked up to where the Guardian Base's main screen was displaying nothing but static.

"Yeah, we had it on visual up until a few seconds ago. I think that supposed 'fog' is some sort of jamming device."

"I figured as much…" Vent growled, "But that's not the reason I called. Pull up everything we've got on the Royales, both Vesper and Ibelis."

"What? Uh, yeah, I guess that shouldn't be too tricky, but…what's going on?"

A clank of metal, and Vent looked across to see Gallidin pulling in next to him.

"You've seen the FFA route plan too, I take it?"

"Well, no shit." Gallidin snorted, "Everyone here has."

"Got anything to say about it?"

"Duh, yes!" The Lightning Bullet growled, "Any idiot with half a brain can see that Legion's steering us all in the direction they want us to go!"

Listening in, Aile's expression darkened. So she and Vent hadn't been the only ones to see that…

"But there's just one thing that makes no sense in all of this." Vent continued, his tone still carefully controlled.

"If that's Legion's plan, then why is it exactly that their roadblocks stop so suddenly?"

"Ambush?" Gallidin guessed. "They might just be leading us into an easy killzone to catch the lot of us…"

Vent shook his head.

"No, for two reasons. One, if he already knew this much, why didn't Ace just bring the hammer down while we were all back at the starting area? And two, I've already checked out satellite photos of the entire course. There's no way for Ace to move the amount of troops he'd need into that area without us knowing about it."

"So then…what's going on?" Aile asked, baffled.

"It means that whatever's going on here, the purpose of this race was to bring us to this one location. After that…then it won't matter."

Gallidin turned to stare out where Ibelis had disappeared, his eyes narrowing.

"And ten will get you twenty that a Royale is involved in this whole mess somehow…" he growled.

Aile looked down at the screen as one of her operators signaled her, indicating that the files she had requested were ready.

"So THAT's why you want me to look up Vesper! She's the only thing that could have caused Ibelis to freak out like that!"

"Bingo." Vent grated.

"Vesper Royale…" Gallidin muttered. "I've heard some things about her last race…but it's hard to tell what's real and what's just rumor…"

Vent began to get that feeling once again. The cold feeling on the back of his neck that warned him that somewhere, somehow, things were about to get very bad, very fast.

"I'm not sure, but I think we're about to find that out for ourselves…" He muttered.

Aile's hand tightened on the grip of her command chair.

"…Do you want any additional support from us? Cedre says she can have a squad ready to go in five minutes!"

Vent shook his head. "Negative. Whatever we're dealing with here, it's plenty tough, and I don't want to risk any casualties until we know for sure what it is we're going up against."

"Alright..." Aile said worriedly. "Hold on while we get the intel on Royale..."

The sound of engines made him look up, to see Celtis pulling in alongside them, Model O's kickass new engine making it a simple matter to catch up to them.

There was a moment's silence as both Gallidin and the Guardian Commander took in her new bike.

"...Okay, I think I can safely say it never did _that_ when I used it." Vent managed.

Gallidin was less restrained.

"All right, seriously, what the FUCK? Is it just me or is crazy shit like this fucking NORMAL now? What the hell, man? First that HAX bullshit with the dual wield Busters, then dual-wield SWORDS, not to mention throwing around a whole fucking BUILDING, and now it can TRANS-FUCKING-FORM,** TOO**?" He flailed around angrily. "HAS EVERYONE EXCEPT ME GONE BATSHIT CRAZY?"

Celtis held up one hand sheepishly.

"Uh...did I mention that it can do your Lightning Dash move now too?"

Gallidin stared at her for a moment, then threw his hands up in the air.

"All right, that's it. Fuck you. Fuck you ALL. I've had it with this shit. Two plus two equals five, and the government is actually run in secret by the Easter Bunny. Fuck you reality, I give up."

Celtis winced as she watched the Lightning Bullet smack himself in the face, shaking his head in despair.

"If it helps, my day hasn't gone all that much better..."

Vent rolled his eyes. "Eh, ignore him. He'll get over it." Then his face turned serious.

"Good thing you showed up, actually." He growled, gesturing to the rapidly dimming surroundings. "I've got a bad feeling about this, and the more guns we get together, the better."

Gallidin's head snapped around to glare at Vent.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold the fuck up a second. What's this about getting together? I already said, this is MY turf, and I'll deal with it myself!"

Vent glared right back, as the eerie roar sounded again.

But before he could say anything, Aile called back.

"We've got a problem." She said, her voice tense.

Vent looked back down at the screen.

"What've you got?"

"A whole lot of nothing." Aile snapped. "Legion Security is all OVER these damn files! But the one thing we do have, is this: Vesper Royale's last race, the one that wrecked her racing career, and her life into the bargain as well…The last place she was seen before her crash was heading straight through the gates of Sector 14!"

The handset slipped from Vent's grip. Around him, Gallidin and Celtis displayed similar reactions.

Passing on either side of them were the remains of a massive gate. It had been effortlessly smashed into ruin, leaving behind a passage big enough for all three of them to pass through side-by-side, even with their vehicles.

This however, was not what had unnerved them so.

It was the shattered sign that lay past it.

**WELCOME TO SECTOR 14.**

"Oh, fuck." Gallidin breathed.

As if on cue, the terrifying roar sounded again.

But this time, there was another sound accompanying it.

Dozens of smaller howls, an unmistakable metallic screech present in each one.

Scores of engines, roaring into life.

Then, as blazing red eyes began to open, tiny pinpricks of light that appeared in every dark corner, hidden within every fleeting shadow, and the black world before them suddenly boiled to murderous mechanical life, every radar within twenty miles screamed a warning, Maverick signal after Maverick signal winked into existence.

Deep within Sector 14, the slumbering monster threw its head back and roared, declaring war on those who would dare enter its territory.

The Black Thresher was awake once more, and the city itself would tremble before its wrath.

* * *

A/N: If you're not scared shitless yet, don't worry, you WILL BE.

The SHIT gets REAL next chapter.

Other than that...Oh my God. I promised myself that I WOULDN'T go GaoGaiGar all over this mess. That lasted like, what, five seconds?

**insert facepalm here**

MAN, I suck.

I had IMMENSE fun writing this chapter still. Ferham of course, got upgraded, with WAY more firepower, as is the standard for, well, pretty much EVERY DAMN CANON CHARACTER IN THE CHRONICLES.

Seriously, what the hell, Capcom?

And before you ask, no, Ferham is NOT, repeat, NOT another one of Ace's agents. She's a mercenary, similar to Vile, and therefore not tied down to any organization in particular.

Now, why is that? After all, clearly A.C.E. is the only facility capable of resurrecting Reploids like her. So...why isn't she still with them...?

Stay tuned to find out.

Anyway, heh, a MILLION bonus points to whoever recognizes the inspiration for Ferham's new weapons!

And yes, even Ayano got her chance to shine here! After all, there's no point in just putting in a random OC if they can't do something for themselves! So yeah, she's got some bite to go with her bark, and I didn't even get to go all out! Darn...Anyway, she'll be around in the future, so there's always a second time!

Next up, the (probably) final chapter of this whole mess! And it will therefore be as LONG AS ALL HELL, and will also be updated a WEEK EARLIER THAN NORMAL in order to compensate for the shortness of this chapter. Seriously, I'm going to NEED the extra space, because if it plays out the way I think it will, there's NO WAY I'd have been able to write past this point with making a horrible cliffhanger. As it was, I had to struggle just to write an extra thousand words here, just so you guys wouldn't call me a TOTAL cop-out.

So don't kill me just yet.

Finally, to face the mysterious last boss of the FFA...Just who, or _what_ is Thresher? What kind of monster awaits our heroes? And just what the HELL has Ace DONE?

I'd say he was a bit of a douche for risking the lives of so many people, except most of these 'people' are more hardcore than most regular Security and military troops!

Conservation of Ninjutsu trope, I guess?

And, more importantly, where the hell IS that scarlet-coated bastard, anyway?

Find out in the next chapter!

Later!

DarkShift Out!


	27. Chapter 26: Versus Black Thresher

**Chapter 26: Versus Black Thresher**

**Disclaimer:** Etc etc, and etcetera…

Oh, and may feature some slight, er...'interaction'...between two characters...um...

Shut up, you'll know what I mean when you get there!

* * *

Gallidin Voltzer roared with rage, his whirling talons eviscerating another one of the Mavericks as they leapt towards him. Nearby, he could hear the almighty thunder of the crimson Hades, Celtis blasting away at everything that moved. Beneath her, Model O snarled its contempt for its foes, the bloody red bike smashing, shredding and pulverizing anything its tires could reach, cutting loose with any number of built in weapons. On his other side, Vent, Commander of the Guardians, had retracted the Vizier's roof and was now standing at full height, one hand gripping the steering wheel as Model ZX's Buster barked in his other. This was also accompanied by the occasional yells of "For God's sake, X, quit being such a pansy! They're just a bunch of walking scrap metal!" and X's panicked replies of "Screw you, those are freaking tin-can ZOMBIES! I HATE ZOMBIES!"

Gallidin had to admit, the description wasn't all that far off. The Mavericks that had swarmed them mere moments after entering Sector 14 were little more than walking mechanical skeletons, with weapons bolted on. Weak as fuck, but annoying as SHIT in numbers like these!

He had not a damned clue where so many of these creepy freaks had managed to crawl out from, or even what the FUCK they were doing here, right in the fucking MIDDLE OF LEGION GODDAMNED CITY, but somehow, he knew that this bloody Sector 14 was the source of the bad feeling he'd had before, the one which had brought him back to the FFA this year.

So yeah, here he was, up to his goddamned eyeballs in mech-zombie Mavericks, with not a single idea how any of this had come about.

From the profanities issuing from Vent's direction, he was pretty certain the Chosen One wasn't exactly pleased with things either.

"HANDS _OFF_ THE FUCKING PAINT JOB, MORONS!"

**BLAM!**

* * *

Deep within the heart of A.C.E., Marino stared up at the huge wall monitor.

"Sensors are tracking over a hundred Maverick signals, ma'am!"

"The first wave of competitors has already clashed with their front ranks!"

"Aaaaand the competitors are winning so far." One of the operators winced.

Marino nodded with satisfaction.

"All right, so far, so good. It's still going according to plan then."

"It looks that way, ma'am!"

Marino shivered. "Ugh, stop calling me that…I'm not THAT old yet, am I?"

Recovering, she glanced down at the operators.

"The Mavericks right now are little more than small fry. The FFA teams should curbstomp them, no problem. That's why we brought them there, after all!"

Her eyes narrowed. "We, on the other hand, are here for one reason and one reason only! We're going after the biggest fish of them all: the Black Thresher!"

"No sign of it yet, miss Marino!"

"Well, keep looking!"

Turning to look back at the screen, she frowned.

"What about the remaining spotters?"

"The majority of them seem to have fled, but there's a few who're still heading straight for the fight! We're tracking Queenbee approaching them from the North, but there's still no sign of Ibelis' flyer, Ayano Stratova."

"Damn…!" Marino chewed the tip of one titanium fingernail. "I TOLD that crazy flasher not to go overboard…"

"Hey now, isn't calling me a 'flasher' a bit harsh?" Ferham's mild retort came over the speakers.

"This from the woman whose special attack is pulling open her top and blasting enemies with her boobs." Marino retorted dryly.

"For the last time, I have perfectly normal breasts, thank you very much!" Ferham huffed indignantly. "It's the armor I wear underneath that channels my Fire Blaster!"

"Considering how little that 'armor' actually covers up, it might as well be your chest anyway."

"And all of this from you, a girl who likes to do high kicks in a miniskirt. What color are you wearing today? Pink? Ooh, I know, or is it your favorite scarle-"

Marino flushed bright red and tugged the hem of her skirt down a few inches.

"Th-that's enough of the small talk now, thanks very much!" She stammered up at Ferham's teasing grin.

Fortunately, she was saved from any further embarrassment as the entire command center was suddenly dyed crimson, every klaxon screaming a warning. Marino whirled with equal parts dread and triumph, as the massive wall screen suddenly showed the words they had all been waiting for, .

_**WARNING! MASSIVE ENERGY SOURCE DETECTED!**_

"Miss Marino! We're picking up a huge spatial anomaly forming within Sector 14!"

"The bastard's finally here…" The thief growled.

Ferham laughed.

"And it's about time too! After all, it's rude to keep a lady waiting!"

Marino reached up to tap her headset.

"Craft?"

"Ready and waiting in the wings, as always." Came the immediate reply.

"Well then, I've got good news…"

* * *

The sound of other engines approaching rapidly from behind Vent, followed by some more angry yells, suggested that the other FFA competitors had arrived as well, and were equally unhappy with the current situation.

The Chosen One X-Buster-ed the face off of another Maverick…zombie…Galleon…scrap…_thing_, amidst a squawk of disgust from X, and kicked the steering wheel. The Vizier screeched into a sideways drift, guns blazing as it mowed down another dozen of the scrap metal soldiers.

"Son of a bitch…" He growled. "How the hell did we miss a Maverick force of this size?"

"Screw THAT!" Gallidin shot back. "I got a better question: What the hell are these things and where the blazes did they come from?"

"Aile! Any ideas?"

"None yet!" His sister replied. "We're still trying to crack the protection around the info on Sector 14!"

She paused.

"We do have ONE piece of good news, though."

"And that would be…?"

"Well, officially, the district's been declared as condemned. Since that's just been proven to be a cover-up to keep people out of there, it doesn't help all that much, aside from the fact that it means that…"

"There's no need to worry about civilians getting caught up in this, right?"

Aile flashed him a thumbs up.

"Bingo!"

Vent paused to consider that.

Then he hefted his X Buster, the light of a full charge casting evil shadows across his grinning features.

Moments later…

"EAT PLASMA, SUCKERS! HAAAAHAHAHAHAHA!"

Celtis ducked as a colossal Charge Shot sailed past, ruining several more Mavericks' days.

"Well, it's nice to see SOMEBODY'S having fun here…"

The other remaining racers were no different. Even Vix was getting into the spirit of things, wrecking Mavericks left and right with a flurry of acrobatic attacks. She pulled in next to Celtis, her wheels kicking up sparks as she straightened back to her full height.

"So this is where you got off to, huh?"

"Yeeeeah, it just sorta happened, I guess." Celtis replied sheepishly, the Hades blasting another Maverick's head clear off. Model O laughed maniacally and shot another one in the crotch with a heat-seeker.

Celtis winced. "Okay, seriously, you have got some MAJOR issues."

In response, Model O's image flipped her the bird before turning its attention back to its' days of happy, happy genocide.

Vix raised an eyebrow.

"I'm pretty sure this isn't the bike we sent you in with…"

She watched the bike rear up and smash it's spinning front wheel down onto another zombie-mech's face, the spikes snapping back out with a evil metallic noise as Model O proceeded to split the enemy in two straight down the middle.

"For one thing, I don't remember installing a spike weapon."

Celtis' eye twitched.

"_That_'s what you noticed?" She groaned, and pressed a free hand to her face, the Hades still hunting down targets all on its own in her other hand.

"It's a long story…I'll explain later."

"You BETTER!"

She winced at the sound of Kitara yelling into her headset.

"Oh, I was wondering where you went…"

Gallidin punched one claw through the chest of the last Maverick in front of him and tossed the useless remains aside in disdain.

"Well, that was fun." He remarked sarcastically. "Almost as fun as shooting myself in the leg."

He turned to face back at the other racers, who by now had wrecked the remaining Mavericks and were now eyeing the surroundings and each other warily.

"So! Anybody got any more bright ideas?"

"You mean aside from kill anything else that shows up?" Vix commented dryly.

Gallidin gave her an approving look.

"Huh, you're smarter'n I thought."

Vent rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, just dandy. First things first, we hope my sister can dig up whatever it is Ace's been hiding before we go up against whatever the hell it is that's screwing around in here."

"Aaaah, bullshit. We already squashed these freaks, no problem! What the hell else're they gonna bring?"

And then it all went to shit.

Vent and Celtis were almost deafened by the voices of Aile and Kitara, both of them yelling in a panic.

"Celtis, Vix, look out! I'm getting a colossal power reading from near your position, and it's only getting bigger!"

"Vent, you need to get out of there! Something's coming!"

The Guardian Commander clutched at his headset, his eyes widening.

"What? What's coming? Aile!"

And then they heard the roar.

It was all around, them, a terrible, bone-shaking snarl of anger that reached down into your very gut with the fear of it.

"The fuck…?" Gallidin managed, recognizing the roar as the same one that had announced their entry into Sector 14. "It's that fucker again!" He whirled around. "It sounds like the sonofabitch is right on top of us!"

Celtis' eyes widened, red spirals lighting up as the Demon's Eye blared an alarm louder than any before. For a moment, she had no idea what she was looking at, as the whole world around her seemed to blare red with a desperate warning.

And then she felt the faint vibrations running through the earth, and she made a terrible mistake.

She looked down.

Vent jerked as he heard Celtis' terrified scream.

Even Model O was caught off guard by the intensity of her reaction, skidding, the bike weaving crazily all over the road before the broken Biometal managed to regain control.

"Celtis!" Vix was at her side in an instant, staring worriedly at her friend.

The green haired Hunter clutched at her face, eyes wide with panic as she stared at the monster only she could see.

"It…it's in the ground…!" she managed to say.

Vent's eyes widened.

"What did you say?"

And then, Celtis didn't need to say any more.

**[Cue Music: Invader Zim- Escape on The Pig]**

It was Gallidin who sensed it first, a powerful presence that distorted the magnetic lines of the Earth. His head snapped up, looking back the way they had come, and he felt his blood freeze.

"What the _fuck_…?"

Vent and Vix turned to follow his gaze.

Far behind them, the ground was…moving?

This was not the advancing mound that indicated some form of tunneling being carried out. This was the ground, the streets, and everything in its path simply…bending, as if it was all just a mass of molasses.

And it was fucking HUGE.

The street bent, distorting as it flowed over the approaching…whatever-it-was. The thing was moving deceptively fast, covering almost a kilometer towards them before they had realized it, and it was still accelerating.

The massive distortion continued to rise and rise as it rocketed towards them, an ominous, sonic vibration thrumming through the air in accompaniment.

"Son of a…Everybody, bail!" Vent thundered, and floored the gas.

As the remaining racers scattered, a white line of light tore across the back of the rising distortion. As he saw what emerged from the sparking white glow, Vent paled.

A single, colossal dorsal fin rose from the earth, a dark, metallic structure that continued to climb and climb, curving up to a height of almost five stories. It's exterior was covered with scars, and made from what looked like a warped slew of different metals, all winding over and around one another to forge a single, rough surface.

Gallidin swallowed hard, his eyes following the huge fin down from its tip, to where it vanished into the warping mass that was hurtling towards them.

"Oh…shit. Is…Is that what I think it is?"

As if in response, the ground itself shook with the beast's roar, and the massive fin suddenly rocketed towards them, the razor edge at its front slashing a gaping trench through the earth as it hurtled forward.

"SHIT!" Vent screamed a curse, the Vizier skidding crazily as it spun out, barely managing to dodge the massive guillotine. Others…were not so lucky.

The colossal fin smashed through three other vehicles, splitting them in two with ease. Vent didn't know if the pilots were dead or alive, and at this point, he was in no position to care. The thing swept around for a second pass, the guillotine-like blade smashing through building after building, and yet the ground itself remaining relatively untouched.

"How the fuck is it DOING that?" Gallidin demanded.

And then it was charging at them again, a horrible screeching sound coming from the point where the steel fin grated against the material of the streets and ground, crackling white sparks flying.

"Dammit!" Vent cursed, again. The thing was simply too big, and it was coming on too damned fast! They wouldn't be able to dodge it this time, not without getting thrown into a nearby building or just crushed outright!

"Dude, if you've got a plan, now'd be a good time for it-!" Gallidin yelled in panic.

And then in a single, lightning fast movement, the fin disappeared, plummeting back down into the depths. Even the distorted ground settled back, becoming level and whole once more, without a single sign of it ever having moved in the first place. One last ripple flickered over the road surface, and then...nothing.

"Wh...What the...?" Vent's eyes widened in disbelief.

"...Ooookay, what the fuck just happened?" Gallidin finally asked, his voice still shaky.

"Forget that, where'd that damn thing go?" Vix snapped.

Then Celtis' voice cut through the night.

"It's not done yet!" She yelled, panicking now. The red spirals of the Demon's Eye blazed as she frantically shouted a warning.

"Everybody, get out of the way-!"

And then the ground in front of them warped once more, splitting in two like the waves of the sea, and then the full, raging might of the nightmare called Black Thresher erupted towards them, red eyes blazing.

Having been warned in advance by Celtis, the racers had split into two groups, peeling off to the sides. As a result, all they could do was watch in open-mouthed shock as it sailed past, a colossal monstrosity of twisted steel and snarling metal.

Thresher wasn't a Maverick.

Thresher was a goddamned MONSTER.

Almost two kilometers long, the beast called Black Thresher was, in fact, exactly that. It was a gigantic, metallic thresher shark.

A massive, streamlined head, with four mad crimson lenses for eyes.

A long, steel body, ridged with twisted metal and broken steel, a splintered, haphazard armor that would shred anything that dared strike it, an evil red glow seeping from the cracks.

The fifty meter tall dorsal fin that had slashed through the ground in the earlier attack, razor sharp edges glinting in the insane red light of Black Thresher's body.

A matching pair of horizontal fins, equally bladed, used for steering.

A wide, snarling maw large enough to swallow an entire destroyer in a single bite, lined with row upon row of whirling, jagged, chainsaw teeth, all of them shrieking with metallic fury as they grated against one another, red sparks flying from the death-machine's jaws.

And finally, the colossal tail that gave Black Thresher it's name. The upper fin of it trailing for almost half of Thresher's body length behind the gigantic metal shark, it cut through the air with a deadly whine, slashing through a building as cleanly as any sword.

Except in this case, the sword was about half a mile long.

Black Thresher screamed with anger at being denied its prey, meat grinder jaws screeching and grating as it ground them together with rage. A shower of red sparks flew from the whirling steel fangs and it was gone again, its colossal curved tail fin disappearing back into the earth last.

One final ripple, and all was still again.

Nothing but the sound of bike engines was heard for several moments, as their riders attempted to overcome a combination of heart-stopping shock and sheer overwhelming terror.

"...sweet...motherfucking...Christ...!" Gallidin managed to choke out, his jaw tightening in a desperate attempt to stop his teeth from chattering.

"Wha...what the...What the hell was that?" Vix was deathly pale. As a Reploid with combat capabilities, she'd faced several scary opponents before, on the rare occasions that she'd do Hunter missions, but this...!

This was on a whole other level!

Even Vent, the battle-hardened leader of the Guardians, looked shaken, his shoulders trembling as he fought to keep his composure.

"Son of a FUCK!" He cursed, expelling all of the air in his lungs in a single profanity.

Feeling somewhat better, he turned to look at Celtis, who was clutching tightly at her bike's handles and hyperventilating, looking just a few steps away from breaking down completely.

"And you saw..._that_...in the ground?"

Celtis could only manage a shaky nod. And now Vent could understand the reason that she had freaked out so badly. Looking down at the ground you once thought was solid, only to see a two kilometer..._monster_...like that, swimming past like some kind of beast from the depths of the ocean would have scared the HELL out of anybody.

There was a loud crash from up ahead, and a building crumbled into ruin as Thresher's mighty dorsal fin came back around for another strike. This time, Thresher had risen up enough that most of its back was showing, all four of its red eyes glaring insanely at them as it charged forward.

Vent's eyes narrowed as he looked forward once more.

"This is impossible...! How is it just moving through the ground like that? It's like it's just swimming through water!"

Gallidin gave him an incredulous look. "No offense dude, but I think that's less of a problem than the fact that a GIANT MECHANICAL SHARK THE SIZE OF A SMALL ISLAND IS CURRENTLY TRYING TO KILL US!"

As if on cue, Thresher roared again, and reared up, its chainsaw fangs screaming as it prepared to slam them shut on its prey.

A cool, familiar voice spoke up.

"Well then, I suppose it's about time we joined the fray."

At that instant, well over three dozen tank buster missiles shot past overhead, slamming into Thresher's body with devastating impacts. The colossal shark gave a screech of rage and recoiled, diving back down into the ground, its thrashing tail demolishing a building in the process.

"Son of a-Who the fuck was that?" Gallidin demanded, spinning around.

And that's when two full wings of Legion Security fighters rocketed over the ruined buildings of Sector 14.

The Lightning Bullet froze.

"S-s-se...SECURITY? HERE?"

There were similar noises of panic from the other racers around him.

"Legion Security fighters? What the hell are they doing way the hell out here?" Vent demanded.

"Why don't I answer that question for you?" The voice spoke again, and this time a matching image appeared on their screens, showing the second-most dreaded thing any FFA Racer wanted to see during the Rally.

Marino, infamous female thief extraordinaire, and the feared right hand of the infamous Scarlet Phoenix grinned, a smile like frozen iron on her face.

"Yo."

Vent twitched, his heart sinking.

"You bastards WERE behind this all, weren't you." He said, his tone resigned.

Marino shrugged. "Hey, YOU guys were the ones who wanted to have an illegal demolition derby in the middle of Legion City. We just figured we'd put it to constructive use!"

An angry, metallic roar shook the air, and racers scattered as Thresher's massive dorsal fin demolished another building, hurtling into their midst again as the gigantic mechanical shark, a nightmare of junked machinery and twisted metal screamed its fury to the heavens.

Vent snarled and slammed his foot down on the accelerator. The Vizier roared triumphantly and shot forward, ramping straight up and off of the distorted earth that warped around Thresher's colossal hulk. Firing his built in hydraulic jacks, Vent sent the Vizier into a corkscrew, smashing through a collapsing wall, before spikes punched free of the tires, screeching as the Vizier tore off, racing along the pathways of the falling building as it sought to get clear.

Lightning blazed through the air, inscribing an impossible series of right angle turns, faster than the eye could track, before Gallidin Voltzer reappeared behind Thresher, his talons ripping the asphalt to shreds as he struggled to put some distance between himself and the enemy.

Vix was close behind him, her Kinetic suit giving her the speed and agility to climb the still standing buildings on either side of Thresher with ease. Her tires clawing away chunks of masonry as they screeched against the wall, she looked back, trying to spot Celtis.

She needn't have worried.

Model O's canopy slid back once more, and Celtis straightened up, an annoyed look on her face.

"I know, I know! Christ, you're almost as annoying as the real thing!" She lifted her right hand, Demon's Eye burning brightly as the spiraled barrel of the crimson Hades shrieked to life.

_**BLAM!**_

"This-!"

_**BLAM!**_

"Is-!"

_**BLAM!**_

"The-!"

_**BLAM!**_

"Last-!"

_**BLAM!**_

"Time-!"

_**BLAM!**_

"I-!"

_**BLAM!**_

"Let-!"

_**BLAM!**_

"You-!"

_**BLAM!**_

"Do-!"

_**BLAM!**_

"The-!"

_**BLAM!**_

"Planning, godsdamnitall!" Celtis finally finished screaming, each word punctuated by the godly thunder of the world's most powerful handgun. Eleven shots, each one with the force to pulverize even the toughest armor in existence, slammed into the distorted earth, each blasting a foot-wide impact crater into the warped surface. Each and every one of them punched through, smashing into the body of Thresher underground.

All of that, and the only result was for the massive shark to deviate less than two meters off of its previous heading. But that opening was all Model O had needed. As Celtis frantically ducked back down, yelling at Model O, the possessed bike gave a howl of challenge, and pushed its engines to the max. The two pylon mounted turbines shrieked to life, blue-hot energies erupting from their exhaust as G-forces slammed into Celtis. Going from 60 to 450 in the space of three seconds, Model O released four Hunter missiles, before shooting past them entirely, the rockets unable to keep up with its own impossible speed.

Shooting up the side of the distorted earth as Thresher's massive head reared up, fangs bared in a feral scream as it sought to pulverize the insect that had shot it in the face, Model O flew into the air, using the massive shark's emergence from hiding as the perfect ramp. Celtis caught a glimpse of jagged, screeching chainsaw teeth, all illuminated by a burning red glow-

-and then they were past it, Model O hurtling through the air as all four of its Hunter missiles finally caught up, slamming into Thresher's exposed face in a fury of fiery detonations. As the colossal machine gave a roar of pain, Model O grinned sadistically and added insult to injury.

The insult here taking the form of a almost a dozen rear-fired rockets, exploding all over Thresher's upper armor plating with savage abandon.

Vent, Gallidin and Vix reunited on the ground once more, the Vizier successfully escaping the collapsed building as Vix made an acrobatic landing from her previous perch.

The Guardian Commander looked around warily.

"Hold up, where'd Celtis go?"

There was a dull whistling noise in the air. Following the increasing volume, Gallidin looked up and back...

"SHIT FUCK AND DAMN!"

And threw himself sideways. Following his lead, Vent wasted no time in yanking the wheel hard in the opposite direction. No sooner had they both cleared out of the way than Model O smashed headfirst into the ground.

The massive crimson bike flipped end over end three times, landed on its back, spun around another four, sparks flying, before its grating, spike tipped tires tore the road to pieces, spun it _back_ onto its wheels, executing a wild, swerving course that demolished a mailbox, two lamposts and part of a wall before it straightened out again, spikes retracting as it decelerated, pulling alongside them once more.

There then followed several of minutes of silence during which the other three main characters stared at the crimson bike, over a dozen scratches and dents automatically repairing themselves.

"Okay, now remind me again just why the HELL it is you guys can't do that?" Vent said eventually, trying unsuccessfully to shake the vague feeling that he should be ashamed of the fact that he had just been out-badassed by Celtis Wingates-Gisborne ARCANA of all people.

Model Z floated at eye level for a moment. It stared at Model O, who was practically _radiating_ smugness with every rev. If Model Z had possessed a mouth, at this point it would be open and closing in an attempt to say something.

After several minutes of silence, Model Z finally turned to Model X.

"...Why the hell CAN'T we do that?"

If it had owned hands, Model X would have smacked itself in the face.

"Oh, I don't know, maybe because we're not BATSHIT INSANE? Also, we don't have a freaking DEATH WISH!"

"Psh, laaaaaaame." Model Z grumbled.

In the background, Model O cackled triumphantly and flipped the whole universe off with both fingers, the universal signal for "Fuck you all, I am AWESOME!"

Gallidin was almost apoplectic by this point.

"She just...It did...how the...who...rockets! Explosions! Dead!"

"Oh dear, I think you broke him." Vix winced as Gallidin continued to rant, gesticulating wildly at the surroundings. "Seriously though, I'm beginning to think giving you an XG model was a better idea in the long run."

There was a moment of silence.

"Uh...Celtis?"

Model O jerked as a single, twitching hand reached up, and slammed down on the instrument panel, clawlike fingers clutching at the image of the Biometal. Celtis raised her head slowly, one eye twitching, but _both_ radiating identical glares of murderous fury. Blood running down her face from numerous cuts and scrapes, and her entire body feeling as though she'd been beaten to death by a two by four with rusty nails in it, the green-haired Hunter methodically brought the Hades up again and leveled it point-blank at Model O's screen.

"If you even THINK about doing something like that...EVER AGAIN..." she wheezed, a grin of half-hysterical rage on her face, " Then so help me God, _I am going to shoot you in the goddamn face!_"

Model O raised an eyebrow.

"And _then_..."

Nobody else heard whatever the other threat Celtis added in was, but WHATEVER it was, it was enough to make even the terminally insane Model O flinch.

It stared at her uneasily for a moment.

"Well, if shooting you in the HEAD doesn't work, of COURSE I'd shoot you somewhere more painful!"

It was at that point that Model O made a mental note: Next time it decided to thrash around like that, it was going to ensure Celtis was K.O'ed. After all, she couldn't get pissed off by something she couldn't remember, right?

A polite cough sounded over the communications array.

"Well, now that you've all gotten that out of your systems, would you mind getting back on topic?"

"Oh, I'm _sorry_!" Vent growled, sarcasm dripping from his words. " Yeah, gee, now that we're not, I don't know, FIGHTING FOR OUR LIVES AGAINST A GIANT ROBOTIC SHARK, sure, let's just go back to having a little chat!"

His fist slammed down hard on the steering wheel.

"BULLSHIT! We're friends and all, but this charade stops NOW! I want an explanation for this, and I want it YESTERDAY!"

Marino held up her hands placatingly.

"Hey now, no need to fly off the handle here!" She smirked. " I _was_ going to explain this whole mess to you, but you started ranting before I could finish!"

She rested her hands on her hips, giving an annoyed huff.

"Really, you and Ace are just too much alike for your own good..."

A vein pulsed dangerously in Vent's forehead.

"WHAT was that?"

"Hey, hey, easy Vent." Aile's voice cut in. The second Guardian Commander turned to look at the Base's screen, which was currently split in two: One half displaying Marino's image, and the other showing Vent's irritated countenance.

"But I agree with Vent. This has gone WAY beyond the level of a regular cover-up. What is that thing, and what do you guys have to do with it?"

At these words, Marino finally dropped the last pretenses of her teasing and turned serious once again. She looked to the side and gave an order to someone off-screen, before turning to face them once more.

"This should help explain a lot of it." She answered.

Almost immediately, Aile's console lit up, indicating an incoming file transfer. Judging by Vent's non-committal grunt, he too was receiving this information, as was probably every other racer in the FFA. Aile scanned the first two pages before her eyes widened.

"Th-this is...This is the information I was trying to access earlier!"

Gallidin gave an angry yell as he cut loose with a long green shockwave of energy, slashing through the road and the wall of a building, but breaking apart on the surface of Thresher's massive fin.

"What is this fucker MADE of?" he muttered under his breath, before turning his attention back to the open communications line. "Yeah, well, for those of us currently trying to NOT FUCKING DIE out here, maybe you could give us the Cliff Notes version?"

Marino rolled her eyes. "Drama queen...Anyway, that 'thing' you're currently fighting...Well, it's a long story, but to start with, it's name is Black Thresher."

The massive shark, now identified as Black Thresher, reared it's head and gave a scream of rage, its snarling maw a metallic hell of whirling blades, jagged fangs and chainsaw teeth.

"...And no, that's not where we got the name." Marino added dryly.

"Yeah yeah, explain that shit later!" Gallidin yelled desperately, "On the other hand, explain how the HELL it's moving around like that RIGHT THE FUCK NOW, PLEASE!"

"Right." Marino winced, watching the ground and buildings warp as Thresher effortlessly 'swam' through them all.

"Thresher's source of power is an experimental spatial reactor. It was a prototype created by Legion one year ago. Unfortunately, it was stolen at its grand unveiling six months ago, by an unknown culprit. Less than a week later, Security started receiving reports of Thresher tearing up Sector 14."

"A _SPATIAL_...?" Vent choked out, before his eyes narrowed, his mouth tightening into a grim line as he realized the magnitude of what he was dealing with here. Nearby, Vix's reaction was similar, a dark look in her eyes as she stared at Thresher's hulking mass diving back into the earth.

Gallidin and Celtis on the other hand, simply exchanged confused looks.

"...aaaaaand now, a translation for the non-scientific people?" Celtis raised her hand tentatively.

Vix sighed.

"A spatial reactor essentially warps the effects of space around it. By doing so, it can generate colossal amounts of energy at very little expense. The only problem is that that the field generated by it is extremely dangerous, and so far I've heard of no-one who's been able to come up with a way to control that. But that's besides the point for now. Thresher is using that power to warp space around itself."

"To warp space-Is that even POSSIBLE?" Gallidin sputtered, leaping over a chunk of fallen debris.

Celtis, thinking of her current life ever since she had encountered Omega, wisely decided not to comment on that.

"Apparently it is." Vent muttered darkly, his eyes fixed squarely on Thresher, "The bastard simply bends the matter surrounding it out of the way as it passes, and then bends it back into place behind it. No _wonder_ energy attacks weren't hitting it as hard as I expected...!"

Seeing Celtis' still-bewildered expression, Vix sighed.

"...It's a little like oil and water, Celtis."

The light dawned on Celtis. "Ooooooh. Well...damn, now I feel like an idiot..."

"Anyway," Marino continued, the Security fighters leaving a trail of explosions in their wake as Thresher writhed in fury below them, "The point is, Black Thresher has, for the past six months, eluded any and all attempts at capture or destruction, not to mention hospitalizing Ace numerous times in the process."

Ignoring Vent's snickering, she went on.

"One of the problems is that Black Thresher very rarely shows its face, appearing only when a sizable threat to its territory is detected. It's at that point that it deploys its minions, the weird zombie things you saw earlier, which are also formed from its own body. If those are defeated..."

"Then the big boss himself makes an appearance..." Gallidin muttered, watching as Thresher demolished another building, Legion's fighters still harassing the giant shark. "So THAT explains it."

Marino nodded. "Correct. Our problem before was always dealing with both the drones AND Thresher itself."

She looked away for a moment, muttering to herself.

"...also, because SOMEbody always refused to take any backup with him. I tried to warn him, but noooo, he never listens...!"

"So instead, you and Legion Security simply used us and the FFA competitors as a combination of bait and cannon fodder." Vent snapped, his eyes narrowing.

Marino gave him a dismissive wave. "Please, what do you take us for? We've hijacked the FFA's safety transfer since you hit Sector 14, and believe me, we're a lot better at it than they are. Sure, you end up in a jail cell, but at least you're in one piece."

Celtis winced. "That's kinda cold..."

"After all, the whole point of this is to rebel against Legion Security, so competing here means you're prepared for that, right?" Marino gave a fiendishly innocent smile.

It was at that point that any racers watching the broadcast made a mental note to avoid getting transferred under any circumstances. There were REASONS Marino had been unofficially been nicknamed the Scarlet Phoenix's Pink Demon...

"But still, to just use a whole race like this..." Aile murmured.

Marino's eyes hardened. "The FFA Rally is renowned the world over as having the greatest collection of dangerous Raiders, loose cannon Hunters and bounty-hunting mercenaries of them all. Who ELSE would have been hard-assed enough to pull this kind of fight off?"

Several other racers began to grin at that comment. It was true, after all. The FFA WAS the worst, most savage and brutal of races, and to survive here almost _guaranteed _you an automatic 'Badass' status. And they HAD sort of TOTALLY WASTED Thresher's zombie Mechaniloid minions without even breaking a sweat...

"If we wanted a bunch of expendable meatshields, we'd have gone looking for some! Instead, we needed hardcore, so we came here!"

There was a wild whoop from further back in the ranks of racers, accompanied by a few yells of agreement.

"Tch...!" Vent gritted his teeth, realizing Marino was swinging the racers' opinion over to her side.

"But at what cost?" Gallidin shouted, "Even if we decide to help you take this bastard down, what are the risks? We'll still end up in a Legion cell if we fail, and there's still a risk of dying!"

Vent looked across at the Lightning Bullet gratefully. Finally, someone with sense...!

"So?" Marino replied coolly. Gallidin almost staggered back a step.

"Wh-what do you mean 'So?'? This is kinda life and death here, woman!"

Marino smiled.

"So then...what makes this different from the regular FFA?"

Deafening silence was her answer, the Lightning Bullet struck speechless by her question. It was true. The FFA _was_ the same. The only difference now was that the objective had changed, and that this time they had been coerced/tricked into achieving that objective.

"Y-yeah, well, at least in the FFA _we _get to choose whether or not we want to compete!" Gallidin managed to recover. "You lot played us all for fools and trapped us in this scheme of yours!"

Marino smiled again. It was not any less scary than it had been the previous time.

"I see, I see..." She murmured, one finger tapping her chin idly. "Your problem with all of this is that it was done against your will, and that you feel used, hmmm?"

Then she looked up, a gleam in her eyes, and Vent's heart sank. That particular look was one a LOT of people knew far, FAR too well, often associated with a blood-chilling shiver of terror. It was the look that let you know Marino was about to utterly and thoroughly **_waste_** your sorry ass.

"Well then, how about this..." She spoke, her tone suddenly playful and innocent-sounding. "For any racers deciding to join the fight against Thresher from this point onwards, Ace Phoenix has authorized a hiring fee of eighty thousand EC apiece and an amnesty for any previous FFA-related crimes."

There was dead silence.

"Oh, and there's also an additional bounty of one million on Thresher's head."

Marino smiled sweetly.

Vent slowly lowered his head to rest on the steering wheel, a despairing groan escaping him. Total and absolute defeat, as complete and uncompromising as always.

As one, every surviving racer remaining, including Gallidin Voltzer, raised their voices in a single, ecstatic whoop.

"FUCK YES!"

And just like that, the Pink Demon of Legion City racked up another victory to her name.

* * *

Perched on the wing of one of the fighters, Craft rained bolt after bolt of blazing blue death down on Thresher's position, _Neige_'s muzzle glowing from the heat. His eyes narrowed as he stared down at the raging beast.

"Damn..." he muttered. It was as they had suspected. The spatial field that allowed Thresher to warp space around it also acted as a kind of armor, protecting the colossal shark from all but the worst of attacks. Even Celtis' Hades hadn't been able to damage it as badly as they'd hoped. It was taking over a minute of sustained fire from _Neige_'s highest power setting to even scratch the thing's body. He wasn't certain how long he could keep this up, but his objective WAS simply to buy time until Marino had won over the FFA racers.

After all, they DID sort of need every body they could throw at this thing.

He fired again, and was rewarded by another roar of anger from Thresher as the blue beam sliced a chunk from just beneath its eye.

Then he heard the yell from the racers and grinned. Somehow, he wasn't surprised, but he was pretty certain Ace _would_ be once he found out how much Marino had bought them for.

WHAM.

He looked to his left.

Hanging on to the edge of the wing with a desperate deathgrip, Ashe looked up at him with a nervous grin.

"Uh...help?" she squeaked.

Somehow, Craft decided, he really, reeeeeeeally didn't want to know...

* * *

Queenbee's armored feet touched the ground amidst the ruins of a building. Looking around in the darkness, she could hear the commotion of the FFA's battle against Thresher in the distance. She ignored it, though, as she had come out here on a different errand. She was here to find somebody.

"Um...Ayano?"

Rubble shifted.

"Ow...ugh...I'm over here...!"

Queenbee started in surprise at the voice, before activating her wings and flying over towards the source.

"No, not that way...! I'm over _here_, dammit!"

"O-oh, sorry."

This time heading in the right direction, Queenbee found Ayano. The Harpy-type was on the ground, her back leaning against a nearby wall. Her entire body was covered by cuts and bruises, and her breathing was shallow, indicating possible damage to her ribs. And to top it off, most of her upper body and face had a rather rosy tinge, a result of her encounter with Ferham's Breast Fire attack.

All in all, Ayano Stratova was in rather sorry shape.

But what surprised Queenbee was none of these injuries, but rather a far more pressing problem.

None of them were healing.

Even on a damaged Reploid, the worst of injuries should have healed to a far more manageable state than this...!

"Y-you're not..."

"A Reploid...? Heh...sorry, but...'fraid not." Ayano coughed, a weak grin on her face. "Just another cybernetic human..."

"But...what about...?" Queenbee gestured to Ayano's armor, and her injuries.

"Oh...that." She held up one clawed hand, the armor cracked from her fight.

"These are my real arms...Everything else is just regular armor."

Queenbee stared at Ayano's arms, the clawed, scaly armor, and the long arrays of energy boosters, unsure how to act. With this knowledge, her augmentations did seem to take on a bit of a darker aspect. They weren't just armor, to be taken off outside of battle. These claws...these wings...they were Ayano's real hands.

"Wh...what happened?"

Ayano shrugged carelessly, wincing as she accidentally disturbed her wounds.

"Oh, it's...nothing special...really. There was an accident. My arms got damaged. Rather than give up flying forever, I picked this. That's about it, really." The Harpy girl tried to pass it off casually, but Queenbee could see a hidden pain in her eyes. Whatever had happened, Ayano would rather not speak about it.

It was strange, but...for a moment, Queenbee felt a strange kinship with the wounded flyer.

There was a loud roaring sound in the distance, and a rumble that shook the building around them. After a moment, though, it stilled once more. Ayano looked around, confused.

"Ow...What the heck was that?"

"That was probably the rest of the FFA still fighting." Queenbee replied. "The race is still going on, after all."

"Aw man..."Ayano pouted. " And I'm stuck in here, missing all the fun..."

Seeing the guilty look on Queenbee's face, Ayano panicked and waved a hand wildly as she realized her mistake.

"No! No no no no no, I, uh...I didn't mean this is your fault! I was the one who decided to fight that crazy broad, remember? It's not your fault at all!"

"R-really...?"

"Really! Ow ow ow..." Ayano tried again, but winced as her cracked ribs punished her for the sudden movement.

Queenbee hesitated, looking at the Harpy girl press a hand to her injuries again. She had already said it wasn't her fault, but...Queenbee couldn't help but to feel a slight twinge of guilt nonetheless. If she had been more obedient to her Master's command, then she wouldn't have needed Ayano to come in and cover for her...And now because of that, Ayano was here, wincing in pain from injuries that wouldn't heal.

She might have said it wasn't Queenbee's fault, but the fact remained that the Pseudoroid would still feel guilty about it. If only there was something she could do to help...

Wait.

...Her wounds weren't healing?

Queenbee's eyes lit up as an idea dawned on her. After all, she had been in a similar position before, hadn't she? And her Master had fixed that!

Ayano, gave a sigh as the pain dimmed again, prying open one eye as she heard Queenbee's armor rustling.

"So, like I said, don't worry about-?"

She cut herself off, both eyes snapping wide open as she saw Queenbee.

The ex-Pseudoroid had gotten onto all fours on top of her, and was now staring intently at her. Her wounds immediately forgotten, Ayano pushed her back against the wall, managing to gain a few centimeters of distance as she tried to make sense of the situation.

"Wh-wha-what are you doing?" she panicked, her cheeks flaming red.

"I-It's still...my fault you got hurt, so-"

"N-no, really, like I said! It's not your fault, so you can stop now!"

"N-no, I want to help you!"

"W-wait, what do you mean, 'help me'?"

"I can heal you!"

Ayano actually stopped at that. Heal her? Well, that would actually be really good, as some of these injuries hurt like a BITCH, plus she couldn't move, but...Considering the situation, and their current positions...Ayano wasn't sure she wanted to know how Queenbee planned to do that!

"S-so, um...pl-please let me do this...!"

And that was when Ayano realized that Queenbee was just as nervous about this as she was.

_'She's that nervous, but she still wants to do this...?'_

"But...but I'll have to take off my helmet...so...promise me you...won't look...!"

"W-wait, I...I never agreed to any of this!" Ayano stammered, desperately searching for a way out, her shoulderblades trying to bore through the concrete wall behind her.

"S-so...here I go...!"

"W-waaaaaait! I said wait, dammit! L-listen when people are talking to you-!"

The words died in Ayano's throat as Queenbee's helmet slid back with a hiss.

She saw the hair, stained the color of crimson rust.

She saw the brilliant orange eyes.

She saw the scars.

_'I-it can't be...!'_

Too stunned to resist, Ayano barely noticed when Queenbee's lips met hers. Her eyes widened in shock, but through it all, a single name flashed through her mind.

_'V...Vesper...?'_

Soft curves, pressing against her body.

_'No...it can't be...!'_

Unmistakable warmth, the heat of a living human body.

_'Vesper is...'_

A sweet, honeyed taste against her lips.

_'Vesper is...!'_

A single tear ran down Ayano's cheek.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Queenbee pulled back, breaking it off. She froze as she saw Ayano's face.

The Harpy stared up at her, her face white with shock.

"A-Ayano...? D-did I do something wrong...?"

"I-it can't be..."

"Ayano?"

"No, no, no...! It can't be...!"

Scared now, Queenbee reached out to Ayano.

"Aya-"

"S-stay away!" Without thinking, her mind still reeling from the shock, Ayano lashed out, slapping Queenbee's hand away.

Too late, she realized what she'd done.

Queenbee pulled back, a hurt look on her face.

"I-I'm sorry...I forgot...you knew Vesper too..."

"No, wait...!" Mortified, Ayano tried to say something, anything to fix her mistake.

But Queenbee turned away, getting to her feet. Hands shaking, she tried to key in the command for her helmet again, and trying to ignore the pain in her chest.

_'Again and again...there is only Vesper...'_ A treacherous part of her mind whispered. _'There is never Queenbee there...'_

"I said WAIT, QUEENBEE!"

Queenbee jerked with shock, as Ayano desperately lunged forward, grabbing the Pseudoroid's hand with her own.

"W-wait, you're going to- waaaah!"

A panicked yelp, and a crash later...

Queenbee groaned, her eyes fluttering open. Ayano's sudden tug had pulled her off balance, sending her tumbling back down to the floor. She tried to move, her eyes widening as she realized that she couldn't.

And that's when she realized that Ayano had wrapped her arms around her in a tight bear hug, the Harpy girl burying her face in Queenbee's shoulder. It was only when she tried to touch Ayano, that she realized that the Harpy was trembling.

"...Ayano?"

"...I'm sorry..."

It was so faint, the barest sound of a whisper, but Queenbee still heard it.

"I-I...I knew..." Ayano, went on, her voice weak. "Ibelis told me about it...about you...and what they did to Vesper...but I...oh, God...!"

Queenbee started as she felt a warm dampness on her shoulder. Tears streaming from her eyes, Ayano struggled to continue.

"I knew, but I...I just didn't want to admit it, not to myself, that Vesper was really..." She trailed off, not quite ready to say it.

Then she felt Queenbee's arms go around her, pulling her close.

"...Queenbee...?"

Queenbee's eyes were sad and distant as she held the other girl.

"I know...believe me, I know...It took a long time for me to understand just what it is they did to me, but..."

The ex-Pseudoroid smiled, a genuine, happy smile.

"I have to thank you too..."

"Huh...?"

"Save for my Master...no-one else has seen past the face of Vesper. No-one else, save for he, has acknowledged who I am, what I am...and thus far, only he has accepted me as that. So..."

Queenbee's grip tightened.

"Thank you, Ayano..."

Ayano's eyes widened as she looked across at Queenbee, her face still hidden by her rusty red hair.

"Queenbee..."

There was silence for a moment.

"Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay~"

Both girls gave a yelp and flailed around wildly. Finally managing to extricate themselves from one another, they looked around, searching for the source of the third voice. It wasn't until they looked up that they saw Ferham, perched on the tip of a broken pillar, her crouching figure outlined by the faint city lights in the distance a Cheshire-like smile of mischievous evil clearly visible on her smug features.

"Y-you!" Queenbee gasped, startled.

A moment of silence.

"U-um...Purple...Claw, was it?"

CRASH.

Ferham and Ayano fell over.

Then Ferham picked herself back up off the floor and stomped over angrily.

"It's '_RED_'...'_**WINGS**_'...dammit!" She yelled in exasperation, gesturing pointedly at the red wings on her back. "HOW THE HELL DID YOU GET 'PURPLE CLAW' FROM THAT?"

Recovering, Ayano fixed Ferham with a challenging glare.

"What, you want another round?"

Ferham turned to face her with a smile of malicious glee.

"Oh? Why, you want an excuse for another round of 'healing'?"

She burst out laughing as both Queenbee and Ayano blushed brilliantly.

"Wha-wha-what are you implying?" Ayano wailed. "I-I-I don't swing that waaaaay!"

"U-um...I...I wouldn't mind..." Queenbee looked down at the ground innocently, blushing prettily as she twiddled her fingers together.

Ayano stared at her for a moment in complete, slack-jawed disbelief.

And in some small corner of her brain, a tiny portion of her mind commented that Queenbee just looked so GODDAMNED adorable like that and she just wanted to grab her and-

"Wa-wait-What-I-Um...b-but...Uuuuuuuuu!"The Harpy type gave up and slumped in depression, a puff of steam rising from her head.

"?" Queenbee tilted her head sideways in curiosity as she looked at the Harpy girl.

Ferham stared in amazement as Ayano started banging her head on the wall in an attempt to dislodge her treacherous mind.

"Weapons-grade cuteness...Never thought that actually existed..."

And then Black Thresher, pursued by a horde of whooping, yelling FFA racers demolished half of the building as they shot past.

There was a moment's silence as the three fliers regarded the empty space that had once been occupied by the far wall of the room.

Ayano turned and stared speculatively at the crack she'd managed to pound into the support beam with her head.

"I may have hit myself too hard...now I'm seeing things."

"You wish." Ferham muttered. "Now come on, we've got a shark to kill!"

And as the three flyers took to the skies once more, Ayano couldn't help but cast a furtive glance across at Queenbee, one hand coming up to brush her lips.

"M...my first kiss..."

And then she flew herself into a crane in order to shut her traitorous mind up yet again.

* * *

**BLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMBLAMBLAM-**

"WAHAHAHAHAHA! DIE DIE DIE! KEKEKEKEKE!"

Gallidin sidled over to Vix. At the moment, she was in the midst of decapitating another of Thresher's minions, who had begun respawning shortly after the newly united FFA racers had set about bringing the pain in earnest.

"Um...is this...normal?"

Both of them looked over at where Celtis was dual wielding an O-Buster and the Hades, both blazing away in time to her insanely gleeful cackling.

"THAT'S IT, COME HERE!"

**BLAM!**

"KEKEKE! NEXT!"

More gunfire ensued, aided in part by Model O, whose horrible influence was NOT helping in the slightest, if the insane cackling coming from the bike's speakers were any indication.

Vix avoided Gallidin's look.

"Um...occasionally...?" she hedged. "But it's usually not this bad..."

**BLAMBLAM!**

Gallidin idly watched another Maverick's head going sailing past.

"Really." He said eventually.

**BLAM!**

A leg.

"I think this time it's just all of the stress from earlier, combined with the shock of being paid so much money."

**BLAMBLAMBLAMBLAM!**

Scattered bits and pieces.

"I think it broke her brain." Vix tried sheepishly.

"Is that so."

**BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM! BLAM!**

What followed next cannot be described here for fear of breaking the pretense of a T rating that this story stays under, but suffice it to say, Gallidin very, very carefully made a mental note to have the bounty on his head reduced.

That, and to stay **WAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM CELTIS IN BRAWLS.**

Model O on the other hand, was all but crying with happiness. On it danced, whirling through the sea of carnage, blood, armor and bits of wiring flying around it like rose petals thrown for a matador, complete with little sparkly lights dancing around the happy, happy little avatar of death and destruction incarnate

Since it had woken up, it had just been shitty luck after godawful luck. Now, for the first time in two months, it was actually getting to enjoy itself! Sure, it's mistress had probably gone a little off of the deep end, but what the fuck!

Model O practically LIVED in the deep end and it was just fine!

The crimson bike activated its Railgun and started mowing down enemies by the dozen, cackling insanely.

Yep, textbook case of sane and well-adjusted, right here.

Up ahead of them, Vent gave a roar, and hit Thresher with everything he could throw at it. Approximately half of the ordinance failed, Thresher's Spatial Field eating it up easily. The other half, thought, punched right through and slammed into one of Thresher's eyes.

The metallic shark gave a scream and bucked, its thrashing tail demolishing a row of buildings in its agonized throes.

"FUCK YOU YES!" Vent punched the air triumphantly. "IN YOUR EYE, DOUCHEBAG! Ha HAAAH!"

As he skidded back crazily to rejoin the rest of the group, his X-Buster still blasting away at the writhing shark, his grin faded.

"God dammit...with these little freaks only getting in the way, we'll never be able to hit Thresher all at once! And without that, we won't have enough power to punch through that shield!"

A pause.

"Well, I mean, I don't count, since my awesomeness ranking is high enough to let me get through that shield, but...SHIT!"

He swerved, the Vizier going up on two wheels, striking a nearby Maverick and sending the car flipping across the pavement before landing on its wheels again. Meanwhile, Thresher's massive dorsal fin slashed through the space he had previously occupied, wrecking some other racer and about a dozen Mavericks as well.

"Epic dodge, bro..." he grinned to himself, before keying Marino up again.

"We've got a problem."

"What is it?"

"That Spatial field of Thresher's seems to be capable of absorbing only half of what you throw at it. So in other words, yeah, we can damage it, but unless we can get everyone rallied, we'll never get this bastard wrecked!"

"So the problem is the minions it keeps summoning, huh...?" Marino stared at the screen thoughtfully.

"Well...I do have a way to take care of them once and for all..." she said hesitantly.

"What is it?" Vent demanded.

"Well...the secret behind their numbers is that they keep replicating. One of them makes two, two of them make four, four of them make eight, etc etc. So the only way to get rid of them once and for all is to destroy all of them at once, and simultaneously destroy their spawning point on Thresher's body."

"What?" Vent gaped at the screen, then looked outside. "There's over a hundred of these bastards out here! That's madness!"

Marino went pale.

"Uh...wha...what did you just say...?"

"Er...I said it was madness?"

There was a pause.

Then, the sound of laughter began to emanate from the speakers.

It wasn't Marino's voice.

"Heh heh heh...GAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

It was a much...MUCH more familiar voice.

"If you even THINK about saying what I think you're going to, I'm going to kill you." Marino growled, her gaze suddenly directed full force at another screen.

"Too bad, then." The voice chuckled. "Because, at risk of sounding cheesy as all hell..."

Recognizing the voice, Vent paled and swore, loud and profane as he whipped his head around to look behind.

"Madness?" The voice roared, "THIS...IS..._**LEGIOOOOON!**_"

As if on cue, a wall shattered into dust, and a cobalt blue Lamborghini shot into view, skating sideways as it skidded into place far behind them. With over fifty of the mechanical zombies between it and them, nonetheless, every racer in the FFA, even the temporarily insane ones like Celtis, turned to look back, and their hearts froze as red and blue lights began to flash along the top of it, a high pitched siren cutting the air.

"SYSTEM CHAAAAAANGE!"

**[Cue Music: Phoenix Wright Trials & Tribulations OST- Cornered 2001 (2004 Remix)] TO BE PLAYED AT MAXIMUM VOLUME!  
**

Only one man in Legion City would dare pull off something like this.

The entire Lamborghini began to splinter apart, transforming into an entirely new shape.

Only one man could be so batshit insane and yet still remain attached to the concept of laws and justice.

A new vehicle appeared amidst the storm of transformation. A long, sleek body, a chassis that appeared to have more in common with the fighter jets overhead, rather than the cars around it. It was a long, thin nose, reminiscent of a Formula One racer, with a bulky back half, containing most of the power and workings of the vehicle. Not one, not two, not even three, but FOUR turbine engines built into the sides of the frame screamed bloody murder as they howled to life. Two swept forward wings emerged from the tops of the two upper turbines, angling diagonally outward. Two shorter, stubbier wings emerged from the bottom of the lower turbines, as the vehicle levitated a few feet off the ground because it had no wheels.

And only one man...One man in Legion City, had the technology to give form to his crazy, fourth-wall breaking ideas!

"An F-Zero racer..." Vix gasped. "He really did build one!"

Vent's eyes narrowed, gritting his teeth as he roared the name of Legion City's infamous Hero of Justice, the bane of all who would break the law!

"**AAACE..._PHOEEEENIIIIIIX!_**"

Seated in the cockpit of his personal racer, previously uniform jumpsuit transforming back into his favorite Scarlet Skin, Ace Phoenix tugged off his blue helmet and tossed it aside, grinning.

"Got it in one, bro!"

Reaching back, he seized the throttles built into the arms of his chair.

"**SO LET'S DO THIS!**"

His blue eyes burning bright, Ace brought the T-shaped throttle shrieking forward to slam into the stops at the end of its rail.

**"IKUZO! RED PHOENIX!_ BOOOOOSST...__FIIIIIIIIIIIIRE!_"**

* * *

**A/N:** Shit. Shit shit shit shit.

This was NOT supposed to happen. I think at this point, I can safely to say that any semblance I may have had of a PLAN for this whole damn FFA mess, has gone OUT THE FUCKING WINDOW.

If I'm LUCKY, this entire thing will wrap itself up in one more chapter. And even MORE hopefully, the entire thing won't begin to drag itself out, ruining the whole damn storyline with tedium.

Dammit all...Still I suppose I can take pride in the fact that I'm probably going to give SOMEBODY nightmares because of Thresher...

Assuming Black Thresher's revealed form is considered worthy of the three chapter build up.

And I refuse to comment on AyanoxQueenbee. Even I'm allowed my little dose of yuri fanservice here and there, dammit!

Anyway, in other news: FUCK YEAH, ACE PHOENIX! *random explosions of sheer unadulterated awesomeness*

Later!

DarkShift Out!


	28. Chapter 27: In Excess of GAR and Awesome

**Chapter 27: In Excess of GAR and Awesome**

Disclaimer: Capcom owns their characters, but I own Thresher. Piss me off, and I'll sic a giant mechanical landshark on you.

Also, all Phoenix Wright themes and JAM Project songs are to be played as LOUDLY AS YOUR SPEAKERS CAN MANAGE for the full effects of awesome.

* * *

His bright eyes burning blue, Ace brought the T-shaped throttle shrieking forward, to slam it into the stops at the end of its rail.

**[Cue Music: Phoenix Wright Trials & Tribulations OST- Cornered 2001 (2004 Remix)]**

"IKUZO! **RED PHOENIX**! _**BOOOOOSST...FIIIIIIIIIIIIRE!**_"

The antigravity racer, modeled after the personal vehicle of one of Ace's favorite fictional heroes, screamed to life with sound not unlike that of a real phoenix. Five powerful thrusters roaring to life behind it, the Red Phoenix rocketed forward. The air around it igniting from the heat, flames burst to life all over the vehicle, cloaking it in fire. With it's two flaming fins rearing up behind it, the machine really did look like its namesake, a holocaust of flames trailing in its wake.

"HERE I COME, THRESHER!" Ace roared triumphantly, "And this time, **HELL'S COMING WITH ME!"**

The remnants of the FFA scattered as the flaming meteor rocketed past, Thresher's minions screaming and dying amidst an infernal sea of fire. The gigantic steel shark whirled, sensing the approach of its most hated enemy, and gave an enraged roar of its own, turning to charge head-on towards him.

Ace stared at the oncoming fin and gave a dark smile. "So you don't want me wrecking your spawn point, huh? Fine then, let's play chicken!"

The Red Phoenix howled beneath him, the pitch of the turbines continuing to increase as it accelerated still further.

Celtis gasped as she saw what he was going to do.

"He's planning to ram it head-on?"

"Dammit, Ace, you fool!" Vent swore, and took off after him. He knew there was no way the Vizier would catch up in time, but still...!

The Scarlet Phoenix's roar met the Black Thresher's howl, and the world exploded into light.

* * *

"What the hell is that light?" Ayano demanded, one hand shielding her from the brilliant flash of energy that had suddenly lit up half of Legion City's airspace.

"Nothing good, that's for sure," Ferham growled, and cranked up the speed of her boosters.

Behind them, Queenbee followed, her ears still ringing from Omega's yells. Her Master had been most insistent that she find out what the hell was going on with the race, as he was hearing talk of money, more specifically, LARGE AMOUNTS of money, and if there was any of THAT to be had, Omega wanted a big piece of it.

Some distance away from them, two Raiders sat at the controls of their airship.

"Hey, Cap?"

"Yeah?"

"Think they'll be mad we stole their airship?"

"Nah." The captain popped open another beer and took a swig. Looking back at the brilliant light behind them, (and fading into the distance at an acceptably fast rate, too!) he smirked.

"I think they've got bigger problems to deal with..."

* * *

As they light faded, Celtis had just enough time to see the Red Phoenix, stripped of its flames, spin out of control and slam into the ground floor of another building.

"Ace!" Marino yelled desperately. " Ace, you idiot! Answer me, dammit!"

Vent and the others were strangely silent. It wasn't until Celtis realized that the Red Phoenix she had seen was merely a _reflection_, that she realized why they were silent.

It was sheer disbelief that had rendered them speechless.

As she pulled Model O back, Celtis looked up, and up some more as she saw just what it was that had shown her the crystal clear reflection of Ace's crash.

Towering into the air, thirty-five feet of Thresher's massive dorsal fin lay embedded point first in the ground. The once jagged and evil-looking metal armor that had covered it was gone, melted into a mirror-clean surface by the tremendous attack heat of Ace's Red Phoenix.

In the distance, Thresher roared in rage and pain, thrashing about as it screamed at the loss of its dorsal fin. Now only a fifteen-foot high ridge remained on its spine, the top of it melted into a flat silver streak by Ace's passage.

"I'm not through with you yet, you son of a bitch!"

**[Cue Music: Demonbane OST- Deus Machina Demonbane (Vocal)]**

Flames erupted from the ruined building as a familiar engine screamed to life. The Red Phoenix burst back into the open, to a cry of relief from Marino.

"Dammit Ace! You almost had me worried there!"

Blood running down his face from a gashed temple, Ace gave a savage grin and pried open one eye.

"Heh heh...Didn't you know..? A man may be killed! But with bravery, guts and courage... _**A TRUE HERO CAN DENY EVEN DEEEEEEEEATH!**_" He roared, and slammed the throttles to the stops.

"_**IKUZOOOOOOOOOOOOO!**_"

The Red Phoenix screamed, engines howling a challenge to the night sky.

"Oh no you don't!" At the sound of another engine, Ace's eyes flickered sideways, to find the unmistakable shape of the Vizier Vent racing along on his left. Standing proudly on its hood, a Biometal clutched in each hand, and raw energy tearing apart the air around him, Vent gave him a challenging smirk.

"I don't care if you guys were the ones that started this whole mess," He shouted, his green eyes flashing as power danced over his frame. "We Guardians are going to FINISH it!"

Ace grinned dangerously.

"You're on!"

As Ace's Red Phoenix screamed to life once more, rocketing forward ahead of him, Vent raised his arms to the sky. Blue light blazed in his right, and brilliant scarlet shone from his left.

"Let's go, you two!"

"Roger!" Model X replied.

"Time to show that Model O he's not the only one who can break the rules around here!" Model Z grinned.

Light filled the world, as Vent gritted his teeth.

"Me...Ga...MEEEEEEERGE!"

Blue lightning raced over his right arm, as red chaos thundered over his left. Armor materialized over both, metal plates materializing and clicking into place as the power of Biometal made itself manifest in the world once more. Cerulean and vermilion danced, twin streams of power warping around Vent's frame.

_**"UUUOOOOOOOOOOHHHH!"**_

With a wild roar from Vent, the light shattered, revealing his newest form to the world.

A left arm and leg of iron, as blue as the depths of the sea.

A red arm and leg of steel, that burned red with the intensity of a falling star.

A chest armored in brilliant chrome plating, a heavy black flak jacket draped over it.

A blue helm, with the signature fins of Model Z extending out behind him, segmented into red and white, with a single black lens forming over his left eye, tactical data already streaming across it.

Finally, a mane of long golden hair whipped about in the air behind him, stirred into a frenzy by the speed of the Vizier.

The legendary Guardian commander gave a dangerous smile.

"Introducing...Model ZX..._**PLUUUUUUUS!**_"

Still stranded on the wing of a fighter with Craft, Ashe gaped down at Vent in disbelief.

"Are you fucking SERIOUS? Did he just INVENT a whole new Megamerge ON THE SPOT?"

Model A simply stared in awe. "I wanna try that too!"

Aile stared at her brother's new armor for a moment, then groaned and buried her face in her hands.

"For all he claims to hate Ace, this idiot here acts EXACTLY the same way...!"

"Whoo-hoo, YEAH!" Model Z exulted, "Screw you, Model O, we can hax too!"

"Actually, I'm amazed that this even worked..." Model X muttered. "Isn't this sort of a blatant violation of all of the Megamerge protocols?"

Vent grinned, clenching his fists.

"As a great man once said...SCREW THE RULES!"

He raised his arms, a fully charged X-Buster materializing over his right, and an equally charged Z-Buster appearing in his left. Vent's eyes narrowed as the tinted eyepiece on his left displayed a perfect lock on Thresher.

"Let's go..._**CROOOOOSSS-!**_"

He pulled the triggers.

"_**BUSTAAAAAAAAAAAH!**_"

The view in front of him vanished in a haze of power.

Thresher broke free of the debris encasing it and reared up, a roar of rage on its face as it lunged to meet the approaching threat. The world around it warped, distorting into frightening, inhuman shapes, twisted straight lines, and nauseating spirals as it pushed its generator to the limit, breaking all the laws of Euclidean geometry around it.

It was this barrier that Vent's Cross Buster smashed into, a spiraling beam of red and blue that shook the ground with the force of the impact.

Thresher screeched in rage as it felt itself being pushed back, the earth shattering around it. Thrashing its massive tail, the beast surged forward once more, intent on destroying the enemy before it. Even as fragments of Vent's attack were twisted away, smashing into the buildings and ground around Thresher, the beast continued forward, it's terrible jaws almost grinding into a savage smile of victory.

And it was then, at that moment, that a rueful smile crossed Vent's face.

"Damn...guess I'll have to rely on that bastard after all...!"

Thresher's remaining eyes widened.

There. At the heart of the red and blue light that burned before it.

A single speck of brilliant scarlet. A flame that burned brighter with each passing second, the blazing scarlet color of a man's soul!

A familiar engine, howling with a cry of victory.

Hellfire raging around him, the lights of mad triumph in his blazing blue eyes, Security Commander Ace Phoenix, the hero of Legion City, gave a terrifying smile and drew the throttles back once more.

For just an instant, there was an expression of shock in Thresher's eyes, the red lenses widening in horror.

"**SEE YOU IN HELL, THRESHER**!" The Scarlet Phoenix roared, the song of victory thundering in his ears.

The throttles rocketed forward once more, slamming into their stops hard enough to throw off sparks.

"**BOOOOOOSTO...**_**FIIIIIIIIIIIYAAAAH!"**_

What happened next was almost too fast to see.

The wall of distorted space surrounding Thresher..._shattered._ There was no better way to describe the effect. Even as Vent's Cross Buster pulverized what was left of the giant shark's warped field, a single, thin beam of light pierced the beast.

For a moment, that was all.

Then, Thresher's entire spine exploded, a single colossal column of fire erupting from its back. For an instant, Celtis saw the shape of a flaming bird of prey outlined in it, wings spread wide, a victorious cry erupting from it.

And then it was gone, the battered form of the Red Phoenix emerging from the flames as Ace brought it spinning around to land once more.

Both it and the Vizier Vent skidded to halt at the same time, as behind them, the massive hulk of Thresher crashed to earth, destroying a dozen buildings with the shock of its fall, and knocking everyone off their feet.

Ace drew a pair of shades from his pocket.

"It looks like Thresher..."

He snapped them onto his face.

"...Just got _thrashed!_"

_**YEEEAAAAAAAAAH-!**_

"Dude, that _sucked_." Vent groaned.

"Hey, fuck you, it was the only pun I could think of on such short notice!"

Watching the two heroes of Legion bickering against the backdrop of their fallen enemy, the assembled racers couldn't help but feel a slight sense of disbelief.

"Oooookay..." Gallidin stared. "What the HELL did we just watch?"

A slight moan drew his attention and he looked sideways.

Vix had drawn her helmet back, unconsciously nibbling on one of her fingers, a light blush on her cheeks as she wrapped her other hand around her waist.

"So...manly...!" She breathed, her lidded eyes fluttering.

Gallidin swallowed.

"Uh...I'm uh...I'm just going to go over...there...somewhere..." He stammered, and hurriedly beat a hasty retreat. The mood she was in, Vix was quite likely to just jump the first warm blooded person who crossed her field of view, male or not...

Celtis stared at the wreckage of Thresher, unable to shake a lingering feeling of danger.

"Something...something's not right here..." she muttered, wincing as another jolt from the Demon's Eye further increased her sense of impending danger.

And then she saw it.

Behind Ace and Vent, Thresher's massive red eyes were slowly flickering back to life.

"Oh SHI- BOTH OF YOU, GET OUT OF THERE!"

Both Vent and Ace jumped in shock. Almost immediately, both whirled to face Thresher.

And then they looked up.

Towering high above them, Thresher's mighty tail arched into the air, supported by over half its body length.

"Ooooooh fuck."

"Agreed."

Without another word, both men dropped back into their cars and floored the accelerator.

"RUN THE HELL AWAAAAAY!" Ace yelled frantically, as behind him, Thresher's tail continued to rise into the air.

Without bothering to question him, the other racers restarted their engines and scattered like flies.

"What the hell is it doing?" Vent yelled.

"Let me put it this way!" Ace shouted back. "In the wild, real thresher sharks used to stun their prey by slamming their tails flat against the surface of the water! The shockwave used to render its targets completely senseless!"

Gallidin paled.

"Wait, so you're saying...?"

"That's right!" Ace grinned nervously. "That fucker's about to do the same thing!"

Celtis looked back at where Thresher's tail was still rising, panic in her eyes.

"But at that size..."

"Yep." Vent nodded grimly. "Less emphasis on 'stunning' and more focus on 'pulverize everything within a mile to dust'!"

Celtis, Gallidin and Vix exchanged looks. Then, as one, whatever boost functions their respective vehicles had, they activated.

Far behind them, Thresher's tail reached its apex. Its wordless roar of rage and hate shaking the very bones of Legion City, Black Thresher screamed its revenge and brought its massive blade shaped tail down, striking the ground with the flat of it, the sound barrier cracking in its wake.

Celtis didn't even hear it coming. A wall of wind, sound and debris simply slammed into her and Model O, picking the bike up and throwing it through the air as if it were a child's toy in the grasp of some giant, unseen hand. She heard Vix scream, a curse from Gallidin, a shout of anger from Vent, and a "Goddamn bosses and their desperation attaaaaaaacks!" that _had_ to be from Ace, before Model O slammed into something, and Celtis' head smashed against the protective canopy, knocking her out instantly.

* * *

"Son of a bitch." Ferham said, her voice flat with shock.

From their vantage point high above, the three flyers had seen the entire thing. At the moment Thresher's tail struck, an invisible ripple had flashed outwards, a solid _wave_ of displaced air, blasted out of the area by the shock of Thresher's strike. Even Ayano, Ferham and Queenbee had not been immune to the effects, the wave knocking them back almost thirty feet before they had been able to recover.

Immediately following that, the silent void that remained had stayed deathly still for almost a second before the ground of Sector 14 simply..._burst_.

It was impossible to describe simply by that word alone, but still, staring down at the destruction that had been wreaked, it was the only word Ferham could think of.

The ground had simply peeled back from Thresher's point of attack, meters and meters thick of asphalt, steel rock and foundations simply folding back on themselves as the force slammed into them. Whole buildings were thrown through the air, as if they weighed no more than a piece of paper.

Queenbee had almost been skewered by a spire, and it had only been Ayano's quick reflexes that had saved the ex-Pseudoroid. Ferham had missed the conversation that followed as she had been busy dodging an entire crane, but the result of it was that Ayano had gone and flown herself into a random brick wall that had been thrown at them.

Now, as the thick cloud of dust and debris was slowly beginning to settle, Ferham's eyes were beginning to make out the shape of Sector 14 once more.

Hence the current reason for her shock.

"Marino...?"

"I'm seeing it too..." The female thief replied darkly. " And let me tell you, I am REALLY starting to hate this goddamned shark."

Sector 14, designated a condemned area by Ace in order to justify his evacuation and relocation of the civilians, was now little more than a barren wasteland, almost a desert. Sand, dirt, metal and rock...all of it blending together in desolation. There were still buildings, jutting up from the empty surface here and there, but they were all broken shells, their windows shattered and their walls broken.

But this was not what truly caught the eye.

There, in the center of the blasted Sector, stood Thresher. It's massive bulk finally out of it's hidden habitat, the colossal shark levered itself up on it's pectoral fins and roared.

"Wait..." Ferham's eyes narrowed. "Marino! Look at its fin! The dorsal fin!"

"What...?"

Before Marino's startled eyes, the scorched, melted silver line that had been left when Ace had sheared off Thresher's dorsal fin, twisted and extended, shooting upwards into the air as the mighty blade began to reform once more.

"What the...It can _regenerate _now?"

"No..." Ferham stared down at the black beast far below her. "No, that's not it! Take a look at the surroundings!"

And sure enough, when Marino ordered the camera to zoom in, she saw what Ferham was getting at.

Long, jagged tendrils of metal had emerged from Thresher's body, stabbing into the ground around it. As she watched, one emerged from the sand with what looked like the remains of an empty FFA racer. The tendril slammed the wrecked vehicle up against Thresher's hull, and in an instant it melted, absorbed into the mass of cracked, jagged armor. More and more tendrils did the same, pulling in wrecked vehicles and the like, other machinery left over from the abandoned Sector before the FFA had arrived.

"...Son of a...It's _eating_ the damn things!"

"And using it to repair the damage!" Ferham growled. " If we don't act fast, it'll get back to full power again!"

As if on cue, Thresher raised its head, three eyes staring menacingly up at the three flyers.

And around it, the air began to shimmer and warp once more.

"FUCK!" Ferham swore, throwing herself into a dive. "It's almost got the Reactor back up!"

"Dammit!" Marino seethed. "ACE! Ace, where are you! Vent? Anyone?"

* * *

Something exploded at ground level.

Vent stomped out of the cloud of dust. And believe us, he was PISSED.

"That son of a bitch wrecked my fucking CAR."

A howl of turbines, and something scarlet half drove, half fell off of a nearby building.

"Oww...shit, that hurt..." Ace groaned, picking himself up as the Red Phoenix rumbled to life around him.

All around him, the other main characters were slowly recovering.

"Okay, seriously, what the fuck is it with me and projectile buildings?" Gallidin demanded, crawling free of a pile of rubble for the second time in the day.

Celtis woke to a tapping noise. Opening Model O's canopy, with a hiss, she coughed as the dusty, smoke filled air hit her lungs.

"Jeezus, my head...!" she groaned. Squinting against the pain, she made out the figure of Vix peering at her in concern.

"You okay, Celtis?"

"Ugh...I've been worse."

"Dandy." Ace's voice cut in over the communicator. "Now get your _lovely_ asses in gear before this fucker finishes repairing!"

Celtis jerked up.

"Uh...I don't think we need to..." She squeaked.

"Say what?" Ace stared at the screen in disbelief, wondering what the hell Celtis was talking about, before he suddenly tasted the acrid stench of ozone, and he spun around in outrage.

"Oh, NOW that bitch shows up!"

A single voice rang out over the artificial desert, even as Thresher's head whipped up, to roar angrily up at the night sky, suddenly burning blue.

"_**DEATHSTRIIIIIIIIIIIKE!**_"

The mighty space-based laser cannon tore apart the sky once more, the signature weapon of the Royale line, scorching the air as it slammed into Thresher, miles below it.

The mammoth shark screamed once, it's half formed shield splintering away once more as the full power of the Deathstrike smashed it deep into the earth, the divine wrath of heaven blasting a kilometer wide crater into the already dead ground.

And there, racing across the shattered earth, the Key already locked in, and her finger pulling the trigger as fast as she could, came the unmistakable shape of Ibelis Royale, nothing but hate and rage in her eyes as she screamed the name of her sister's enemy, the Deathstrike laser firing again and again and again.

_**"THREESSHHEEEEEEEEER!"**_

The Deathstrike fired once more, a single beam twice the size of its predecessors, before it finally shut down, emergency protocols kicking in to prevent damage to the satellite from overheating.

Ibelis skidded to a halt at the edge of the crater, her shoulders heaving as she gasped for air, adrenaline still pumping through her.

"I wasted all this time searching for you in the underground, only to realize you had already surfaced...!" She growled, angry at herself for the mistake. "But no matter! I destroyed the catacombs utterly! Everything you are, Thresher, ends here and now! I have destroyed your home, and now I will finish it by destroying you!"

Even as she brought her bike's weapons up to bear once more, she heard a mangled, bestial roar, and the earth beneath her shattered, throwing her back with a cry of alarm.

Badly damaged, its armor melted by the heat of the Deathstrike and much of it's body in ruins, Black Thresher lived still.

The half decayed machine staggered up and out of the crater, one of its pectoral fins broken in half and its tail a mess of broken metal and sparking circuitry. But its hate filled eye, the only one still functional, glared at Ibelis in rage.

Her eyes narrowed in anger, her hands shaking on the controls.

"So...you still refuse to die...?" She snarled. "Very well then! I'll put you to rest once and for all!"

As her XGRA raced forward across the burning earth, its tires screeching, Thresher's mangled jaws opened wide, a dozen metal tendrils shooting forth to skewer her. Ibelis' eyes widened in shock.

"What the..."

And then a Charge Shot slammed into the side of Thresher's head and exploded, the blast knocking it sideways and forcing the tendrils to pierce the ground instead of Ibelis. She looked around, startled.

"Who did that...?"

Moments later, a scarlet blur shot past her, turbines screaming at full power, a blue and red figure clinging onto the roof and blasting away with both hands.

"What the fuck do you MEAN you didn't put any guns on this thing?"

"Fuck you, all right? Besides, after I installed the Boost Fire, there wasn't much room for anything else, okay? Now shut up and keep shooting, you damned hitchiker!"

"HITCHIKER? Oh yeah, keep it up, pal and we'll see who's REALLY gonna be walking home after this!"

The Red Phoenix disappeared into the distance, still attacking the wounded Thresher even as Vent and Ace continued screaming insults at one another. Ibelis watched them go in disbelief.

"What the hell...happened while I was gone?" she wondered. A whine of brakes, and she looked across to see Celtis pull in next to her, Gallidin racing past to chase after Ace and Vent.

"Yeah, um...hi..." Celtis waved sheepishly. "Um...some stuff happened...?"

* * *

Marino breathed a sigh of relief as she watched Ace and Vent tear up the terrain as they continued to hammer the downed Thresher. It seemed as though Ace's plan was working out so far, _without _the aid of the enigmatic Saber. It seemed as though involving Ibelis and her Deathstrike had turned out to be a good idea after all, if not for the fact that her blind rage had distracted her from the fight until Thresher had practically _leveled_ the entire Sector.

They had brought Thresher down to critical levels not once, but twice now, and had yet to deliver a killing blow...

"Tenacious bastard, isn't he..."

But once the Deathstrike had finished cooling down, _then_...

Marino felt a smile form on her face. Could it be...at long last, over a dozen attempts, would this finally be the day that they brought down Thresher once and for all...?

And then, as if the universe had decided to once more screw everyone over, alarms began to blare throughout the A.C.E command center.

"Wha...What's going on?"

Thresher still had one card left to play...

* * *

"You know..." Omega began.

"Staying out of this race was probably one of the STUPIDEST decisions of my life."

_"Is that so."_

"Well, there was that time I challenged Flizard to a drinking contest with molten plutonium, but I'd really rather not talk about that now..."

Omega shuddered slightly, before recovering his composure and continuing.

"I mean, come on! Just _look_ at this fucker! They've dropped him down to single digit HP _twice_ already and they STILL can't off the bastard! Rank AMATEURS, the lot of 'em!"

Saber ignored the continued rantings of her wielder with practiced ease as she continued to observe the feed coming in from Queenbee.

"What the hell! Look at how long this's been going on! This is the _fifth _chapter of this damn fight, and from the looks of the word count, might very well be SIX at this rate! Honestly, if I was out there, this would've been finished two chapters ago!"

Saber was still ignoring him. Thus, what followed can safely be said to be _entirely_ her fault. Had she maybe been paying more attention, things might have gone SLIGHTLY less insane.

_"Well, if that's the case, why don't you go there yourself?"_

Omega snorted. "Oh yeah, sure. Only I have no idea how to get from here to there in this bloody maze of a city! By the time I'm finished getting lost the fight'll have dragged over into another chapter!"

_"Why not just teleport?"_ Saber suggested absently. From the looks of things, that Thresher beast seemed to have one last trick up its sleeve. Now if only she could figure out what it was planning...

"Psh, please. Nice idea, except last time I checked, I CAN'T TELE-wait."

There was a long pause.

For a moment, Omega recalled the battle against Gates, and how the Gatemaster had fought.

There was a longer pause.

Then, in the darkness, a single, terrifying smile materialized.

"Saber, you're a goddamn genius."

Saber started as a chill ran down her spine. She returned her attention to Omega, worry written on her face.

_"Um...yes, I am...?"_

Seeing the look on Omega's face, Saber began to get the feeling that she _probably_ should have paid a bit more attention to the conversation...

Moments later, in the dark garage..._something_ rumbled to life, an engine with a dull, idling growl that rattled the surroundings...

* * *

Thresher's massive frame reared up to the sky once more, an unearthly scream escaping the wounded monster as it shrieked its rage and fury to the skies. Celtis staggered and pressed her hands to her ears.

"GAH! Wh-what's it doing NOW?"

Then, as suddenly as it had started, the noise stopped, Black Thresher's huge figure frozen against the dawn.

"...the fuck?" Gallidin wondered.

And then, with a crumbling sound, cracks began to race across Thresher's body.

Ace Phoenix stared up in disbelief as the cracks glowed, a flash of red light emanating from them, before the last of the light died and the entirety of Thresher's massive frame began to break apart, collapsing down towards the racers below.

"Well, shit." He said finally, a bead of sweat running down the back of his neck. "That can't be good."

"NO SHIT, SHERLOCK!" Vent yelled, banging on the roof of the Red Phoenix. "Now get us outta here!"

Nearby, he could see Gallidin, Celtis and Ibelis bailing as well. He had no idea why Thresher had simply fallen apart like that, but he wasn't sticking around to find out.

And then...a flash of white from behind.

Ibelis caught the glint in her rearview mirror, and froze.

For just a brief second, amidst the crumbling debris of Thresher's massive frame...she had seen it.

A white bike. An XGRA model.

Then on the air, she heard the unmistakable rev of the engine, and the thing was gone, accelerating deeper and deeper into Thresher's crumbling hulk.

But in that moment, she caught a clear glimpse of it, and she knew.

"Uh...Marino? Not to rush you or anything, but I'm getting a reading heading away from us! Fast!"Ace yelled, biting back a curse as he spun the Red Phoenix's wheel.

"I know, we're getting it too!" She looked up at the screen, an unreadable look in her eyes.

"Ace...is this...?"

The Scarlet Phoenix nodded, a grim look on his face. "We've pushed Thresher to the limit. It knows it can't beat us, so it's using this as a decoy! The real Thresher, the core of this monster...It's finally out in the open!"

Vent stared down through the cockpit at Ace in disbelief.

"So what, you're saying this whole..." He looked around at the collapsing reamains of Black Thresher, the massive mechanical monster that had almost killed them all. " This whole..._thing_ is just a shell?"

The Scarlet Phoenix laughed triumphantly as he spun his antigravity racer into an expert U-turn, a victorious smile dancing across his features as he brought the nose to point directly back into the wreckage of Thresher.

"Hell yes! Now is when the REAL fight begins-!"

He was cut off as an orange blur blew past him, disappearing into the falling remains of Thresher.

"What in the...Oh SHIT, that was Ibelis!"

"Ace!" Marino yelled desperately, "She must have seen it! The core!"

"FUCK!" Ace swore, and floored the accelerator, the Red Phoenix howling as it plunged back into the mayhem of Thresher's collapsing hulk.

Gallidin skidded to a halt, shocked.

"What the fuck are you idiots DOING? We gotta bail!"

"Not a chance!" Ace shot back his jaw set in a grim line. "This will all have been for nothing if Ibelis gets to the core first!"

"Why?" Vent demanded, "Ace, what the hell is going on here?"

Ace said nothing, only gritting his teeth as he struggled to keep the Red Phoenix from being crushed by debris.

"ACE!" Vent thundered. "ANSWER ME, DAMN YOU-!"

"Enough..."

Vent paused, hearing Ace's second in command over the communicator.

"I'll tell you." Marino's voice was resigned. "The core of Thresher...the reason why Ace is so hell bent on stopping it...It's because-"

"It's because I built the fucking thing, all right?" Ace snarled, his temper finally flaring.

"I built the goddamn Spatial Reactor! ME! Ace Phoenix, Legion City's 'famous' Scarlet Commander!"

Vent felt like he'd had the wind punched out of him.

"You...!" He gasped.

"And then some SMART-ASSED FUCKER thought it'd be a good idea to STEAL the fucking thing, and sell it on the black market for fun!"

"You're telling me, you BUILT something that could do...THIS-" Here, Vent gestured to the debris crumbling around him, "And you let it get STOLEN?"

"My Spatial Reactor could NEVER create anything like Thresher!" Ace snapped. "This whole thing is somebody ELSE'S work! Black Thresher is simply using the Reactor, MY Spatial Reactor, as a power source to enable its killing spree! For my work to be used like this...!"

Ace's fist slammed down on the dashboard.

"I CANNOT ALLOW THIS TO CONTINUE! I'm here for one thing, and one thing ONLY! I will recover the Spatial Reactor, and I will bring an end to Thresher ONCE AND FOR ALL!"

The Red Phoenix smashed through another piece of Thresher's crumbling exoskeleton and rocketed onwards, Vent holding on for dear life.

A storm of Hunter missiles, and another large chunk of debris exploded. Ace spared a glance to the side to see both Celtis and Gallidin keeping pace with him.

"What the hell are you two doing here?"

"Just answer me one thing!"

The Scarlet Phoenix's eyes narrowed as he stared at Celtis. For once, the green haired Hunter actually looked the part, her back straight as she sat up on Model O's seat, the Hades in her right hand automatically blasting away any debris her Eye saw as a threat.

"...What?"

"What is the core of Thresher, and why is it that you're dead set on keeping Ibelis away from it?"

Ace jerked.

"That..." He paused. "That's because...the person who bought the Spatial Reactor...the last known person to have it before both it and the user disappeared into Sector 14..."

He took a deep breath.

"It was..."

* * *

Far ahead of them, almost clear of Thresher's collapsing skeleton, Ibelis raced onwards.

Up ahead of her, she could see it. A flicker of white, always just out of her field of view, darting around the corner just as she caught sight of it. Gritting her teeth, Ibelis forced her Templar to go faster.

"Faster...FASTER!" She muttered, her eyes straining against the glare, desperately searching for the white form she knew would be there. Unnoticed by her, the speedometer of the Templar had long since hit its stop, the bike continuing to accelerate beyond its capacity to measure.

She didn't even notice that the world had fallen silent around her, her mind trapped by the vision she saw ahead of her.

For she had finally escaped Thresher's remains. Ahead of her was only the open plain left by Thresher's attacks.

And there, waiting for her, was the white bike.

An XGRA Templar.

An exact copy of her own.

It had disappeared six months ago, along with its rider, and she had been searching for it ever since.

She stretched out one hand as she continued to draw closer to it. Some part of her mind was screaming at her, that something was terribly wrong, but she ignored it, her heart screaming out for the person represented by the vehicle in front of her.

"SISTEEEEEEEEEER!"

And then, the other Templar's cockpit opened.

Still lost in Thresher's illusions of her dead sibling, Ibelis didn't even notice as mechanical tendrils shot out of the Templar's empty cockpit, seizing her arms and legs. An instant was all it took, and Ibelis was gone, the ghostly Templar's canopy slamming shut over her still form like a coffin. Her riderless bike veered off, now without anyone to control it.

Staring off into empty space, a blissful smile on her face as her mind lay trapped beneath an impenetrable layer of illusion, the last coherent memory Ibelis had was...

_Enjoy your empty memories, human...they are all you have left now."_

Floating in the empty void, her mind completely blank, her will completely dominated by the entity hidden behind the mask of her sister, Ibelis' smile widened, and she obediently surrendered.

Thresher's jagged smile loomed in her mind, and then it all went black.

* * *

"You're telling me...the core of all of this is Vesper Royale's Templar bike?"

"Correct." Ace growled. "I don't know whether or not she was aware of the danger, but the fact remains. Even if my Spatial Reactor isn't the true cause of Black Thresher itself, the Reactor is still Thresher's core, it's power source, and _that_ is locked within Vesper Royale's Templar bike."

"So then, why don't you want Ibelis getting near it?"

"Think for a minute, Vent! Do you honestly expect her to allow Vesper's bike to be _destroyed_?" Ace snapped.

The Guardian Commander's eyes widened.

"And if she won't destroy it, or allow us to destroy it...She'll try to take it!"

"Exactly. And the minute she gets close, Thresher will take that bike of hers with that mechanical absorption ability! Once that happens...!"

He didn't need to say it.

As one, they all turned to look up through Thresher's shell, up into the night sky, where somewhere, hidden among the stars, lay the the feared Deathstrike.

"Then that's all I needed."

Celtis ducked back down into Model O's cockpit, the bike giving an angry growl as it shredded another chunk of dead steel exoskeleton.

"Wha...Celtis?"

Celtis reached forward and took hold of Model O's steering in both hands, the golden manacles reforming around her wrists. Model O itself actually paused for a moment, looking back at her questioningly, as if sensing something different.

"I came into this race to beat Ibelis...to prove something to myself...!" She took a deep breath. "...and well...also to wipe the smirk off of that smug bastard's face..." She admitted, feeling a surge of irritation as she recalled Omega.

"By myself, I couldn't do it...But now, with this bike...and if you'll help me..." She looked down at Model O, swallowing the last of her nerves, and steeling herself.

"Then I can do it!"

Model O stared at her for a long moment.

Then it threw its head back and laughed, long and hard and proud.

"Wh-what?" Celtis demanded, blushing self-consciously. "Hey, stop laughing, dammit!"

Model O finally stopped, turning to look back at her once more, a dangerous smile on its face.

It reached one hand up to the screen, and with a burst of static, letters appeared.

*_**FiN&LlY!%!**_

** [Cue Music: Super Robot Wars Z OST- Makenaize!]**

Celtis grinned with relief.

"Looks like you do have a cool side to you after all!"

Model O turned its back to her with another barking laugh, flipping her off with one hand.

"All right then, let's do it!"

Inside Cyberspace, Model O slammed its fists together in front of it, the glow of lightning casting terrifying shadows across it's savagely grinning features.

Celtis turned to shout at the others.

"I'll open up a path! All of you follow behind me!"

"Heh heh...Oh, I don't think so!"

Her head snapped around in shock.

"G-Gallidin!"

"Don't think I don't know what you're planning, ya noob!" The legendary Lightning Bullet grinned.

"And there's no way I'm gonna let myself be upstaged with my own move!"

Celtis saw the lightning beginning to dance over Gallidin's frame, even as thunder began to rumble around her own bike. There amidst the raging electricity, she felt a smile come to her face. And for once, Model O's personality problems were NOT the source of this one.

"Fine then! You're on!"

Crouching down, she pressed herself against Model O's hull.

"Activate EX Skill!"

Model O laughed crazily, drawing its hands apart. Teravolts worth of energy roared in the space between them, dancing over its curled fingers.

_**"SHIIIIINESPAAAAAARKUU-!"**_

**"THOUSAND...!"**

Celtis cranked the accelerator to the max

Model O's roar of triumph vanished amidst a storm of lightning, glorious thunder resonating through its empty prison.

_**"BLACK-BIIIIIIIIIRD!"**_

"**BOLTER**!"

Gallidin vanished from sight a second before Celtis did, the ground shattering into ruin from the pressure exerted in his wake. Twin bolts of lightning roared, blasting a clear path through Thresher's debris field, an open road that led to the light of the rising dawn outside.

Ace bared his teeth in a smile.

"All right then, let's go!"

A hatch opened in the Red Phoenix's roof, dropping Vent in an ungainly heap behind Ace's chair.

"OW! Son of a...let me guess, you didn't have room for, say, ANOTHER FUCKING CHAIR either?"

"Yep!" Ace laughed, and seized the throttle once more.

**"BOOOOOSTO...**_**FIIIIIIIIYAAAHH!**_**"**

* * *

From a distance, Vix watched the remains of Black Thresher's shell collapse. At this point, there was almost nothing left to identify it as anything related to a shark. Now it was just a formless hulk of crumbling metal and machinery.

And somewhere in there was Celtis.

While all the others had turned back to chase after Ibelis, Vix had not, instead continuing on to escape the deathtrap Thresher had created. She could have chased after them as well, but...something inside her had told her...

Where those four fighters were heading...was a place that she could not follow them to.

She gave a rueful smile.

"Good luck, Celtis...It's all up to you from here on out...!"

Turning away, she dialed up Kitara, signaling a transfer out. The vixen racer disappeared in a flash of light, just as the remains of Thresher exploded in a storm of heat and thunder.

* * *

The last piece of Thresher's armor shattered into fragments, two blades of lightning, and a storm of fire blasting it into atoms as the last remaining survivors of the FFA exploded into the dawn.

"All raaaaaaaaaaight!" Ace whooped, as the remains of the giant shark at last fell still in their wake.

"Okay, bastard, where are you?" Gallidin demanded, his head swiveling from side to side as his eyes searched for their enemy.

Celtis' Eye flashed a warning, and she swerved, a storm of Vulcan shells pulverizing the ground behind her.

"Down there!"

The other three turned to follow her gaze, and Ace's eyes narrowed at the sight of the white Templar, it's vulcans still smoking.

"That's the son of a bitch, all right...but where's Ibelis?"

"Shit." Vent swore quietly.

He'd just seen Ibelis' Templar, nose buried in a mound of rubble, but otherwise unharmed. More to the point, he had seen its empty cockpit.

"Okay, well, the good news is, that means Thresher doesn't have the Deathstrike, so, no getting zapped by a huge-ass space laser. On the downside..."

As the white bike turned to accelerate away from them once more, the surface of the Templar rippled and changed. Black spikes emerged from it as twisted, spiny tendrils of machinery spread across its body, forming the same, broken armor that had covered the gigantic shark. It's headlights suddenly changed, becoming more streamlined as their hue suddenly flashed to red, Thresher's unmistakable jagged smile forming just beneath the nose of the bike and above the front wheels.

As if to mock them all, in that instant, as the twisted bike presented it's broadside to them, it's finned cockpit opened for a brief second.

Ibelis Royale stared out at them, her orange eyes burning a mad red color, the saw-toothed smile of Thresher spreading across her face as she stared out at them, tendrils of machinery wrapping around her arms and legs as she gunned the throttle.

Staring out at them in triumph from behind the mask of Ibelis Royale, Black Thresher laughed, long and loud, insanity ringing out on the dawn air, before the cockpit slammed shut, and the black bike accelerated away, it's engine shrieking with a harsh and grating sound.

"O-on the downside...?" Celtis prompted Ace nervously, unable to tear her eyes off of Thresher.

"...On the downside: FUCK." Ace gritted his teeth. "That, I didn't see coming. Marino?"

"We've got just as much of a clue as you do. This is DEFINITELY the work of something besides the Spatial Reactor!"

"Christ...!" Ace's grip tightened on the steering. "What's going on here...?"

Vent watched Thresher continue to accelerate, pulling away from them easily.

"That won't matter in another few minutes..." He said tersely. "Because at this rate, we're gonna lose the bastard!"

**[Cue Music: Super Robot Wars OGs- TROMBE!]**

As if responding to Vent's words, a beam of blue-white suddenly lanced from the skies, carving a wall of fire across Thresher's path. The demented bike gave a snarl of rage and skidded into a last-minute turn to avoid the destruction.

As the last of Legion's fighters peeled off to return to base, their fuel reserves running dangerously low, a figure plummeted from the skies.

Ace's eyes widened.

"Craft!"

His teal green cape billowing in the wind, Hadrian Craft landed feet-first on the ground, his impact great enough to smash a crater into the packed earth. Raising his head, he stared up at the approaching Thresher, a cold look in his eyes.

The demonic shark gave a roar of rage and lunged, its jagged tires ready to crush him.

Instead, they struck the stock of _Neige_, grating harmlessly on the indestructible metal surface. Holding the weapon in place with one hand, the former Einherjar commander drew his massive combat knife with the other.

"You have no place here, monster!"

With a single explosive push, he knocked Thresher back, the bike reeling in surprise. In that small opening, the commando lunged forward. His colossal knife plunging deep into Thresher's side, his eyes narrowed as silver oil sprayed out, Thresher shrieking in agony.

Not through yet, he lifted his right leg, the grenade launcher in his knee already opening with a dull clunk.

"FALL!"

Three explosions rang out, as Craft flipped backwards out of the smoke, a familiar whistle on his lips.

"Ride, my steed: _**DULLAHAN**_!"

A nearby sand dune exploded as the massive shape of Craft's trusty bike emerged from the dirt, roaring towards him with a sound that resembled that of a true horse. Landing perfectly on the seat of the colossal machine, he gunned the engine and raced back towards Ace and the others.

The Scarlet Phoenix flipped him a thumbs up, grinning.

"Nice job cutting him off, Hadrian!"

The grizzled commando simply nodded, and raced forward, the Dullahan skidding in circles around Thresher as it continued to hammer away with its cannons.

** [Cue Music: Jam Project- Crest of Z]**

"Hey, hey, hey! Don't go forgetting about me here!"

A smaller shape fell from the skies. A flash of light, and Vulturon transformed back into the figure of Ashe, grinning as she landed on top of Gallidin, causing the Pseudoroid to stagger in mid-run.

"What the fu-Hey, no passengers! Gerroff!"

"Sorry about this!" Ashe winked, and drew her fist back as Model A.

"Hey, wait, what are you-?" Gallidin's panicked question was ignored as Ashe brought her fist screaming down, energy glowing around it.

"Data...GE~EEEET!"

The punch smashed into Gallidin's jaw and sent him reeling. Leaping off of the stunned Pseudoroid as he hit the ground and rolled, Ashe yelled out once more.

"A...TRAAAANS!"

Ace's jaw dropped.

"You have GOT to be fucking kidding me..." Ace's eye twitched in disbelief.

A_ second_ Gallidin Voltzer crashed down onto the ruined earth, breaking into an all-out dash as Ashe rocketed forward in her new form, grinning triumphantly.

"Oh, HELL yes this is what I'm talking about! Screw Hedgeshock and her stumpy little legs! There's a new Lightning Bullet in town, and all your asses are MINE!"

"Okay, seriously:_** WHAT THE HELL, MAN?**_!" X yelled in disbelief. **"DOES _NO-ONE_ AROUND HERE UNDERSTAND THE MEANING OF 'CANNOT BE DONE'?"**

"Dude, since when has that EVER mattered in this city?" Z chuckled. "She just punched Gallidin through a wall. If that doesn't count for activating Model A's DNA Capture, nothing will."

"Attagirl, Ashe!" Vent whooped, punching the air. "Kick the rules to the curb!"

Ace raised an eyebrow at that, but said nothing.

Something exploded again, and the real Gallidin Voltzer emerged back onto the scene once more, now sporting a sizable lump, and a foul temper.

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT FOR?"

He stared as Ashe waved cheerfully back at him with his own body.

"...Do I REALLY look that fat?"

"Dude, this is NOT the time!" Ace yelled, his sensors lighting up with warnings, a swarm of missiles streaking towards them.

**"WIIIIIIINNG..._FIIIIIIRE_!"**

A beam of brilliant scarlet energy lanced across the sky, half of Thresher's missiles exploding harmlessly as the intense bolt of thermal energy incinerated them.

Ace stiffened.

"...Ferham...!"

For an instant, the red angel darted across his field of view, her expression unreadable as her whip lashed out at Thresher.

Ace looked away, his jaw tightening. Even after all this time, he still couldn't bring himself to face her...

"LOOK OUT!"

Ace jerked, startled back to reality as a green strand of electricity arced out towards him, the sickening beam connecting his vehicle to Thresher. Almost immediately he could feel something going wrong.

Red lights flashed on the Red Phoenix's controls, the whine of the turbines faltering behind him. Warning messages materialized on the screens, some of them going dark, while all the others showed the same thing...

"Shit...!"

Still crammed into the space behind Ace's seat, Vent struggled to get a look at the controls, green sparks dancing throughout the interior.

"What the hell's going on?"

"The bastard's leeching my power!" Ace cursed, his hands flying over the Red Phoenix's controls, tugging levers, flipping switches and jerking the throttle.

"Dammit, come on baby...! Don't quit on old Ace just yet...!"

**"COMPRESSOR CANNON!"**

A sonic boom shook the air as a bullet with wings blew past the Red Phoenix, severing the eerie green strand of energy with a single strike. Thresher reared back with an angry screech, the energy of its Vampire weapon sparking off into nothingness.

"Gotta keep your head in the game, Mr. Phoenix!" Ayano winked, and was gone again, circling around for another pass.

"Damn..." Ace whistled, "So Stratova _was_ hanging around the FFA too!"

WHAP!

"OW! Son of a- what was that for?" Ace demanded, turning to glare at Vent.

"That was for almost getting wasted! Don't forget, I'm still here too!" Vent gave him an annoyed look. "Now get me outta here so I can start shooting!"

"All right already!" Ace yelled, throwing his hands up. "Sheesh..."

Thresher looked up through Ibelis' eyes, a growl escaping the Royale's annoyed expression. Pesky flies...!

Even as the warped bike readied it's anti-air missiles, it caught a flash of red from the corner of its eyes. Whipping around, it's eyes widened into shock as the possessed bike came face to face with a crimson machine with the same scent of power as its own.

Drifting sideways across Thresher's field of view, Model O bared its fangs in a predatory smile, weapons already sliding into place on its frame.

_**Br%NG 1T, M0Th3RFu%3R!**_

As if sensing a rival, Thresher gave a roar of challenge, grinning insanely.

And the shit was officially ON!

Model O dug its tires in, screeching as it rocketed around Thresher again. Rocket after rocket from the crimson machine's main battery hammered into the ground around Thresher as the black bike darted and dodged around the explosions. Snarling, Model O skidded around, bringing its front cannons to bear on the enemy as it charged towards Thresher headfirst. Over a dozen rounds of heavy impact Vulcan slugs slammed into the demonic machine, splintering armor and smashing machinery as silver blood sprayed through the air.

Thresher gave an angry scream and veered off, dodging the charging Biometal. Its tires screeching wildly, it spun around once more to face Model O. Without even waiting, over a dozen of Thresher's spiked tendrils slammed into the ground. Before Model O could react, they erupted around the crimson bike, scoring numerous hits as they smashed it up into the air.

Thresher laughed maniacally, and launched another volley of spines at the helpless machine.

Model O gave a roar, finally signaling the one waiting for the call.

A flash of gold blurred past. Not two, but four of her golden needles clenched between the fingers of each hand, Queenbee slashed Thresher's attack to pieces in an instant, the tendrils recoiling as silver oil splashed from their severed tips. As Thresher screamed in pain, Queenbee disappeared, revealing Model O grinning again, its cockpit sliding open.

The crimson light of the Hades glinting in the rising sun, Celtis gritted her teeth, pushed the Demon's Eye to the limit, and fired with a desperate yell.

BLAM!

Thresher shrieked. The tendrils around Model O spasmed wildly and retreated, the cursed bike screeching wildly over the ruined ground as it screamed the loss of its right eye. Sure enough, one of Thresher's crimson headlights lay shattered, it's silver blood pouring out of the ruined socket.

The bike screamed again, crashing into a pile of masonry and falling on its side. Flailing wildly, it spun around for a few seconds, before a series of tendrils smashed it upright once more. Thresher skittered on the loose rubble for a second, before it found a grip, and rocketed off once more.

Model O, captured by gravity once more, smashed back to earth with a deafening crash, rolling for several meters before it too regained its footing and charged off once more.

"Son of a...WHAT...DID I TELL YOU...ABOUT THOSE CRAZY STUNTS?" Celtis wheezed, bleeding from another head wound as she unsteadily pointed the Hades at Model O's screen.

The insane Biometal's wild laughter was interrupted by a yell from Ace.

"Arcana! What happened?"

"Ugh...I shot the bastard in the eye, and Model O got in a few good hits-" Model O gave an indignant growl, "Okay, fine, he shot Thresher too! But they got some distance on me when we crashed, so Thresher's loose again!"

"Not on my watch, motherfucker!"

A storm of lightning surged past on either side of Celtis, the world shaking in their wake.

"Or mine either, you twisted son of a bitch!"

Gallidin and Ashe took off, their very speed cracking the air around them as thunder rolled across the open waste.

"I'm still fucking pissed for you socking me earlier, though!" Gallidin snapped.

"Ah, lighten up, will you?" Ashe laughed.

Thresher, spotting the incoming threats, gave an angry snarl and brought its weapons to bear once more. Bullets whizzed past the duo, as rockets and missiles shattered the sky around them with explosions.

"Too slow, asshole!" Gallidin sneered, an impossible series of right angle turns tracing his path across the earth.

"God DAMN I love this speed!" Ashe exulted, her own A-Transed form bolting in and around the storm of Thresher's offense.

"I'm still pissed, but I have to say, this is fucking AWESOME." Gallidin grinned. "After all, it's not often I can get to say I tag-teamed up with myself for a fight!"

"It's kinda weird to hear that..." Ashe replied, but she couldn't keep the grin off her face. "But I agree! At this speed, who gives a damn any more? I am INVINCIBLE, noobs! HAHAHAHAHA!"

She gave Gallidin a challenging smirk.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?"

The legendary Lightning Bullet bared his teeth in a savage smile.

"Obviously! You ARE me, after all!"

Both Gallidins turned their gaze forward, locking on to Thresher as the black bike continued to blast away at them. As one, their voices rang out over the gunfire!

"LET'S DO IT!"

Up, down, around, over and to the sides, they both hurtled onwards, twin streams of lightning melding into one colossal bolt of uncontrolled power. A raging serpent of destruction, the dragon of lighting roared, and blasted forward at a speed faster than anything ever exhibited by Gallidin before.

"THOUSAND BOLTS!" Gallidin roared, the serpent separating into two smaller dragons, as both halves began to generate a raging hurricane around Thresher.

"**BOLTING DIVIIIIIIIDEEEEEER!**" Ashe yelled, the ground splitting in two as both Voltzers rocketed in to slam into Thresher from opposite sides. They struck twice more, attacks as fast as light, hitting Thresher from directions that should have been impossible.

As the raging hurricane launched Thresher skyward, the two streaks of lightning combined once more, a dragon of thunder roaring as it hurtled after Thresher. Screeching in rage, Thresher opened up with everything in it's arsenal, a burning fury of explosions threatening to tear apart the walls of wind surrounding them.

"THAT'S STILL NOT ENOUGH!"

Thresher's remaining eyes widened.

Blasting aside the remnants of the fading explosion, Gallidin and Ashe shot upwards, encased in the fury of the heavens themselves.

"DOUBLE...!"

Too late, Thresher sensed the massive orb of energy that had been gathering at the apex of the whirlwind.

"VOLTZER...!"

Cursing at the uselessness of it's weapons, Thresher brought Ibelis' hand down on the controls, activating yet another of its subweapons in a last, desperate move.

"_**CRUSHEEEEEEEEER!**_"

The countless teravolts of lightning that had been accumulating during their attack blasted downwards, heading to earth, as both Gallidins hurtled upward to meet it head on.

And caught between them was Thresher.

The sky exploded.

"...Okay, that was just plain AMAZING." Vent managed to say finally.

"Agreed." Ace's features hardened, "But it still wasn't enough!"

Gallidin and Ashe whirled in shock.

"What?"

Moments later, a wave of Thresher's signature tendrils slammed into them, knocking them out of the sky. Gallidin hit the ground hard, cursing as his midsection gave off sparks, proof of some major armor damage. Ashe staggered upright, clutching her left arm in pain.

"How the hell did he...?"

Her question was left unfinished however, as Thresher reappeared in sight. The telltale blue glow of an OverShield crackling around it, the black bike gave a demonic smile.

"That cheap son of a whore!" Gallidin swore in outrage. "We racked up tons of damage, but the fucker still dodged the final blow!"

Thresher laughed maniacally at their crestfallen expressions, before turning tail and bolting again.

"SHIT!" Ace slammed his hands on the dashboard in frustration. "It's almost to the exits! If we let it get back into the city, we're all screwed!"

And then he heard the radar blare a warning.

Thresher continued its deranged cackling, heading straight for a cliff. It could almost TASTE the banquet waiting for it in the distance! Just a leap over this canyon, a landing on the opposite side, and then a few more miles until-

Thresher's grin faded as it became aware of a dull rumbling noise. What the hell was making that..._**SONOFAFUCK!**_

**[Cue Music: ZX soundtrack- Sky High - Grand Nuage (Theme of the Guardian Base!)]**

The black bike's grin froze altogether as the massive shape of the Guardian Base rose up from hiding within the canyon, over a dozen of its broadside anti-warship cannons already trained on it.

Aile gave a grim smile.

"It took a bit of fancy flying, but it looks like it paid off in the end! Don't underestimate us Guardians, you renegade machine!"

Vent punched the air in triumph.

"Oh, FUCK YEAH! Way to GO, Aile! I knew you'd pull through for us!"

Ace grinned.

"Nice job, Commander." He grinned. "You too, Marino!"

His second in command huffed and looked away. "It wasn't easy finding a safe route for them to sneak up on Thresher, you know."

Aile smiled once, before her expression hardened once more.

"Black Thresher, you are hereby order to cease and desist all operations immediately! Stand down or we will not hesitate to shoot!"

Thresher gritted its teeth.

_**...Again!**_

"What are you DOING, Aile?" Vent yelled. "Just SHOOT the bastard!"

_**Again! Again!**_

"Not until I know for certain this thing has powered down!" Aile shot back. "ACE built this reactor, after all!"

_**Again and again and AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN...!**_

"Shit, I didn't think of that...!" Vent chewed on his thumb.

"Oh and what the FUCK is that supposed to mean?" Ace demanded angrily, "Not EVERYTHING I build explodes, dammit!"

Thresher ground its teeth together in rage. _**Again and again! These damned insects just kept on coming! No matter how many times it shrugged off their attacks, no matter how much power it threw at them, THE LITTLE FUCKS JUST WOULD NOT DIE!**_

A terrifying roar shook the world, Thresher lifting its head to the sky once more. A scream of rage unlike any it had given before, the wall of sound driving the crew of the Guardian Base to their knees. Aile clutched at her chair, wincing in pain.

"Wha...what's going on?"

As a red pillar of light erupted from Thresher's body, Ace's eyes widened.

"It doesn't matter! SHOOT, AILE! NOW!"

It was too late for that. With their gunners incapacitated by the sonic attack, the Guardian Base was defenseless. And with it's lower half still constrained by the canyon lip, it couldn't dodge in a hurry, either!

"Shit! AILE!" Vent roared desperately.

As the telltale shimmer of the Spatial Field began to form around Thresher once more, Ace cursed.

"It still has access to that ability?"

Thresher's eyes narrowed. It would not stop...It would not stop until this burning hunger within it was finally sated! To do that, it would destroy anything and anyone in its way, INCLUDING THESE MISERABLE WORMS!

Ayano's fingers danced across the keyboard, Thresher's hate and rage marring her normally calm features as it sought out it's most devastating weapon.

As a hatch opened on the back of the black Templar, Gallidin's eyes widened in horror.

"Oh, FUCK!"

In the skies, Ayano stared in horrified disbelief.

"It can't be! But if it really is Vesper's bike...Oh no!"

Ace's eyes narrowed, his jaw tightening in grim acceptance of the facts.

"...OVERLORD...! So she DID still have that damn thing..."

The OVERLORD...If the Deathstrike is the scalpel of the XGRA model, a surgical strike guaranteed to wipe out the target with maximum efficiency, then the OVERLORD is the titanium bat with rusty nails in it. Fifty miles worth of thermonuclear devastation, all wrapped up in a nice, convenient forty-pound shell casing. Usually the threat of the OVERLORD was enough to deter any opposition, but as yet, there was no-one _stupid_ enough, or at least suicidal enough to actually USE the damn thing, as it was just as likely to kill your sorry ass along with everything else in range!

But with Thresher's nigh-impenetrable Spatial Field protecting it...!

"Shit, he really plans to use that!" The Scarlet Phoenix swore. "Arcana! Voltzer! ASHE!"

"Yes?" All three of them jumped in surprise.

"FOLLOW MY LEAD! Vent, get your ass in here!"

"What the hell are you doing?" The Guardian Commander demanded as the Red Phoenix's roof hatch deposited him into the cramped interior once more.

"Saving your sister, that's what!" He opened a different channel to Aile.

"Aile, if you're hearing me, crank the Guardian Base's shields up as high as you can! Break the shield generators, overload them if you have to!"

"Wh-what?"

"JUST DO IT, OR WE'RE ALL DEAD!"

Without waiting for an answer, Ace reached back for the throttle once more, seizing it tightly in his grip.

"Then let's go...ONE MORE TIME!"

The throttle raced forward, sparks flying from it's track as Ace brought it shrieking forward one last time.

_'I'm resting all of my hopes on you...'_

"BOOOOOOST..."

_'So just howl for me...ONE LAST TIME...!'_

His brilliant blue eyes blazing as bright as the hottest sun, Ace called the name of his last hope, the Red Phoenix screaming to life once more, as if it had heard him.

"_**FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRE!**_"

Thresher laughed, and fired the OVERLORD, as if to say, "Too late, human! You can't stop me now!"

But Ace's aim had never been Thresher. The black bike's eyes widened in shock as it watched the blazing Red Phoenix launch itself straight off the edge the cliff-

-Hurtling directly towards the Guardian Base!

The bike screamed in rage as it realized his plan, but it was too late.

The Guardian Base's shields flashed brightly, as Aile ordered every available generator to divert power to the defenses.

It could only hold that amount of power for a brief second...

...But that was all Ace needed!

The Red Phoenix struck the enhanced shield head on, a burning phoenix of flames erupting around it. The attack, powerful enough to have overcome even Thresher's Spatial Field and destroy its dorsal fin, was more than enough for Ace's plan now!

The Guardian Base was thrown sideways, launched up and away from the canyon by the force of the Boost Fire slamming into its shield. The flames dissipating from it's frame as it rebounded backwards, the battered Red Phoenix tumbled back to earth as the OVERLORD sailed harmlessly through the now empty air.

Ace coughed once, blood spattering across the controls of the Phoenix, before he lifted his head, forcing himself to speak. He was certain the collision just now had pulverized most of his ribcage, but that wasn't important now...!

"GALLIDIN! CELTIS! ASHE!" He rasped, gritting his teeth against the pain. "**DO IT!**"

As if in response to his words, a whirlwind formed, crackling with power. The OVERLORD, despite its overwhelming capacity for death, was still a mortar round at the core, without any propulsion of its own. As a result, Gallidin's tornado ensnared it easily, pulling it in and sending it whirling up, high up into the sky overhead, almost into space.

And then the detonator timed out.

A fireball blossomed in the sky, chasing away the last of the night in the nightmarish glow. It outshone even the sun, plumes of red hot plasma snaking out through the atmosphere like living things. They felt the edges of the shockwave reach them, the air whipping into a frenzy as a powerful force rippled through the world around them.

Ace grinned, despite his injuries as he watched the massive storm fade, staining the sky over Legion with it's dusky remnants.

"Well...heh heh...the Environmental Agency's probably not gonna be too pleased with me for that..."

He turned, his features solidifying into a vicious growl.

"But at least I know YOUR ass won't be getting away either!"

Thresher screeched in pain, it's wheels in ruins. Blown to shreds by Celtis, she still clutched the Hades, it's barrel smoking in her hands. It had been but the work of a second, two shots fired while Ace and Gallidin had disposed of the OVERLORD.

And that wasn't all either...

Ashe collapsed to one knee, a trail of broken and melted earth in her wake. With a loud metallic clang, Thresher's cockpit canopy fell to earth beside her. Fifty feet behind her, Thresher's eyes suddenly widened in anger and shock as it slowly turned to regard her.

Gallidin's form melted away from Ashe, returning her once more to her human form. And in her arms, Ibelis Royale gave a moan and stirred, the last of Thresher's corruption crumbling away from her. The female Chosen One lifted her head and looked back at Thresher, her tired eyes burning with challenge.

"Checkmate...bitch."

* * *

Back at the base camp of the FFA, there was a resounding cheer of elation.

"That was AMAZING!"

"Did you SEE that?"

"Oh man, I always knew Phoenix was crazy!"

"Yeah, crazy like a FOX!"

"Forget Phoenix! Did you see Ashe?"

"What are you, kidding me? At that speed?"

"I know, right? And that combo with Gallidin!"

"Fucking WIN, dude!"

Vix sat on the edge of Kitara's desk, shaking her head slightly at the antics of the other Raiders and Hunters who were still around. They had all clustered around a big screen that one of the Security personnel had set up to project the rest.

Yes, Security personnel.

Once the racers had agreed to join in the hunt for Thresher, about four carriers' worth of Legion troops had pulled into the FFA's base station, like they had been waiting for Ace's signal (They had.) and set up a base there.

United in their love for competition, money and pretty much just awesomeness in any form or fashion, it had taken less than twenty minutes before a betting pool had sprung up between the assembled Raiders, Security personnel and Hunters.

All of which served to explain why the majority of people here were all crowded around the screen, crowing over the events of the race.

"You think Celtis'll be alright out there?"

Vix looked down to see Kitara with a worried expression. She gave her a reassuring smile.

"I'm sure she'll be fine." She spoke quietly, " After all, she's with good company, isn't she?"

"...I guess so..." Kitara looked down for a minute, as if still not quite at ease, before a warning on her console flashed up at her.

Simultaneously, the roar of the crowd down at the other end of the room suddenly intensified, several Security personnel hurrying out of it to arm themselves up once more.

Vix's eyes narrowed.

"What the..."

* * *

"...HELL IS WRONG WITH THIS SON OF A BITCH?" Ace roared, the sound of Vent's dual Busters blazing away over his head.

"It just won't QUIT!" Gallidin yelled angrily.

Thresher of course, was still active. Somehow, it had taken parts from itself and used them as material to reconstruct its' wheels. Then before they could react, the bastard had taken off once again.

Now, it was currently being chased by the remaining racers, of which only Celtis and Gallidin could be said to be in good condition, Ashe and Ibelis having been recovered by the Guardian base, and with Ace steadfastly refusing any treatment until he had settled things with Thresher once and for all.

The problem now, however, stood as thus: Without Ibelis, or any other human host, Thresher now no longer had access to it's various special sub-weapons. And so, it had fallen back on the only one it had left.

The Spatial Drive.

Even Ace's genius intellect wasn't entirely certain what it had done, but the point was that anything and everything in Thresher's wake was being obliterated, an invisible shockwave traveling behind it that repelled any attempts to get close.

Ace had tried already, only to break off halfway. Any further, and the immense pressure would have crushed him and destroyed the Red Phoenix completely.

"GOD DAMMIT!" Vent cursed, watching his shots vanish in the twisted wake of Thresher. "Don't we have ANYTHING to put this fucker down once and for all?"

And then...Celtis heard it.

**[Cue Music: Lordi-Bringing back the Balls to Rock!]**

**_Heeeey-ey heeeey-ey Heeeey-ey heeeey-ey Heeeey-ey heeeey-ey yo!_**

It was faint at first, a raucous voice sounding from the radio.

"What the..." Celtis reached forward and turned the volume up.

**_Attention class! - Here we come  
We kick your ass - That's lesson one!_**

Now they could all hear it, all other channels being drained out by static.

"This is...a song?" Vent stared down at the radio. "Who's hijacking all of the channels just for music at a time like this?"

**_I know you've been living in heresy  
Correction's what you need!_**

All of the color drained from Ashe's face as she realized what was coming. She'd heard this kind of music before, on an occasion she'd never forget.

"...Oh _no_...!"

**_Less isn't more-less is less,_**

**_ The more the better-the most the best!_**

Ace began to smile. It a was not a good smile to be on the receiving end of.

"Ohhhhh _yes_!"

**_ You gotta turn up the amps past overload!_**

**_ Your eardrums will explode!_**

And now they could all hear it. A rough, loud voice howling along to the lyrics with mad delight ringing in every syllable.

"You asked me...'Isn't there anything we have that can put Thresher down for good?'" Ace laughed.

**_ We are what we want to be  
Monsters of rock, we are for real_**

"In all of Legion, there is one thing that CAN!"

Marino grinned. It looked as though the final part of Ace's scheme had finally arrived!

**_Stand up for what you believe!_**

**_And shout!_**

With a loud crackling noise, blazing green cracks ate into reality. Through the splintered cracks, they could all see the limitless infinity that lurked behind every facet of their world.

"That's...!" Vent's eyes widened.

"Cyberspace!" Gallidin gasped.

The cracks suddenly lengthened, extending back behind the racers. As they met in the middle, the stretched backwards, a long, distorted cone of space beginning to form. The last remaining shards of reality that had been pulled in by the vortex shattered, revealing the true form of the construct. The last veil now pulled away, the maw of Cyberspace roared wide behind them.

"What the fuck is that?"

And then, Ace felt his teeth begin to rattle in his head. He gritted his teeth in a fierce smile, the sonic vibrations continuing to build as it slowly coalesced into the deep bass roar of an engine.

"Looks like he came prepared...!"

Celtis and Gallidin both looked back, into the whirling vortex, dread in their hearts.

"Oh shiiiiiiit." Gallidin swallowed.

**_Hail in the name of Rock and Roll!_**

A black shape appeared in the depths, far away in the distance of Cyberspace, drawing closer.

"Not him...!" Celtis moaned, already feeling a migraine coming on.

The shape continued to draw closer at a frightening speed, and it was still accelerating.

**_Hail in the name of Rock and Roll!_**

Queenbee smelled the scent of raw power on the air, the aura of destruction and carnage, and her heart sped up.

"He's finally here!"

Ayano risked a glance sideways.

"Who's here?"

**_Hail in the name of Rock and Roll!_**

As if on cue, a brilliant light suddenly shone from the oncoming shadow. Queenbee smiled as the blazing crimson headlight painted the unmistakable Greek sign on the ground.

An inverted U, with two prongs emerging out at right angles from the base...The sigil of the legendary nightmare!

**_Bringing back the balls!_**

"My Master!"

Time and space shattered, the vortex to Cyberspace disintegrating into shards as humanity's greatest King of Destroyers appeared from the void, his voice howling the chorus!

**_ Bringing back the balls to Rock!_**

The sound of turbines shrieked through the air, the mad laughter of Omega shaking the world. Ace's smile slipped a few notches as he finally saw the God of Destruction's appearance.

Or more specifically, what he was riding.

A sleek, streamlined front, an elongated, diamond shape, with a swept back protrusion underneath it. Behind that streamlined front, a sunken in seat, the upswept angle of the triangular front protecting the rider like a windshield. The seat itself was designed for its rider to sit leaning back against it, reaching forward to grab the handles, much like a regular 'hog. The sides of the seat were completely open to the surroundings, meaning that the struts beneath seat were the only things holding the streamlined front, and the bulky back end together, the seating section acting like a bridge between them. As for the rear section...It was bulky and rounded, five small thruster nozzles arranged in the shape of a cross at it's back. It was what was attached to either side of this rear section that truly changed this beast into a monster, though. Two powerful engines, outfitted with high powered rotary intakes, mounted on horizontal pylons capable of a full range of movement, granting the vehicle a ridiculous degree of maneuverability.

The thing Omega was driving might have at one point fallen under the category of Ride Chaser once, but now, all that remained of that was it's antigravity ability.

And that wasn't all either. Once you had finished taking in the sight of the unbelievable machine, then you couldn't help but look up to the man who rode it.

There he stood, atop his steed. One leg planted on the footrest, another resting firmly on the seat as he stared out at the world.

Omega, the legendary God of Destruction, Nightmare of 22XX!

Only...this was a NEW God of Destruction.

His long hair still trailed behind him, as deathly white as always, but now it was different. Smooth and groomed, it was like a streak of light, dancing through the air. On his shoulders rested rounded silver armor, which covered most of his upper arms, revealing dull blue cloth beneath. His hands still remained his trademark gauntlets, only now they too had been refined, each piece a perfectly fitted segment that interlocked with another. His coat was now blue, and the once tattered edges were now smooth, as if they had been repaired, and with two long segments of armor attached to each edge of the coattails, connecting the entire assembly to his waist. His chest was covered with a perfectly fitted set of burnished steel armor, and his heavy boots had become more streamlined.

And finally, there in his right hand burned not the violet flames of his massive Zweihander, but instead a whirling storm of wind, as if the air itself had coalesced to form a weapon, held fast in the iron grip of Omega's right hand.

The God of Destruction's eyes glinted evilly behind his newly remastered shades.

"Knock, knock..." he grinned maliciously, "Guess who figured out how to teleport."

"Fuck THAT..." Ace gaped in disbelief. "More like 'Guess who figured out how to use the Zweihander'!"

Omega's grin widened.

"Yeah, that too."

And so it was. The armor covering his body was indeed similar to that of Saber, the first entity he had found within the Zweihander, except now it wasn't a dress but some epic combination of a badass longcoat and a suit of platemail armor. And the weapon in his hand...

Omega hefted the blade, the Zweihander of Dominion taking the form of Saber's weapon, the Caliburn, sheathed in it's protective shell of wind.

"So...Black Thresher, was it...?" Omega grinned, mad lights dancing in his eyes. "TIME TO SHOW YOU ROOKIES HOW ASSKICKINGS ARE **SUPPOSED** TO BE DONE!"

His left leg stomping down on the accelerator, Omega swept the Caliburn out to the side.

"Come on...Scream, my _**IRON VULTURE!**_"

Two triangular panels on the streamlined front of the Iron Vulture blazed to life, as if two eerie yellow eyes had suddenly snapped open. Beneath Omega, the monstrous generator of the Iron Vulture thundered to life, a rumbling growl of anger and bloodstained fury resonating with each rev of the engine. The twin engines on either side of its hull whirled to life, and in a blast of red flame, he was gone, rocketing straight forward at Thresher.

The demonic bike had sensed the colossal pressure emerging from Cyberspace, and now it poured everything it had into its Spatial Reactor, it's speed only continuing to increase further as more and more of the world behind it was destroyed, the wave of ruination generated by the Spatial Field wreaking havoc on the laws of nature.

And it was into this murderous zone that the God of Destruction charged head-first.

80 meters...

Omega felt the force of the distorted world slam into him, his hair whipping into a frenzy, even as invisible strikes sliced tiny nicks into his skin and armor.

70 meters...

The God of Destruction bared his teeth in a feral smile and gunned the accelerator.

_"Shall we do it now?"_

"Not yet...!" Omega gritted, hearing Saber's voice in his head.

60 meters...

_"...Now?"_

"Not...yet...!" He growled, blood splashing as a wave of force tore off most of his left cheekbone.

55 meters...

Saber sighed and prepared herself for the inevitable command.

52 meters...!

As he felt his chest armor begin to crack and crumble beneath the onslaught, Omega's fist clenched around the grip of the Zweihander, a fierce smile appearing on his face.

"What the hell is he doing?" Ashe yelled, grabbing onto Aile's control chair in disbelief. "I don't care HOW badass he thinks he is, he's just going to rip himself to pieces like this!"

Ace's eyes narrowed as he stared at the armor clad back of the man in front of him.

"No...not if he truly has the power of the Caliburn supporting him!"

"Mister Saber...!" Kitara was biting her fingernails in a nervous panic, the huge screen showing the newcomer's headlong charge to suicide.

"What the hell is that guy doing?" Another viewer wondered in disbelief.

Omega raised the Caliburn before his eyes and gave a wild yell.

"All right, Saber! Vulture! It's GO time!"

Still standing atop the Vulture, Omega lifted the Caliburn in one hand and drew it back.

"Pierce through the world...!" The wind surrounding the invisible weapon in Omega's hand increased its revolution. Spinning faster and faster,until Omega's arm disappeared into a raging hurricane that roared even louder than Thresher's vortex.

"BARRIER OF THE WIND KING...CALIBUUUUUUURN!"

He lunged forward, shooting his right arm forward. And in an instant, the tip of the sword still pointing straight forward, the raging storm was released.

A twister erupted from the Caliburn, a whirling storm of hurricane force winds that tore a hole in the vortex before him. The restrictive forces of the Spatial Field vanished, blown out to the sides of Omega by the focused pressure of the Wind King's barrier.

"Son of a...He just bored a hole straight through Thresher's field with nothing more than a blast of wind...!" Ayano gaped in disbelief.

Sensing the tornado still racing towards it, Thresher gave a screech of alarm, and accelerated still more, desperately increasing the force of the Spatial Field. The end of the tornado bulged as the Spatial Field suddenly began to press on it, forcing it back towards Omega. Rather than be alarmed by this...

"Thaaaaat's it...!" Omega grinned, a sinister smirk appearing on his features. "Keep right on pushing!"

In his hand, the winds began to accelerate, their speed still increasing even as Thresher continued to push them back. The tornado, now trapped by the forces of Thresher's Field pressing in on it from all sides, and still revolving even faster under Saber's merciless power output, began to coalesce, condensing into the shape Omega had intended since the beginning.

"No..." Vent breathed, his eyes widening, as he recognized the shape being forged by Omega's mad plan.

"Hope you're not running yourself ragged in there, Saber!" Omega yelled mockingly.

Her swordtip buried in the ground at her feet, hands resting on the hilt before her and eyes closed in concentration, Saber could feel her forehead twitch in irritation.

_"Arrogant...!"_ The air around her increased it's fervor, an equally mocking smile appearing on her face as she replied.

_"Hardly! I have yet to release even a tenth of my sword's power...Rather, I should be more worried about you. I highly doubt a scoundrel like you can last much longer..."_

"Oh, scoundrel, is it?" Omega laughed delightedly. "All right then, time to see which of us is right!"

As he thrust his blade forward once more, the pressure on the trapped hurricane reached its critical point, the entire thing folding in to form the shape Omega had been aiming for from the start...

"...A drill!" Vent gaped, "He made a freaking drill out of WIND!"

The spiraling helix of wind drawn back in one hand like a lance, Omega gave a wild whoop.

"Even if you can warp space itself, you damn rabid dog, don't think that'll be enough to stop me!" He roared, " Even if you forge a solid wall of time and space in my way, _**I'LL BREAK RIGHT ON THROUGH!**_"

Leaning forward with the force, he put every last ounce of power behind the rotating wind, his eyes blazing triumphantly.

"_**GOOOOOOOOOOOOO!**_"

The forces of Space itself twisted aside by the God of Destruction's whirling wind, there was nothing left to impede the Iron Vulture any longer. Its yellow eyes flashing, the cruel engines roared once more.

In the mind of a beast, there is only room for two types of organism...Predator and prey.

As it beheld the titan bearing down on it, a malevolent power capable of breaking even the world itself in two, for the first time...Thresher found itself in the role of prey. Screaming with fear and rage, the black bike turned, and rushed at Omega, in one last desperate attack.

_**"YOU'RE MINE!"**_

Those two words shaking the earth, Omega's whirling lance of wind slammed into the side of the Black Thresher, shattering the last remnants of the Spatial Field. With a wild yell, he released the storm, the compressed auger of wind exploding in a blast of air that tore a gaping wound in Thresher's side and disintegrated everything within twenty feet of Omega.

And there, no longer hidden by it's sheath of wind, the magnificent steel sword Caliburn lay exposed. A larger, more brutal looking version of Saber's sword, it was almost six feet long, a third of which was currently buried in Thresher's side.

Thresher jerked and thrashed in agony, screeching as it tried to free itself.

"NOT THIS TIME, YOU DON'T!"

The blade in Omega's hand's suddenly glowed golden. With a tremendous roar, Omega swung the massive sword up, light blazing forth from the blade even as Thresher was thrown into the sky..

"EEEEEEEXXX..._**CALIBAAAAAAAA!**_"

A wave of golden fury split the sky, a wall of light slamming into Black Thresher as it was thrown off of the blade. The demonic bike screamed one last time, a mixture of hate, rage and fear, before it's demented visage vanished within the light, the gold wrath of Omega's Excalibur swallowing it completely.

The light of Excalibur still glowing in the sky behind him, the God of Destruction shouldered the Zweihander, grinning as the Vulture came to a halt.

"And that, ladies and gentlemen...is how it is motherfucking _done_."

* * *

Thirty minutes later...

Silence reigned, over the battlefield that had once been the abandoned Sector 14. Utterly destroyed by the battle against the monster that had claimed it as its territory, Sector 14 was now little more than a wasteland, scattered with the remains of civilization.

And in this wreckage, four figures stood surrounding a blackened crater in the sand.

"I don't fucking believe it."

Ace said, his voice toneless with shock.

Lying at the bottom of a fifteen foot-wide crater, the thing that had once been Thresher lay where it had fallen.

"What don't you believe?" Ashe asked sarcastically, "That the insane psychopath with a Biometal sword actually left something to find? Or is it the fact that even after all of that _the bike is still in one piece?_"

"Little from Column A, little from Column B." Vent admitted, straightening up from the wreckage.

And indeed, to everyone's amazement, the white Templar bike that had once belonged to Vesper Royale lay on its side in the dirt, Thresher's broken armor scattered around it like fallen leaves. Aside from a few puncture wounds, splashes of mud on the chassis, and assorted dents here and there, it actually seemed to be in good working condition. And of course, the massive rend torn through its side by Omega's point-blank Excalibur.

But there was still something missing from the picture...

Not even the faintest stirring of malevolent power could be found within or around the machine, not a single sign of the entity Black Thresher to be found, wherever they looked

"My Reactor's here all right..." Ace muttered, examining the chassis of the damaged XGRA model. "But that still doesn't explain what the hell that thing...Black Thresher...was."

"So then...you were right." Aile's eyes narrowed. "There's something else then. Thresher itself was simply an entity using the power of the Reactor, with Vesper's Templar acting as it's main body!"

"Something like... a parasite, then?" Ashe tried.

"Yes, I suppose you could think of it like that..." Ace murmured, his face pensive as he stared down at the battered bike. "But the question still remains of what Thresher was exactly, and how it was capable of such a feat..."

"And more importantly..." Vent met Ace's gaze levelly, "Who the hell BUILT it."

There was a moment of silence as the others digested that fact.

And that's when Omega stomped down into the crater, cracking his knuckles as Queenbee trailed behind him.

"Okay, out of the way, noobs. I'm starving, and I don't care if I have to bite through you to get to the main course!"

He came to a halt near the downed bike and looked around, as if expecting to see something appear.

After several moments of silence, during which the Chosen Ones and Ace exchanged bewildered glances, the God of Destruction turned around to face them, arms folded in irritation.

"Well?" He demanded. "Where is it?"

Ashe gave him a strange look.

"Where's what? You're the one who came down to a crash site looking for food!"

Omega gave her a surprised look.

"You mean you can't smell that?"

"Smell what?" Vent groaned. "Smoke, fire, burning stuff, etc...We're kinda in the middle of a crash site. You might wanna be a tad bit more specific..."

"Wait a minute..." Ace stepped forward, a suspicion forming in his mind, "Saber, what is it you came here chasing?"

Omega gave him a strange look.

"What else? I came here following the smell of that damn Virus, of course!"

The world seemed to freeze.

"...Virus...?" Ashe gasped.

The same train of thought raced through each of their minds.

"You don't think..." Vent looked down at the wreckage, eyes widening as he reached for his Biometals.

Too late, Ace saw the broken pipelines hidden underneath the Templar's damaged body, buried underneath the crater.

A Legion electrical cable.

A familiar feral howl shook the air.

As one, their heads jerked up.

"Oh, SON of a...!"

Ashe was the first one out of the crater, her eyes widening in disbelief at the sight before her.

There, now leaving from one of the ground level rails of Legion, came a train.

Vent skidded to a halt next to her, his hands tightening into fists as he cursed under his breath.

"I don't believe this...!"

The train was covered in a now familiar carapace of black, broken armor, red light seeping from the cracks.

Aile's expression was grim.

"At least now we know for certain the thing didn't die!"

An unmistakable, jagged smile split the prow of the train, chainsaw teeth grating and clashing against one another, four red eyes leering at them in triumph.

"Okay, this thing is SERIOUSLY starting to piss me off." Omega growled. "No way in HELL am I letting this crap drag on for another chapter!"

Even as he started forward, Ace snapped one hand out, stopping the God of Destruction.

"Wha- The hell do you think you're doing, Phoenix?"

Ace stared at the mutated train as it hurtled past them, a suddenly uncomfortable expression on his face. Thresher had warped most of it already, but there WERE still some marks of identification left visible.

As Thresher's last car rocketed past them, Ace reached up with his communicator, his hand shaking as he pressed it to his ear.

"...Marino?"

His second in-command sounded equally unnerved.

"Reports just came in. That was the 6 A.M. Mach Courier. It came in ten minutes ago and had just finished disembarking before Thresher got to it."

"So..."

There was a distinct sense of unease in Marino's voice.

"Yeah. They're here."

Ace slowly took the communicator away from his ear, even as Omega and the others rounded on him.

"What the hell did you do that for?"

"Thresher just WALKED out of Legion and you didn't want to even TRY to stop it?"

"What is WRONG with you?"

Ace turned to look at them, a definite look of nervousness on his face.

"I stopped you because there's no _need_ to chase Thresher."

Vent stopped.

"Wait, what?"

Ace looked past them, and suddenly paled.

"Actually...rather than that, I think we should be ducking for cover right now."

As one, everyone turned to see what he was looking at, with the exception of Ace himself, who, despite several damaged ribs and having one arm in a sling, managed to miraculously dive and roll into cover behind a pile of nearby rocks with a speed that would have made an Olympic athlete envious.

* * *

Thresher glanced back at Ace and the others and grinned savagely.

HAH! Let them try and chase it now! It might not have the Spatial Reactor any more, but it still had it's own power! And with that power, even the weakest machine could be warped into a terrible monster!

Thresher turned its eyes forward once more, gloating over the speed of this new frame.

And then froze as it beheld an incredible sight.

Ahead of it, the train tracks extended on, disappearing into the horizon. But on those tracks...there was a lone figure.

Walking onward, humming a tune to himself, as if he didn't care in the slightest about the monstrous train hurtling towards him, the man continued forward. A biker's brown leather jacket over his shoulders, his chest was bare underneath it and covered with numerous scars. His dirty blonde hair stuck up at odd angles, as if ignoring gravity. A lit cigarette held in his teeth, the man looked up, the glow of the cigarette casting a light on the flame-patterned eyepatch that covered his right eye.

"God, you're an ugly bastard."

Thresher's teeth gnashed together, sparks flying as it roared forward, intent on crushing the insect that dared bar its passage.

The man smiled widely, an aura of mayhem flaring up around him as he raised his hands.

"Then again, it looks like you're not that bright, either!"

Light flashed around his hands.

"SODOM!" A massive cannon appeared on his right arm, it's jaws opening wide to reveal its deadly muzzle.

"GOMORRAH!" An equally dangerous duplicate appeared on his left.

Power building within the jaws of both of his weapons, the man reared up, an insane smile on his face.

"**LAND CRASHEEEEEEEEEER!**"

He slammed the weapons down, into the ground at his feet, and pulled the triggers.

The shock was felt up to twenty miles away.

The earth shattered, pulverized as a 9.0 magnitude earthquake shook the area. Unable to stop itself, Thresher gave an angry yell as it was thrown off the rails, slamming back down to earth with a terrible crash. Undeterred, it altered the train's wheels, and took off once more in a different direction, roaring angrily as it smashed through the debris in its way.

Amidst the rocks and destroyed earth, the man smiled.

"Gotcha."

**[Super Robot Wars OGs: The Sword that Cleaves Evil (TV Version)]**

Black cloth rippled in the wind.

Thresher looked up, and cursed in shock once more.

Now another enemy blocked its path.

He stood tall amidst the devastation around him, his ebony black longcoat moving gracefully in the morning breeze. He was clad in military gear, the peaked cap of a ranking colonel hiding his eyes. On his armored chest glinted a single sign. A capital R with a star sigil.

The man raised his head, cold eyes staring at Thresher's charging form as if seeing right through it.

"Nana." He spoke, his voice cool and clipped, a British accent coloring his speech.

"My weapon."

"Right away, sir!" A voice spoke in his ear.

Moments later, the air above him glowed with the light of a transfer...and _something_ crashed to earth behind him.

Without even looking back, the man reached behind, and seized ahold of his weapon in a single hand.

A single, monolithic steel cross was lifted into the air, the nameless colonel holding it by the handle built into the center of the cross. Each arm of the thing was cuboidal, with four eight-inch wide faces, the three shorter arms a bit more than a foot long, and the long arm well over two meters in length.

"Adjudicator." The man spoke, his grip tightening. Along the sides of the cross's long arm, a shining steel edge emerged, with the tip of a swordblade sliding out from the end of the arm, transforming the entire arm into a colossal blade.

Thresher was almost upon him now, raging jaws opened wide to grind him to pieces. It gave an earthshaking roar-

**"SHUT UP!"**

Black Thresher's voice cut out in mid-howl, ending in a strangled squawk as the massive beast recoiled from the force in the man's words.

**"AND LISTEN!"** The nameless figure raised his head, eyes blazing in the shadow cast by his military cap.

"**I AM COLONEL!"** The black specter thundered. **"COLONEL COMMISSAR!"**

Black Thresher roared again, recovering from its shock, now doubly enraged at the foe before it.

The man broke into a run, taking two steps forward, his arms crossing over his chest as he raised the tip of the massive weapon to the sky, it's handle held firmly in an iron grip.

**"I AM THE SWORD THAT PUNISHES THE GUILTY!"**

He swung.

Thresher's world went black.

The train hurtled onwards, the colossal cross dragging through its body in a single, perfect horizontal cut. As the last car shot past him, the man pulled the weapon forward once more, the blade retracting as the base of the cross struck the ground.

Behind him, Thresher's corpse separated, a perfect upper and lower section silhouetted in the dawn as a gap widened between the train's upper and lower halves, cleaved in twain by the unstoppable power of the iron blade .

And then time started once more, an explosion tearing it to pieces in a glorious detonation of fire and smoke. The black-clad slayer stood there, silhouetted by the destruction, his eyes burning as his coat whipped up around him.

**"THERE IS NOTHING THAT CAN ESCAPE MY JUSTICE!"**

Floating in the air, held up by an A-transed Ashe and Queenbee, Omega, Vent and Aile stared out at the scene in disbelief.

"What in...What the _hell?_" Vent gaped.

"Who...who the hell ARE those two?" Aile demanded, her voice shaking.

Ace's voice was grim.

"Two of my most powerful operatives...The Colonel-Commissar..."

The black coated colonel swept the titanic iron cross up once more, sheathing it on his back as he adjusted his cap, revealing the scar that marked the skin across his left eye.

"...And his second in command, nicknamed Lieutenant Disaster."

Omega stared at the figure of the man amidst the broken earth, a field of devastation stretching for miles around him, a miniature mountain range formed by one attack. The God of Destruction had been deathly silent since his arrival, his mind racing as he sought to comprehend what he was seeing.

"Impossible...!" He breathed, his eyes widening in amazement.

Far below, still in the crater left by his attack, the blond-haired fighter straightened up, the red markings on his cheeks clearly visible.

He looked up, and his eyes met Omega's.

He grinned, the last of his cigarette crumbling to ash.

The God of Destruction released Queenbee and dropped to the earth with a crash, barely bending his knees as his armored boots pulverized the broken earth, his frame sinking with the impact.

Straightening up, he faced the man, his eyes deadly serious for once. Not once had his burning gaze left the sight before him.

Drawing another cigarette, the man lit it in the glow of his Knuckle Busters.

"Been a while...Omega."

Omega gave him a grim smile.

"Not long enough...Fighting Fefnir."

* * *

A/N: OH MY GOD IT'S FINALLY DONE. *** thud ***

Jesus H. Christ on a bicycle at Christmastime.

WHAT THE _HELL_ was I on to come up with this stuff?

This right here is what happens when you combine watching too much anime with reading too much fanfiction and normal fiction, with a lack of sleep, some allergy medication and a summer job.

Shit did not just fly off the hook.

Shit packed up and left, and is now suing the hook for custody of it and the shit's two kids.

Anyway, WOO! The mysterious Colonel and Lieutenant Disaster have finally arrived! In stylish fashion too!

...Except you already knew who they were.

And yes, Colonel-_Commissar_. Because the Colonel is so badass he can pull off a DOUBLE rank. Also because commissars are sort of like the Internal Affairs of the military.

...Or at least, they are in Warhammer 40K, which is a BITCHIN' awesome series!

As for the details of this chapter, I'm sure many of you are wondering just what in the HELL is going on here. Rest assured, I planned it that way. There will probably be two chapters following this, of talking and explaining, as per my usual pattern, because SHIT, after this, I think a more laid-back, easier chapter will be a welcome sight!

There will of course, also be the inevitable Fefnir vs. Omega fight.

I mean, PSH.

OBVIOUSLY.

Also, a few MAJOR bombshells, if I have this planned out right.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going off to be in a coma for the next week and a half.

Good bye.

THUD.

*passes out on floor*****

Oh yeah...

DarkShift Out!


	29. Chapter 28: Clean Up Operations

**Chapter 28: Clean-Up Operations**

**Disclaimer**: Capcom owns Megaman.

* * *

It was raining on the city of Legion.

The crazy effects of Thresher's OVERLORD detonating at such a high altitude had screwed with the atmospheric conditions, meaning that the weather would most likely remain highly erratic and unpredictable for the next couple of days.

At the moment, thought it was walking a fine line between simply being overcast and outright pouring rain, with a dull gray sky casting a cool shadow over the city, streetlights flickering on automatically in the dim light. The rain itself was just a little more intense that a drizzle, heavy enough for you to feel the raindrops landing on you, but not heavy enough to soak you in a matter of minutes.

Unfortunately, for Marino, who was shivering under an umbrella, it was enough to annoy her immensely.

"God, I hate weather like this..." She muttered, wincing as another stray gust of wind flitted past. There was no real reason for her dislike, just the fact that she was a girl who enjoyed warmer temperatures considerably more than cooler ones.

A few drops of water splashed against her, and the thief flinched, tugging her jacket a little tighter.

"I knew I should have worn something longer..." she groaned, "Or hell, just a bloody raincoat!"

And then, as if by magic, she felt a weight settle over her shoulders, reaching down to brush the backs of her ankles. She heaved a sigh as she felt blessed warmth settle around her, finally shielding her from the water splashing around her.

"Oh, that's much better...Eh?"

Her brain caught back up with her and Marino looked down. A large overcoat had been draped over her shoulders, long enough that it reached almost to the ground. And as Marino took in the unmistakable scarlet color of the material, she felt a matching color suddenly spread through her cheeks.

"Th-this is...!"

A voice sighed.

"You know, with all the money you keep swiping from my accounts, I'd think you'd have gotten yourself a decent set of rain gear by now."

She whirled, in time to see Ace go striding past her, raindrops splashing off of his always-scarlet suit. Taking a moment to recover, she rallied back at him.

"Well, excuuuuuse me, Mr. Hotshot Racer, but I wasn't expecting to be called out here on such short notice! Besides, why do I even have to be out here anyway?"

"Next to me, you've probably got the best analytical mind out of everyone in Legion Security. Considering what we're dealing with here, I figured it might be best if I had every available viewpoint for this investigation."

"Well...I guess that's fine..." Marino admitted.

"And also..." Ace hesitated.

"Also...if Ferham shows up...Well, I'd rather you speak to her than me..."

Marino looked at him for a moment, a brief flicker of sadness crossing her face.

"Ace...you can't keep running from it like this. One day you're going to have to..."

"I know, Marino...I know." The Scarlet Phoenix sighed, turning away. "But...while I might have apologized to her already..."

He looked up to the rainy sky, a pensive look on his face.

"I guess the truth is...neither she nor I are ready to forgive the arrogance of Ace Phoenix just yet."

Marino watched him for a moment, before she sighed.

"...All right." She said finally, "I'll do it. But sooner or later, you're going to have to get over it, Ace. Ferham's not happy with it either, but at least she's moved on, in a sense."

Ace gave a snort and looked back down, bringing his right arm up and clenching it. It had been less than two hours since the demise of Thresher, but thanks to some quick action by Cinnamon, he had more less recovered from his injuries, aside from an unpleasant creaking sound from his ribs anytime he breathed too hard.

" 'Get over it'...? Marino, I was playing God-!"

He stopped as he felt his second in command rest a hand on his shoulder.

"Ace...everyone makes mistakes." Marino said quietly, "You were trying to do something good, but...it just didn't work out that time."

"Good intentions and all that, right?" Ace growled.

"Ace...you never expected something like that. Everyone knows that."

"But I _should_ have, Marino!" The Scarlet Phoenix snapped, turning to face her.

"But you didn't." Marino said firmly, "Leave it be, Ace. You two will settle it someday. Until then, stop beating yourself up about it!"

She stopped, her expression softening.

"Besides...even if Ferham didn't want to be brought back...for what it's worth..."

She averted her eyes for a moment, as if unsure of her next words, a slight pink tinge on her cheeks. Then she took a deep breath and looked back up at the bewildered Phoenix.

"...For what it's worth, I'm glad you brought me back, Ace Phoenix." She smiled.

Ace stood frozen for a moment, caught completely off-guard. In the time he'd known her, he had hardly seen Marino smile like that. It was a near fatal attack against the Scarlet Phoenix, who for a moment could have _sworn_ his heart had temporarily stopped beating, only for it to return in full force, and much, much faster than it had been before.

"U-uh...er...um...I..." The Scarlet Phoenix stammered, coughing to cover up his embarrassment. Turning away quickly, he wondered briefly why his face suddenly felt so hot...

"Ah...! E-er...I mean, um, me and Cinnamon, of course...!" Marino added hastily, "Right! Yes, Cinnamon's grateful to you too, I'm sure!"

"O-oh...well..." Ace hesitated, before finally looking back at Marino with a smile. "Thanks, Marino."

Marino nodded, pleased that Ace had somewhat recovered.

"No problem...Now, get over there and let's wrap up this investigation so I can get out of this cold rain!"

"Ha ha ha! Right, right, I forgot!" Ace laughed. "Sorry, sorry, I'll get right on that!"

Watching him turn and walk away, Marino started in surprise, her eyes widening as, for the first time, she realized that Ace was walking in the rain without an umbrella, or even a coat, having given the latter to Marino a few moments ago.

"Hey, Ace! Wait! Don't you want your coat back?"

Ace looked back, grinning.

"Nah, it's fine." He called, "I like the rain! And besides..."

He drew a pair of wraparound shades from his pocket, putting them on to keep the rain out of his eyes.

"It's one of the few chances I have to cool down this overheated corpse of mine, remember?"

Marino stopped, watching the Scarlet Phoenix walk away once more. A sad flicker of emotion passed through her eyes as she continued to watch the raindrops splash off of his shoulders and scarlet-clad back.

"That's right..." she murmured, "I forgot about that..."

There, barely visible against the surroundings, a slight, shimmering haze rose from Ace. It was only if you knew what you were looking for, and half hidden by the splashes of raindrops against the material of his suit, but it was there nonetheless, the wavering haze of steam.

She saw the concealed motion Ace made with his left arm, the Scarlet Phoenix carefully trying to hide it from her, as his hand reached up to the left side of his chest. Her mouth tightened grimly as she watched it, and she made a mental note to tell Cinnamon to get another core ready once they got back to A.C.E...

And then, she realized that the coat around her was still warm, an aftereffect of its constant exposure to that same heat.

"Wait...so that means..."

That Ace had been wearing this coat up to a few moments ago, and he had just taken it straight off of his back for her.

"So...this is...Ace's warmth...?"

Marino paused for a moment. Then, after a few moments of cautiously looking around to make sure no-one was looking, she hastily tugged the coat tighter around around her and snuggled down into it with a sigh, a slight blush on her cheeks as she savored the warm feeling, both on her body...and in her heart.

Unaware of all of that, Ace came to a stop near the tall, black clad figure, a titanic iron cross strapped to his back.

"Colonel." He said, his voice serious once more.

"Commander Phoenix." The British-accented voice of the tall colonel sounded through the air as he turned to look down at the shorter Commander.

"Had any luck yet?"

"Unfortunately, no. Not yet." The Colonel stepped aside to reveal the reason why Ace and Marino, and even the stoic Colonel-Commissar of Legion Security were all out here in the rain at nine in the morning.

The ravaged corpse of Thresher lay where it had fallen, at the center of the crater it had carved with its own detonation at the Colonel-Commissar's hands and half buried in the rubble left by Fefnir's Land Crasher attack. At one point, the machine in the crater had been the Mach Courier 5, one of Legion's fastest trains, generally reserved for priority cargo, and generally any other such important things that needed to get to their destination, and FAST. Having received Ace's orders to return to Legion, the Colonel-Commissar and Fefnir had 'arranged' for themselves to be onboard (read as: Colonel silently menaced the station chief while Fefnir wandered in the background, commenting on how nice all of the indoor furnishings were and oh, what a terrible thing it would be if they were to all, say, SPONTANEOUSLY COMBUST IN A HUGE EXPLODING FIREBALL OF DEATH AND DESTRUCTION which incidentally would have ABSOLUTELY nothing to do with him, of course etc etc.)

Really, it was actually seriously frightening to see just how well these two worked together.

Their operator and 'preferred transportation method' had also been loaded onboard, but she had preferred to stay in their vehicle, in order to continue monitoring the situation at Legion.

Of course, just as they had finished unloading at the Legion station, everything went to hell in a handbasket.

A horrific, amorphous mass of machinery had erupted from the power cables lining the track, and attached itself to the train. As the few remaining passengers scrambled out the doors to safety, the mass of machinery had assimilated the train, jagged black armor cracking as it expanded, a thick, rock-like crust of metal that covered the train's entire surface in minutes. At the head of the train, the point formerly occupied by the helm, a murderous, shark-like visage formed, a razor edged grin of whirling chainsaw teeth and shrieking metal.

And then shriek it did, but with pain this time, as the aptly-named Disaster opened up on it with everything he'd got. Blasting almost half of it's armor to pieces with his first wave of attacks, the only reason he had stopped was because part of the roof had fallen on him, their supports wrecked by the shock and/or the totally ballistic aim of the former Neo Arcadian general.

Sensing the danger it was in from the remaining Colonel-Commissar, Thresher had wisely taken the decision to get going while the getting was still good.

Having thus determined the cause of the situation, and the direction that Thresher was heading, the Colonel-Commissar and Fefnir's operator had transferred them to an intercept point. After Fefnir had thoroughly ruined Thresher's day with the Land Crasher and sent it careening towards where Colonel had stood waiting, their operator had sent him his signature weapon, the monolithic Gray Adjudicator, which was powerful enough that it required it's OWN transfer.

The rest, as they say, is sushi.

Mutated, mechanical shark sushi, but eh.

Po-tay-to, po-tah-to

Which left Legion Security, and by extension the shadowy specter of A.C.E, the difficult task of cleaning up the mess, figuring out how to rebuild the now-blasted Sector 14, and most importantly, finding out just what the hell Thresher was, and how it had come into possession of Ace's stolen Spatial Reactor. Even now, Security techs were crawling all over the ruins of the Courier/Thresher, taking samples, cutting off armor, and preparing to move the wreck to a safer location. And around the crater, Legion construction crews were already beginning the task of cleaning up the rubble of Sector 14.

The sound of splashing footsteps, and the familiar shape of the Guardian Commander stomped up the slope towards them.

Finally clearing the lip of the crater, Vent shook himself like a dog, water and a few flecks of mud flying everywhere.

"God DAMN I hate dead weather like this..." the Chosen One grumbled.

"Tch," Ace grimaced, casually flicking a scrap of mud from his shades before putting them back on. "Well, this IS a Security matter. Why a vigilante leader like you're even here, I have no idea."

"Oh, MY BAD." Vent replied sardonically, "Why an idiot like you is wearing SHADES in the RAIN, I don't know either!"

There was a pause.

"Piss off, they look cool anyway."

"Riiiiiiight...Anyway, we got NOTHING. Not a damn thing that's any use." Vent growled, wringing out his wet hair. "Your much-vaunted Security teams get anything yet?"

"Nothing concrete." Ace muttered.

"Swell." The Chosen One replied sarcastically. "So what DO we have?"

Ace sighed.

"All right, first, we know it's not a regular Reploid, or human. Our best estimate is its 'consciousness' if it could even be called that, is something close to that of a Mutos Reploid. More of an animal mindset than anything else."

"Fine." Vent said, dropping down to crouch at the edge of the crater. "Next, the damn thing can definitely pull some weird crap with machines. No idea if that's necessary for it to live, like some kind of parasite, or if it just uses the machines it attacks to increase its own power. So far, indications look like some kind of weird nano-tech. Nothing like anything I've ever come across as leader of the Guardians."

Ace stared down at the wreck, his eyes narrowing.

"Now that you mention it...it was using wrecked vehicles from the FFA to repair its wounds, wasn't it...It's like it just assimilates more and more machinery into itself, in order to grow and grow, until it completes its combat shell, namely the giant chainsaw shark of death we had to kill."

"So it's some kind of techno-organic...thing?"

"In a sense..."Ace rubbed his chin, a pensive look on his face as he regarded the ruins of Thresher. "What concerns me more is that level of nanotechnology...I've only seen one example of such a high level nanotek before, but..."

He trailed off, still thinking. Vent raised an eyebrow.

"Well?"

"Ugh..." Ace groaned. "Forget this, I'm just gonna call the expert."

Flipping open his comm once more, he dialed a complex series of numbers and waited, ringing coming from the speakers.

"He's BOUND to have seen the news..." He muttered, "There's no way he'd have missed this..."

A finger tapped him on the shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah, gimme a minute."

Vent stared at the figure behind Ace.

"Dude, you _might _want to take a look behind you."

Ace turned warily-

And almost dropped the phone.

A six foot figure stood there, clad from head to toe in a long, purple colored coat. Leather boots on his feet, with a pair of dull gray colored trousers, the stranger had two large cylindrical gauntlets covering his entire forearms from wrist to elbow, a pair of well worn black leather gloves covering his hands.

Finally, the coat, held tightly shut by three black bands across the stranger's chest, culminated in a surprisingly high collar that reached almost to the tops of his ears. Or at least where his ears would have been if Ace could see them. Despite the fact that the collar was open at the front, meaning that his face should have been visible, on the newcomer, there was nothing. Just an empty black void, a pitch-dark shadow cast by the soft, wide brim of the hat resting low on his head.

All in all, if Chuck Norris had dressed in purple and had his face hidden in shadow, he would have looked like this guy.

Ace stared for a moment, before he raised an eyebrow.

"...Yes?"

In response to Ace's cautious question, the faceless man raised his right hand. During that moment, it became apparent that the cylindrical gauntlets on his forearms were actually just a form of gatling gun, as evidenced by the numerous circular apertures spread around the circumference of the front end of the cylinder, with the man's hand in the dead center of the entire apparatus.

At the moment, however, the Gatlings were inactive. Of far more pressing concern was the ringing comm in the man's grip. Ace stared at it blankly for a moment, then looked back at the empty blackness above the man's collar, his eye twitching as he clicked his phone off.

"Son of a bitch." He said flatly. "How the HELL do you always manage to do that?"

A single red eye flashed to life on the left side of the dark face, and the Renegade Enforcer Vile grinned.

"I've had two centuries to practice."

Vent stared at the Renegade.

"Okay, what happened to your old look? Not that I'm saying the new one is lame though, but it's a long way from the 'knight in armor' look you had going last time we met."

Vile shrugged.

"I'm off duty."

Ace's eye twitched. "Lemme guess, this is your idea of dressing casual, isn't it?"

"This from a man who wears everything in bright blazing red, even on a battlefield."

"...Touche." Ace admitted, after a moment of silence. "Hey...where are the other two?"

Vile was silent for a few seconds. Then he spoke up again, a slight crack in his otherwise implacable tone.

"Rika decided that she and Pandora were going to have a...'girl's day'... 'party'... today to celebrate Pandora coming to stay with us." He said, twitching slightly. "She also mentioned something about hair, movies, popcorn, and fluffy blankets, because it was a rainy day outside."

A deafening silence followed, during which all of the other males present, even the normally impassable Colonel-Commissar, cringed slightly, carefully avoiding eye contact with one another.

Then a thought occurred to Ace.

"Wait. Are we talking about the same Rika here? You know the one who like...NEVER talks?"

Vile gave him a long suffering stare.

"For long speeches, she just types the whole thing up, then hands me the printout."

"Sooooo how about that giant shark, then?" Ace wheeled around on one heel, desperately changing the conversation.

* * *

In the medical bay of the temporarily grounded Guardian Base, Celtis planted her face in the soft sheets of one of the beds, a look of utter content on her face as she rubbed her cheek against the soft linens.

"...soooooo soft and warm...!" She murmured happily, "I want one of these for my room when we get out of here...!"

"Ahem." An irritated voice sounded. Celtis ignored it, too happy with the fluffy sheets to care.

"Arcana...!"

Celtis looked up blearily.

"Mmmm...wha?"

Ibelis Royale folded her arms, one elegant eyebrow twitching slightly with repressed anger as she looked down at Celtis, who was still curled up on the end of the bed which SHE was currently occupying.

"While I can understand your miserable life thus far, would you mind fawning over someone ELSE'S bed instead? On account of say, this one being used for an INJURED PERSON!"

"Meh...I helped save your life, I'm entitled to some small leisures..." Celtis murmured, and went back to burrowing into the extra covers with a happy sigh.

Ibelis' eye twitched again.

"Th-that doesn't count...!"

A new voice spoke up.

"She's got you there, boss." Ayano grinned. The Harpy-type hybrid was leaning back against the bedpost of another bed, Queenbee sitting quietly in the center of the mattress off to Ayano's left. Ordinarily, she would have been off chasing Omega, but he had given her orders to leave him be for a while, as there was something he wanted to settle.

"Oh, stuff it, you." Ibelis grumbled, folding her arms. At that, Celtis gave Ayano a quizzical look.

"Actually, now that I think about it...why aren't YOU injured? I'm pretty sure I saw you get blasted clear across Legion by that angel girl..."

Ayano jerked.

"O-Oh...um, th-that...I-I um...!" She flailed around for a moment, desperately trying to think of a response. "Ahahaha! I-It wasn't as bad as it looked, really! She barely even scratched me! I-I was just...caught off-guard! Yeah!" She hedged, a mild note of panic in her voice.

"...O...kay...?" Celtis raised an eyebrow at the obviously suspicious reaction.

"It's fine, Arcana." Queenbee spoke up, smiling. "You don't need to worry about Ayano! I healed her!"

There was a moment's silence.

"Healing...?" She managed. "Queenbee...exactly what...'healing' are we talking about here?"

"Oh, the same way Master saved me!"

There was an even more deafening silence.

Celtis' eye twitched, her neck creaking woodenly as she turned to look at Ayano, the mortified look on the Harpy-type's red face enough to fill in the blanks for the Hunter. Realizing that Celtis had figured it out, a huge cloud of steam erupted from Ayano's head and she slumped over, a moan of embarrassment escaping her as she covered her face with her hands.

"D-don't look at me like that...! I-It's not like I asked her to do it or anything...!" She whined. "I-it...it just sort of happened, okay...!"

Unfortunately, that was all it took to bring back up Ayano's memories of the incident.

Her f...her f-first...ki...KI...!

Blushing, she glanced across shiftily at Queenbee. The ex-Pseudoroid caught her look and leaned forward slightly, tilting her head cutely as she regarded Ayano curiously. Even in armor, it was enough for the still-panicking Harpy to notice the way Queenbee's chest pushed out with the motion, and-

"GAAAAAAAAH! NO! BAD AYANO! BAD!" The Harpy gave a wail of despair and started banging her head on the wall. "BAD THOUGHTS! OUT! I LIKE GUYS, DAMMIT! GUY-Y-Y-Y-SSSS!"

Ibelis and Celtis took one look at that, before turning back to one another and wordlessly agreeing to pretend the other two weren't there. The insanity might be contagious.

"So...what happened to you after we lost sight of you?" Celtis asked, pointedly ignoring Ayano's panicking wails.

Ibelis sighed and flopped back down on her pillows. Staring at the ceiling, she tried to piece together what had happened after she had seen the white Templar, formerly belonging to her sister, waiting for her past the ruins of Thresher's massive external hulk.

"I'm...not sure." She admitted, her features clouding. "I think from the moment I saw the bike, alone there on the sands, it was already in my mind. I'm having difficulty telling apart my memories from Thresher's at this point. I think the last one that was truly mine was right when I reached out to it...Everything after that, I think, is just Thresher's mind. I remember being myself, and yet, seeing my own body from an outside perspective at the same time..."

She looked down at her frame, a mild look of discontent on her face.

"That reminds me...I think I'm starting to get a little _too_ thin for my liking..."

Celtis groaned.

"Why is it that EVERYBODY looks at the same thing when they see themselves?"

"Er, sorry..." Ibelis coughed, slightly embarrassed. "Actually, I'm not even sure why I'm talking about this with you...Up to a few hours ago, I was trying to kill you."

Celtis gave a depressed sigh. "Over the course of the last few weeks, I have had SO many people trying to do that, I think I'm more or less used to it..."

She hesitated, wincing.

"And then of course, there's the fact that even that insane guy who calls himself my boss keeps trying to kill me too. Except I think he does that just because he thinks it's funny..."

"Oh. Um...I see..." Ibelis said awkwardly. Then again, she recalled how casually that same man had been willing to use a massive railgun within Legion, heedless of how much stuff he blew up in the process.

Yes, that would certainly leave any normal person jaded with regards to attempts to kill them.

"Oh yeah..." Ibelis looked up to see Celtis giving her an intent look.

"You and Ayano might want to look out. From what I heard from Queenbee, he's apparently got his eyes on you two, probably to add you to his collection."

Ibelis' eyebrows skyrocketed.

"Come again?"

"Yeah, that's what he calls it when he finds a girl who actually manages to catch his interest."

"W-wait, you mean, um..." Ibelis blushed and looked down, "Y-you mean like a harem...?"

Celtis seemed to consider that for a moment.

"Well...I suppose you could call it that."She admitted, "Except I don't think sex is involved with ALL of the girls..."

Unnoticed by Celtis, Ibelis hastily wiped a trickle of blood from her nose.

"Er...what do you mean?"

"Well, some of them, like my friend and I aren't actually a part of...that," She shivered, "For one thing I'd probably deck him if he ever made a move on me. Fortunately..." She gave a sheepish grin, "I think Vix is keeping him too busy to worry about that."

"Then there's Syrene Nagato..." Celtis paused as she saw Ibelis eyes widen in surprise.

"The Emerald Queen?" Ibelis asked in amazement, "But...she always seemed to hate men, on account of..."

They looked over to where Gallidin's oversized frame was limping past, one arm in a sling and bandages wrapped all over his metal body. The Lightning Bullet caught their gaze and growled.

"...The fuck are you lookin' at?"

As the Lightning Bullet stomped out the door, leaning on a crutch, Ibelis finished.

"Well, yes...because of her fight with Gallidin Voltzer. Actually, we used to call her Man Eater." She shuddered. "She didn't ACTUALLY eat them, but she DID trash them something fierce for coming near her..."

"Oh believe me, she's doing PLENTY with her mouth still..." Celtis muttered darkly, cringing as yet another traumatizing memory reared its ugly head.

"Um...Ayano, are you okay...?"

"DON'T LOOK AT MEEEEEEEE!" WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!

Celtis and Ibelis' eyes twitched.

"And of course you know the other one..."

"So you're saying he's probably going to come after me and Ayano next?"

Queenbee perked up at that. "Ayano will be coming with me and Master?"

_'GAH!__NO!__BAD__AYANO!'_ Ayano's remaining rationality whacked her upside the head as Queenbee's innocent question set off an entirely new train of perverted thoughts.

'_But-but__she's__so__cute...!_' she wailed internally, '_No__court__in__the__world__would__convict__meee...!_'

As the rest of the world continued on, blissfully unaware of Ayano's losing battle with her conscience, Celtis and Ibelis wordlessly looked away.

"Poor Ayano."

"She will be missed."

"I'M NOT DEAD YOU IDIOTS~!"

It was then that the two remaining sane people in the room looked across, alerted by the sound of a door creaking open. All four women stared at the figure in the corridor in disbelief and shock.

"You have GOT to be kidding me." Celtis managed, her face going pale, even as she reached for the Hades.

For there, silhouetted in the door, was a familiar white Templar XGRA bike.

* * *

Some distance away from the remains of Thresher's train form, Aile and Ashe stood underneath the shelter of a temporary awning, one of several erected by workers to cover the more sensitive parts of the clean-up areas.

And also for those less inclined to the rainy weather to hide themselves under.

"So...anyone care to explain just why it is that those idiots think having their conference out in the rain is a good idea?" Ashe asked no-one in particular

"They're men." Aile groaned. "Logic doesn't come into the equation anywhere."

She watched Vent wring his hair out a second time, heedless of the fact that rain was STILL falling on him, and pressed a hand to her face.

"I swear, sometimes I wonder how the HELL he and I are related..."

They both watched Vent and Ace then get into a shouting match over some new triviality, before the imposing figure of the Colonel-Commissar broke off his silent vigil long enough to smack them both upside the head, before returning to his watch over the workers.

"...And if maybe he and Ace were separated at birth." she added, sighing.

"What do you make of the big guy, though?" Ashe wondered, eyeing the Colonel-Commissar's black and white silhouette in the rain, the iron cross upon his back standing like a tombstone against the gray air.

Aile frowned.

"...I have no idea, actually." She admitted. "His lieutenant, though, I might have some idea about, as Prairie's predecessor on the Guardian Base left some files concerning him and three others like him, but this guy..."

Aile shook her head.

"Other than his rank and the fact that Ace and Marino are like they're walking on eggshells around him, the Security database doesn't have anything on him."

There was silence for a moment as both women stared out at the motionless figure, both trying to puzzle him out.

Suddenly, a voice spoke up, accompanied by the smell of REALLY GOOD COFFEE.

**[Cue Music: Godot-The Fragrance of Dark Coffee]**

"You know, you could always just try asking around." It commented, "I mean, for example, I _do_ sort of have a friendly deathmatch with him every other week."

Both Chosen girls spun around in alarm, only to see Hadrian Craft leaning against the seat of his massive bike, the Dullahan, with a piping hot cup of coffee in his hands and apparently in an uncharacteristically talkative mood.

"How long have you been there?"

Craft seemed to think about that for a few moments.

"About twenty minutes."

"And we never noticed you?"

The commando gave a rare grin.

"There _is_ a reason my job title is 'Agent', you know."

Ashe raised her hand.

"I have a more important question."

"Yes?"

"...Is that a coffee-maker built into the side of your bike?"

There was a wordless pause, as everyone stared at the elaborate little contraption puffing away cheerfully as it churned up a new batch of coffee brew.

After a few more moments, Craft silently reached out and pushed the sliding tray back into the open compartment, a cunningly hidden door folding down to hide the coffee-maker inside a concealed recess in the body of his bike.

"...You saw nothing." He said evenly.

Another silence, as Craft took another sip of his beloved coffee.

"...So, um...about that Colonel guy..."Ashe started hopefully, desperately trying to move on from the weirdness.

"Oh, I didn't mean me." Craft replied easily. "I just used that as an example. Specifically, I was referring to Nana, he and Disaster's operator."

Both girls started.

"Nana's back?"

"Really? She's his operator?"

Craft sighed. Reaching up, he tapped his cybernetic headset.

"Nana? Yes, it's me, Hadrian." He paused for a moment,"...No, I haven't gotten into a fight with the Colonel again. Besides, I would win. I'm calling to say that there are two Chosen Ones here who seem to be rather peeved with you for some reason."

At Craft's dry explanation, there was a panicked yelp from the other side, audible even to Aile and Ashe from where they were standing.

Craft took another sip of coffee. "...I see. I'll let them know."

And with that, the connection cut off, the commando turning back to the two girls.

"She said to apologize for her, and that she'd be here momentarily."

Ashe sighed. "You know, considering it's Nana we're talking about, I'm not surprised she forgot to let us know she was on the way back."

Aile winced.

"Yeah, and then there's her...condition..."

The gray haired Chosen One cringed. "That too."

The sound of an engine began to resonate through the air. Ashe poked her head out into the rain and squinted. Squinting, she made out the shape of a large vehicle approaching them.

"I think I see a truck of some kind..."

"Handles like a pro driver?" Craft inquired.

Ashe gave a whistle, watching the cumbersome vehicle navigate the numerous muddy and dangerous patches of rubble with ease, winding and weaving with the ease of a practiced rally vehicle.

"Yep."

"That's her, then." Craft said easily, taking another sip of his coffee. God DAMN but he could make a mean brew when he wanted to!

Aile and Ashe exchanged disbelieving looks. Nana was DRIVING? And actually driving WELL to boot?

Both took an unconscious step back as the huge vehicle finally came to a halt in front of their shelter.

"Whoa..." Ashe muttered, looking up, "A real Terra-Cruiser...I didn't think they still had any of those around...!"

The vehicle looked like what you'd get if you crossed a tank with an eighteen wheeler. The front section of it was large enough that it could make a regular troop carrier look cramped, made up of a series of streamlined edges and smooth slopes, with a tinted visor running across the front of the cockpit, clearly the windshield of this vehicle.

The front section, or cab, was then connected to the long trailer section at it's back by a flexible segment of metal, large enough that anyone looking at it could tell it was simply a passageway connecting the front section to whatever was in the long trailer. This no doubt made it easier to walk from one section to the other, regardless of whether or not the Cruiser was in motion.

In a sense, the entire Cruiser was a single, connected body, the joint/passage between the front cab and the back cockpit the only thing that distinguished them as separate sections.

Any further investigation was interrupted as a door opened in the side of the cab, and a familiar figure emerged.

"Ashe! Aile! Sorry I forgot to call you two..."

The two Chosen Ones relaxed and waved back, watching nervously as Nana descended the stairs that had extended from the cockpit, four feet above the ground.

She had come a long way from her days as an operator for Giga City. Her formerly shoulder length hair had grown longer, reaching almost to her hips, with the same white forelock now brushed neatly to the side. Her old chest armor had been upgraded, now looking more like a full length lab coat, buttoned across the left side of her chest, and opening from the waist down to reveal her black leggings and white boots with orange trimmings. Her chest armor still bore the numbers 77 in yellow, a tribute to her time back in Giga City, but...

Look, let's just say that now she had..._grown_ to fit those numbers since then...

Watching as she climbed down the last few steps, Aile twitched slightly as next to her Ashe unconsciously tugged at her own jacket.

"Knock it off, would you?" The female Commander hissed.

"I can't help it!" Ashe hissed back, "You take a look at her chest and see if YOU don't get a bit jealous!"

Craft suddenly began to get the feeling he should be somewhere else.

Aile shook her head and groaned.

"Anyway...Don't worry about it, Nana. We're used to Ace's...shall we say, _ballistic_ method of commanding..."

The pink haired operator winced in admission.

"Yeah, that's true...The first I knew of it was when the Colonel called me back from one of my lectures to-WAH!"

THUD!

Craft stared. Now he was beginning to get the idea of what Ashe and Aile had nervously referred to as Nana's 'condition'.

"...Did she just trip on _thin__air_?"

"Auuuuuu..."

Ashe groaned and pressed a hand to her face. "Aaaaaaand there's the Nana we all know and love!"

"Quiet, you." Aile scolded, before reaching out a hand to the fallen operator, who was still face down on the floor. "Come on, Nana, up you get."

The operator accepted her hand gratefully, a mortified look on her face. "Thanks...S-Sorry about that. I guess I've still got a way to go, huh..."

"Aaah, don't worry about it. Everybody goes through a clumsy phase every now and then. I'm sure you'll get over it sooner or later."

Nana coughed, frowning. "I certainly hope so...It's very hard getting people to take me seriously if they keep thinking of me as just a token klutzy character..."

"That, and they _might_just be a little too busy being distracted by something ELSE..." Ashe muttered under her breath, reflexively tugging at her jacket again. Seriously, she had NO idea how Nana didn't have any kind of back problems by this point! For God's sake, she could actually rival VIX in that department!

Craft looked down at his empty mug and decided he might need a few more of them to get through this...

The operator dusted herself off, pulling out a pair of professional looking glasses. Putting them on her face again, she cleared her throat.

"Ahem...Well, I'm sure that probably killed any chance of me making a good entrance..." She sighed.

Aile patted her on the back companionably.

"Nah, Ashe's done worse."

"For the last time, I WAS HUNGOVER! AND THEN ACE CALLED ME TWICE FOR SOME DUMBASS REASON!" Ashe sputtered, remembering the disastrous meeting where Ace had explained Model O, and had introduced Queenbee to them.

"Anyway, no harm done!" Aile continued, ignoring the ranting Hunter in the background, "So, how've things been for you?"

The operator shrugged.

"It's been all right I suppose. Things have been a bit hectic with a few universities inviting me to lecture now and then, and having to chase these two around to stop them from blowing up everything..."

"Oh, you're still on the lecture circuit?" Ashe asked, interested, "I caught part of one once...you're really determined to spread the truth about Giga City, huh?"

Nana nodded firmly, her eyes flashing behind her glasses.

"Yes! I refuse to let those events be forgotten! Even Epsilon and the Rebellion...they were just tools, used and thrown away when their purpose was served..."

She caught herself and stopped.

"Oh, sorry...I was about to go into full academic mode there..."

"Don't worry about it," Ashe grinned, "Remember, you've got that bestseller book of yours out there doing the talking for you already!"

Nana cracked a smile at that.

"Yes, that's true..." She admitted. "But then again..."

She turned to look up at the motionless black figure on the lip of the crater, the great iron cross upon his back.

"I suppose that's why I get along with them so well..."

"Yeah, about that..." Aile coughed, "We were actually a bit curious. That guy out of there for instance...Well, Legion itself has nothing on him other than his rank and his track record under Security's command."

"One thing led to another and then that guy..." Ashe jerked a thumb over her shoulder at where Craft was savoring another cup of coffee, "Said we should try asking you about it."

"Heh, we didn't even know you were still out in the field doing operator work!" Aile chuckled.

"Oh, right..." Nana winced, "Sorry, I forgot to mention that too, huh?"

"Eh, it's fine." Ashe waved her off, "Sooo...what's the deal with tall, dark and brooding over there?"

"Well, uh...What do you want to know?"

"Well, uh...first off...Who is he? I mean, I know he's like you and Marino...Reploids who Ace managed to recover, but there was never really much available information on any of you to begin with, so..."

Craft interjected at this point, one finger held up to stop Aile.

"We asked it to be that way. The world as it is now has no need for old legends such as ours."

"O-okay...Then, how about you just fill us in on the here-and-now version of the story?" Aile tried again.

Nana shrugged.

"There isn't much to tell, then. The Colonel doesn't actually have a real name. The title of Colonel-Commissar is both his name, and his rank. If he has a name by which you can call him, it would be to simply call him Colonel."

"His name is his rank?" Ashe raised an eyebrow, "What's up with that?"

"It's all he is." Nana replied sadly, "He was once a famous military commander during the era of X. After his death, he discovered that he, and his entire military force, superiors and all, had all just been pawns in a much larger scheme, their whole force thrown to the wolves as an expendable meatshield."

She paused for a moment, a distant look in her eyes.

"Much like what happened to me, and the rest of us who fought in Giga City..."

"Nana..." Aile said worriedly.

"No, no...It's fine." The scientist/operator smiled at their worry, before returning to the story, "His name back then...well, he had one, but he still preferred to be called by his rank. Now though, he cast that all away, taking up the name Colonel-Commissar as his one and only name. He is everything he believes a right and just military force stands for, incarnated into a single Reploid. He was the one who requested Ace to grant him the Commissar title, as he intends to never let the corruption of his old force be repeated ever again. Thus, he serves as Legion Security's own Internal Affairs, tracking down corrupt officers, and anyone who has intentions to do harm to Legion or the people under his protection...which to him is pretty much the whole of Legion, military and all."

There was silence, broken only by the sound of Ashe's impressed whistle.

"Wow, that's deep." She remarked, looking up at the still figure once more, "He's one hardcore dude, I'll say that much!"

"Yeah." Aile agreed, equally interested, "No wonder Ace wanted a guy like him on his side..."

She turned back to Nana, who was watching the lonely silhouette of the Colonel-Commissar, a wistful look in her eyes.

"So...what about the other guy?"

Nana's eye twitched, immediately breaking whatever spell she'd been under.

"Right..._**Him**_..."

Ashe raised an eyebrow at the irritated look on the operator's face.

"He just likes to blow stuff up and fight. That's IT, word for word." Nana growled.

"Ooo...kay?"

"I swear, he has about as much depth as a puddle! If it moves, he blasts it! If it doesn't move, he throws a rock at it! If it moves after that, he throws a BIGGER rock at it, and then shoots them BOTH! And don't get me started on the cigarettes! I am THIS close to stapling an air-freshener to his face, I swear to God! And the ash! Cigarette ash everywhere, even AFTER I installed ashtrays on just about every horizontal surface! I've had to throw a plastic protector over his couch, just because getting all of the blood, sweat, dirt and grime out of the damn thing takes almost two hours! To be fair, cleaning off the plastic protector still takes one hour, but at least the damn couch stays clean! And then he goes on to eat us all out of house and home with that bottomless stomach of his! ARGH!"

Ashe and Aile stared in mild disbelief at the diminutive, rather top-heavy operator as she continued to rant, throwing her arms up in the air, her normally calm demeanor going out the window as she continued to rave.

"...Huh." Aile said finally, "Never pegged her for a mothering type of girl."

Ashe gave her a skeptical look.

"Clearly you haven't been looking at the same boobs I have."

"Oh, would you give it a rest?"

Behind them all, Craft continued to remain unnoticed, sipping his coffee in peace.

"...stupid, one-eyed, half-witted, chain-smoking pyromaniac who can't clean up worth a damn, and smells like smoke even if you douse him in bleach...!"

The commando smirked as Nana continued her tirade.

"Heh...Sounds about right."

* * *

Ace and Vent looked expectantly at Vile, the well-dressed Renegade crouching down amidst the remnants of Thresher.

"Well? Anything?"

The Renegade's only visible eye narrowed as he picked something out of the wreckage. Holding it up in two fingers, he held it up before his eyes, inspecting it critically. Seeing his interest, Vent spoke up.

"What's that? Some kind of clue?"

Vile blinked, as if now noticing Vent and Ace.

"Hm? This?" He looked at the thing in his hand, "Oh, no. This is an A-12 bolt. I've been looking all over to get my hands on some of these..."

Both Commanders crashed onto their faces as Vile pocketed the bolt, humming contentedly as he coolly sifted through the wreck for anything else of interest.

"But to answer the earlier question..." The western-clad Renegade got back to his feet, his cold red eye examining the ruins.

"This is definitely nano-tech on par with Rika's."

"Damn..." Ace got to his feet, a grim look on his face. " I thought you wrecked everything else when you got her..."

"I did." Vile said flatly. "However, there's one thing that still bothers me..."

"What's that?"

"The scientists for her project...all of them claimed that they were simply following the technology of an advanced prototype."

"Which means that they pulled something similar to the Reaper Weapons." Ace muttered, "Fakes built using the information and technology of an original."

"I never found that original." Vile said, his voice irritated, "It seems it had broken free of its bonds and escaped the facility before I got to it."

"So...you think this was another fake built off of that design?"

Vile sighed, "No, Ace, I think this IS that original piece of nanotek."

"Oh." Ace said. "Yeah, that could explain why the bastard was so damned hard to kill..."

"Not quite..." Vile admitted. "This was the original, true, but I believe it was running on its last legs."

"What makes you say that?"

"Even the most horrific of Rika's siblings were capable of surviving on their own, and maintaining their own body. This one, it seems, couldn't do either, requiring a host to feed off of, namely any form of machinery, or even humans, and also having to use outside supplies to restore its wounds."

"Wait wait wait..." Vent cut in, "You're telling me that monster was half-dead and it STILL took that much to drop it?"

"Precisely." Vile said. "Which means we're in luck. There was only ever one example of such technology. And since said example now lies dead at our feet..."

"This time it's gone for good."

"So now..." The Scarlet Phoenix continued, "The only question is, just who it is woke this thing up and sent it after Vesper, who happened to have my Spatial Reactor?"

He was saved from an answer by a ringing comm.

"Yes, what is it?"

He paused.

"Arcana? What's going on?"

Another pause.

"Wait, what?"

A long pause, during which Ace's expression went blank with outright disbelief.

"Are you KIDDING me?"

"What's going on?" Vent asked, trying to listen in.

"Oh my god you're serious." The Scarlet Phoenix said flatly. "I'll be right there."

Ace closed the phone and stared into space for a few moments.

"Just out of curiosity...does two plus two still equal four?"

Vile and Vent exchanged bewildered glances.

"Why do you..."

"Just humor me for a moment." Ace said, his face still oddly stiff.

"Um...yes?" Vent hazarded.

"Okay. I just thought I'd double check that."

"Right...so, just _why_ is it exactly you needed a reality check?"

Ace stared at him for a long moment.

"Because _apparently_ Vesper Royale's old Templar bike has come to life, and is swimming all around Ibelis Royale's ward like a motherfucking dolphin."

There was a long, LOOOOOOONG silence.

As Vent turned around to run a quick check on his fingers to see if two plus two DID in fact still equal four, Vile managed to get his voice working again.

"What."

* * *

Celtis looked up as the door slammed open to reveal three people who were utterly convinced that the world had gone mad. She stretched out an accusing finger to a different part of the room, a tic developing under her left eye.

"Explain. Now."

Vile, Ace and Vent followed her finger, to see an unmistakable dorsal fin, and the upper surface of the bike to which it was attached, cruising across the floor of the room without a care in the world, a fairly irritated Ibelis Royale leaning against it.

"Anyone here care to explain why my sister's bike has apparently decided it's now my pet shark?"

Ace and Vent wordlessly turned to Vile.

"Mind doing the honors?"

"Gladly." With that, Vile picked up both Commanders and slammed their heads together, hard.

WHAM!

Vent and Ace dropped back to their feet and staggered for a moment, clutching their heads.

"Oooookay...Nope, it's still there."

"Damn, I'm seeing it too."

"Think we should try again?"

"Maybe harder this time..."

"How about no?" Celtis replied sarcastically.

"Ugh, fine..."Ace groaned. As if in response to him, the fin drifted over and came to a stop in front of the three men.

"Um...hi?" He tried.

In response, the fin shifted, and the nose of the bike poked up, its front coming into view. After a few moments...

"Well...it certainly LOOKS like Thresher still..."Ace managed, resisting the urge to run like hell.

There was no longer any sign of the black, broken armor that signified Black Thresher, but the teeth were still there, along with the four headlights that resembled eyes. Only now the eyes were yellow, instead of the mad red color that had identified Black Thresher.

It looked from face to face as it regarded the three men. Then it moved forward and butted Ace's leg lightly, before backing up and watching him expectantly.

Everyone stared back at it in disbelief.

"Is it just me or does anyone else here think that looked like an invitation to play?"

"It ain't just you," Ace replied.

It butted him again.

"Um...okay..." He hedged, "So...what do I do?"

Vent solved the problem with an evil grin.

"What ELSE do you play...?"

Ace felt two hands grab the back of his collar, lifting him off his feet.

"Hey wait WHAT ARE YOU-?"

Vent grinned.

"Hey, Thresher! GO FETCH!"

"VENT YOU SON OF A-GYAAAAAA!"

The Scarlet Phoenix flew the length of the room, before the front of Thresher's cockpit snapped up from the ground, almost dislodging Ibelis, as the canopy smacked Ace back across the room like a pinball, where he hit the roof and bounced off, slamming into the wall and crashing back to the floor on his face.

"Hahahahahaha!" Vent laughed, "I vote we keep him!"

"Ugh...Vent, when I figure out which parts of my spine haven't been turned into a Slinky, I'm going to kick your freakin' ass out the goddamned airlock...Ow..."

Ibelis got to her feet, folding her arms as she looked down at the fin circling her.

"Well, now that that's over with, how about those explanations?"

In response, Vile crouched down one one knee and lightly rapped the metal floor with two knuckles. The fin paused, and then broke off its circling, heading straight for Vile. As the nose of the shark...bike...hybrid-thing appeared, he reached out and tapped it.

"Considering the fact that this version of Thresher hasn't gone ballistic and/or tried to kill everything in sight, I believe I may have an answer."

"Geh...ow..."Ace groaned, levering himself back up on one hand. "Do tell..."

"I suspect that due to it's forced exit, Black Thresher may have left some aspect of itself behind. Leftover nanotek, that without a proper consciousness guiding it, simply coalesced into an entirely new one, which is what we're seeing here."

"So...it's like a baby Thresher?"

Vile shrugged. "I suppose. Either way, it has the mentality of a newborn, much like a puppy or a kitten. It is no threat to anyone in its current state...but..."

He looked up.

"If exposed to the corruption of Mavericks or the like, then the Thresher we know, the Black Thresher, WILL be back. Worse still, for Black Thresher to have left a fragment this developed behind, it means that it was far too deeply rooted into the workings of the Templar to successfully remove itself."

Vent frowned. "Which means that there's no successful way that we'd be able to purge Thresher itself from the bike."

Vile nodded. "Correct. The only way to end the threat of Black Thresher once and for all would be to destroy the bike itself."

Ibelis' eyes narrowed.

"Which I will NEVER allow."

"Then in that case..." Vile raised head, his cold eye glowing.

"Will you be taking responsibility for it?"

The last remaining Royale took a step back.

"I-I...what do you mean...?"

Vile slowly rose to his feet, coat rustling as Thresher retreated to circle Ibelis once more.

"What I mean is: If you will not allow Thresher to be destroyed, then will you be the one responsible for ensuring it never BECOMES the Black Thresher once more?"

Ibelis froze as she realized what he meant.

Vile nodded towards the circling fin.

"It seems to have already declared you to be its master, probably due to the leftover fragments it has from when you were taken over by Black Thresher. I'd say that was enough of a sign, wouldn't you?"

Ace shot Vile a sidelong look. Once again, the man possessed information that no-one else save for those present should have...

"I see..." Ibelis said hesitantly.

After a few moments, she raised her head to meet Vile's gaze.

"Very well then, I accept. For the sake of preserving my sister's last legacy, the racer she lived and died on, I will take full responsibility for Thresher from this point onwards."

As if in response, a rumble issued from Thresher, and light shone from the floor.

It's body changing from the sharklike form it had used to swim through the floor, Thresher rose from the floor, transforming into a modified version of the Templar XGRA it had been born from.

A smirk playing across his unseen face, Vile tugged at the brim of his hat.

"It seems as though my work here is done then..."

* * *

As the faceless Renegade walked back into the rain, he looked to his left.

"Morning...Colonel."

The Commissar with the iron cross watched him coolly.

"It has been a while, Faceless."

"You're not still after my head are you?"

The Colonel-Commissar's expression barely changed.

"...No. But keep your neck washed, for the day you step out of line will be the day I settle the debt your master owes me."

Vile's one eye narrowed in disgust.

"That piece of trash Sigma was NEVER my master, and you know it."

"We shall see then, won't we, 'True Maverick'..."

The black coated Colonel turned away once more, silence descending as he resumed his vigil over the work site.

Vile's eye narrowed for a second, before he too turned away. Bringing out one gloved hand, he checked to see that the rain had lessened. Looking up, he pushed the brim of his hat up with one finger as he tilted his head back to look at the overcast sky.

"It seems like the rain's finally stopped..." He murmured.

Looking back down, he started walking once more. There was still one last thing he needed to check.

Not once did he look back at the black Commissar of the iron cross...

* * *

Back in the room, Ace sighed.

"Just dandy..." He groaned. "You are aware, of course, that Security, and by that I mean ME, will be watching you closely, Ibelis."

"I understand." Ibelis said quietly. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind."

"You still have my Spatial Reactor as well, I might add," Ace raised an eyebrow, "So ordinarily, I'd send you some kind of operations manual, or at the very least, throw you into some kind of training for how to NOT IMPLODE HALF OF LEGION, but fortunately for you..."

He shot the bike an annoyed look.

"It seems you've already got somebody who literally lives and breathes that stuff already."

The former Templar bike gave a rev of agreement.

"Oy..." Vent rubbed the bridge of his nose in irritation, "Why is it that any time I get involved with you and your insane operations, crap like this ALWAYS happens?"

Ace gave an irritated growl.

"Same reason I get an irresistible urge to deck you in the face every time you open your blasted mouth."

He paused.

"Although, that stunt you pulled with Model ZX Plus WAS a pretty epic win. How the hell did you do that, anyway?"

Vent smirked.

"Since I first saw what Model O could do, I've had the two of them analyzing the bejeezus out of it's Megamerge protocols. It's utterly impossible for any normal Biometal to do crazy stuff like Megamerge with a bike, but Z figured if he tweaked the protocols just enough, he could loosen the controls on combining. That'd give me manual control over it, which would let me change the resulting form into anything I wanted...WITHIN the limits of the original one of course, which is why I didn't simply just transform into a giant robot or something instead."

"And somehow you figured out a way to apply this to Model A as well." Ace prompted.

"Sort of, but we don't quite know what it is Model A did. Its makeup is different from X and Z, so..." The Chosen One shrugged.

"Right." Ace sighed. Swell. Just one more thing for him to investigate. Then he caught Celtis looking around cautiously.

"What's up?"

"I'm...not sure..." The Hunter said, her voice uncertain. "It's just that usually around now, Saber'd come crashing in and make some epic claim on whatever new female it is that's caught his interest..."

She looked around again.

"But...I haven't seen him around for a while, which is actually making me more nervous..."

Ace frowned as he realized she was right. He _hadn't_ seen the arrogant swordsman anywhere, which was particularly odd considering his chaotic nature. And he had wanted to talk to him about that stunt he'd pulled with the Zweihander, too...

"Actually, when was the last time anyone saw him?"

Queenbee poked her head around the doorframe.

"If it's Master you're talking about, then the last time I saw him was when he was talking to the strange person that knocked Black Thresher off the rails."

Celtis stared at Queenbee.

"...And since when did you get out there?"

"Ayano picked me up and ran away when Thresher appeared."

Celtis raised an eyebrow.

"She...picked you up...?"

Queenbee smiled. "Yes! It was just like when Master carried me to your apartment the night after I met him!"

Celtis twitched.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO! IT WAS JUST AN INSTINCTIVE REACTION, DAMMIT! WAAAAAAAAH!" Further sounds of head trauma sounded from outside, courtesy of a certain Harpy in denial.

Ace on the other hand, was still trying to figure out where a certain elusive God of Destruction had disappeared to.

"Wait a minute..." He froze.

"Strange guy who derailed Thresher...? That sounds like-!"

All of the blood drained from Ace's features as he realized that there was one other person who had been absent since the fall of Thresher.

"Oh SHIT."

A flash of scarlet, and he was gone, bolting out the door as he yelled orders for all personnel to get the hell out of the area.

Two fight-crazy maniacs, both with a penchant for leveling whole swathes of real estate in their battles.

And BOTH of them had disappeared at the same time.

It didn't take a genius like Ace to put two and two together, resulting not in four, but in HOLY SHIT THEY'RE GOING TO WRECK MY GODDAMN CITY!

He emerged into the gray outdoors just in time for a massive tremor to shake the earth in the distance, the broken remains of Sector 14 shattering before his eyes.

Ace staggered sideways, only to be caught by a familiar pair of hands.

"M-Marino!"

"Ace! What's going on?"

The Scarlet Phoenix regained his footing and looked into the distance, his eyes narrowing at the flashes of light, and the explosions that occasionally tore through the massive cloud of dust in the center of Sector 14.

"Fefnir and Saber have apparently hit it off. Rather spectacularly too, I might add..."

Marino followed his gaze and her shoulders slumped.

"Oh _no_."

"Well, on the bright side," Ace groaned, "At least they went that way, deeper into the already trashed Sector rather than out towards the city..."

"Considering the range those two tend to blow up stuff in, that's still not much of an improvement." Marino remarked dryly.

"Thank you, little miss sunshine!" Ace replied sarcastically. "Now come on, let's go stop those two before they finish killing each other."

As Ace started off again, he heard Marino call out to him.

"Ace! Wait!"

"Hm?" Turning he caught a familiar streak of scarlet as it sailed through the air towards him. He blinked.

"Hey, this is..."

Marino grinned at him.

"I appreciate the loan, but I think you might need this more than me right now!" She winked, "After all, a Security Commander has to look the part, right?"

"Right!" Ace gave an answering nod. Grinning, he turned to face the conflict once more, swinging the unmistakable scarlet shape of his signature overcoat through the air. As it settled over his shoulders, he looked back at Marino with a confident glint in his eyes.

"Well, come on! I'm going to need someone reliable to keep me in one piece, remember?"

Marino rolled her eyes. "Wow Ace, you sure know the right thing to say to make a girl feel wanted, you know that?"

* * *

Watching Vent come charging out after them, Celtis not far behind, the grizzled figure of Craft leaned against his bike again, tapping the button for the coffee machine.

As it smoothly slid out again, he pulled out a second mug and held it out to the side.

"I figured you'd show up to watch the party..."

A rare smile crossed the Colonel-Commissar's face as he strode up next to Craft. With a loud crunch, he buried the base of his iron cross in the earth and reached out to take the coffee.

"That Fefnir is as reckless and hotheaded as they come. He's been itching for a fight like this since before I met him. It should be interesting to see how this goes..." He paused and sniffed the coffee.

"Gunpowder Gold with two sugars?"

"The same." Craft smirked. "I threw in a shot of cream for good measure."

The Colonel took a sip, and gave a pleased sigh.

"...I hate to admit it, but for someone without the culture of the English, you make some _bloody_ fine coffee, Hadrian."

Craft nodded his head at the admission, raising his mug.

"And despite being a military man, you're actually worth respecting, Thorne."

Their customary verbal sparring over, the two old warriors clinked their glasses together and turned their attention back to the fight.

"...Twenty on the God of Destruction."

"So you _did_ recognize him." Craft raised an eyebrow.

"Of course." Colonel scoffed. "I spent several months fighting Zero during the Repliforce rebellion. No-one knows the movement and style of his original frame better than I. From there, it was a simple matter of guesswork, old chap."

"Also, Fefnir probably gave the whole thing away."

The Colonel winced slightly.

"There was that too...But even though Omega has more or less bastardized Zero's original body into a fighting style that suits him, some things remain rather unmistakable."

"I see..." The commando seemed to consider this for a moment, knowing better than to ask the Colonel's reasons for keeping the knowledge to himself. After all, they were both 'Mavericks' according to history, sinners who fought against the World. And if they were here now, what about the greatest sinner of them all, Omega?

It would truly be intriguing to see just how far a man like that would go without the chains of Weil holding him down...

Finally, Craft broke the silence.

"Forty on Vile showing up and flattening them both."

The Colonel smirked. "So you saw him heading that way too."

And after a moment...

"You're on."

Both soldiers grinned and relaxed, leaning back to enjoy the show.

* * *

Far, far away from the ruins of Sector 14, a shadowy figure leaned back in his chair, staring at the image on the screen before him.

"...Are you certain this was wise? Giving away a weapon like Black Thresher so easily..."

The figure on the screen gave a malicious chuckle.

"Heh heh heh...As I've said before, you worry too much. Black Thresher has long since outlived its usefulness to us. Once we obtained the schematics and knowledge of both the nanotek making up Black Thresher, and the secrets of Ace Phoenix's Spatial Reactor, we had no further need for it."

"But, as a weapon, surely we could have found SOME better use for it than this...?"

"Again, no. Black Thresher was already difficult enough to control with its animal instincts, and keeping such a beast chained for so long can only lead to disaster."

The silhouette on the screen gave a twisted smile.

"I have...personal...experience on this matter..."

The strange orange fluid that made up most of the image frothed up briefly, as if responding to sudden burst of anger, before the figure continued.

"In the long run, releasing Thresher into Sector 14 served us much better than if we had simply kept it under our control. We now know the full capability of the nanotek that was called a Draconis Artifact, and now we know the power of a Spatial reactor. But more important than any of this..."

The man sitting behind the desk allowed himself a dangerous smile.

"It served as an EXCELLENT distraction."

The twisted figure on the screen gave a cruel smile.

"Indeed. It has ensured that our other operations during that time have gone relatively unnoticed, and all without a single shred of evidence that can trace Black Thresher back to you."

The man leaned back in his chair, regarding the screen with renewed interest.

"It seems as though you are indeed as skilled as you said you were...I see now that uniting forces with you was a truly wise move. In the space of a few months you have accomplished much of what I could not, even with a longer time-frame."

"Please, you flatter me..."That cruel smile flashed across the screen for an instant, before the silhouette's eyes suddenly burned into the man.

"And what of the item I have requested?"

The man twitched slightly at the sudden force in the shadowy image.

"Rest assured...plans are already under way to acquire the necessary information you require."

The figure's eyes burned once more.

"See to it that you succeed. Those files will be the key to...our...further advancement."

And with that, the screen went dark. The man stayed there for a few moments, his eyes cold as he stared at the screen.

" 'Our' advancement?" He growled. " Somehow, I have my doubts..."

Despite his doubts though, the man did have to admit, his shadowy ally had indeed proved his worth. For now, he would ignore his misgivings and continue on working with this hidden figure.

He turned to regard the huge window behind him, looking out at the sprawling mass of Legion City and felt a sneer come to his face.

"Disgusting..."He snarled, "Albert truly was right."

This world needed to be..._**reset**_.

* * *

A/N: Well, this was a random chapter...Some fluff here for the Marino fans, a few hints to something being wrong with Ace's body, Ibelis gets a new bike with space-warping awesomeness, Ayano continues to fight a losing battle with her self control, Queenbee is...Queenbee, and you get to meet the Colonel and Fefnir's operator, who is now apparently a distinguished academic with a bestselling book detailing the events of the Giga City uprising.

Nana's certainly come a long way, hasn't she? Now, if only she could solve her balance problems...

Oh yeah, and you FINALLY get another encounter with the mysterious shadows behind the scenes of the Chronicles. Wow, been a while, huh?

And you get to see Craft and the Colonel finally talking, which should have been enough badass to KO half of you.

Even Vile showed up to be randomly epic in a cowboy armor!

And it seems that Rika might not be QUITE as quiet as you thought...God help poor Vile's base...

And probably Pandora too, who probably hasn't the SLIGHTEST clue what any of that stuff Rika was talking about means.

Anyway, next chapter, you get to find out just where the hell Omega and Fefnir have been all this time, and what they've been doing, after which the epic fight will of course begin.

However, careful readers of the last chapter and this one will have noticed that I've apparently 'forgotten' one aspect of this whole Thresher fiasco...Not to worry, it shall be explained soon enough!

DarkShift Out!


	30. Chapter 29: Reminiscence and Asskickings

**Chapter 29: Reminiscence and Asskickings**

Disclaimer: Megaman belongs to Capcom

Also, I STRONGLY recommend reading the one-shot 'No Regrets' before going into this chapter, as it will help considerably in order to understand my version of Omega's past life. Just check my author page to find it.

* * *

**After the fall of Black Thresher...**

The light rain continued to fall on Legion City, pattering down on the blasted remains of Sector 14.

In the dead center of this zone of ruin, glasses clinked.

Omega, the God of Destruction, leaned back against the rubble behind him and lifted a bottle of alcohol.

"I never pegged you as one of the quiet badass types, Fefnir."

Nearby, the eyepatch-wearing Neo Arcadian chuckled and raised his own bottle.

"Don't mistake this for something it's not, ya bastard. It's just been a long-ass time since I met anyone who I could talk about the old days with." He paused, "Well, there's Craft, but he showed up AFTER us."

Omega shrugged.

"I suppose I can relate...You have any idea how messed up it is to wake up and realize over a hundred years have gone past? Hell, I barely rate a goddamn footnote in most historical texts now!"

Fefnir smirked.

"Well, to be honest, considering your sorry ass was supposed to be DEAD, I'd take what I could get."

"Fair enough." Omega grunted.

A brief silence followed. Omega stared out into space for a few moments, before he finally asked the question.

"So...what happened?"

Fefnir glanced across at him.

"You mean after you died?" He gave a half-smirk, "Heh...you might not be asking the right person..."

Omega raised an inquisitive eyebrow. Seeing the unasked question, Fefnir gave a bitter grin and took another shot from his bottle.

"I only know stuff from about fifty years ago."

The God of Destruction turned his head towards the one-eyed brawler.

"So what happened to you for the fifty years after our fight?"

Fenir shrugged.

"Me? Mostly, I was dead."

Omega stared at him for a moment and winced.

"Shiiiiit...that was me, wasn't it."

"Yep." Fefnir nodded amicably. "That thermal nuke Weil built into you really did a number on us when you died. Of course, like idiots, Harp, Fairy and I all decided we wanted to be heroes. So we shielded that blonde jerk to the last, giving that Mother Elf you chased away time to bail him out."

Fefnir gave a harsh laugh at the memory.

"Gotta tell ya...death by thermal nuke ain't exactly on my top ten list of ways to die." He inclined his head for a moment. "But what the hell, what use is this badass body of mine if I can't occasionally use it to protect instead of to blow shit up?"

Omega said nothing. He and Fefnir, hell, any of the Guardians included, had never been close, but still...He was QUITE pissed that he'd been used by Weil just to frag the lot of them. Dying in battle against Omega, that was one thing. Getting killed by a cheap-ass exploding death...if Weil was still around, Omega would have snapped his neck like a twig. Or would have tried to at least, but the slippery bastard would just regenerate again. He'd sometimes had the happy daydream of using Weil as a therapeutic stress reliever, one which he could just punch repeatedly until he felt better.

"My bad, I guess." Omega muttered. It was probably as close as he'd ever get to an actual apology. God of Destruction he might be, but he still had his pride, dammit, and killing off those three like that wasn't exactly a victory he could feel proud about.

Fefnir shrugged.

"Eh, wasn't yer fault. Weil's the one to blame for THAT piece of dickery, and Zero exploded him in the atmosphere and sent his remains flaming to Earth in a million pieces." The Land Crasher grinned, "So I figure that settled THAT."

There was a long pause.

"Wait, Zero did what?"

"Oh yeah, you weren't around for that..." Fefnir paused. "Okay, so I wasn't either, but I got the story from Craft. Weil apparently fused with some giant orbital death ray he'd built-"

"That damn Ragnarok...I never thought he'd actually get that thing built, y'know."

"Yeah, that. So he fused with it, and tried to ram it into the Earth. Then Zero transferred up there, wrecked most of Ragnarok on the way there, and then kicked Weil's ass all over the atmosphere. He'd planned on the explosion destroying Ragnarok, so it'd break up on re-entry. It did, but..." Fefnir gave a helpless shrug, the gesture finishing his sentence.

"But the idiot killed himself doing it." Omega growled. "Tch."

Dropping backwards, his back crunched against the rubble behind him, the God of Destruction's eyes narrowing as he stared up at the cloudy sky in irritation.

"That damned fool...He goes through all of the trouble of actually managing to kill ME, making himself worthy of being called the Original, and then what does he do? The bastard just goes off and dies."

He gave an annoyed sigh.

"See, THIS is why I hate heroes...They're allowed to die, hell, they're even applauded for it, regardless of how much of a hypocrite they might be...but for evil bastards like me..." He gave a twisted smile.

"Well, you and I are still here, aren't we?"

"Looks that way." The Land Crasher grumbled, tossing aside his empty bottle and pulling a new one from the six-pack at his side.

Omega looked back at the sky, a bitter look crossing his face.

"...How'd Ciel take it?"

Fefnir was silent. After several long moments of stillness, he heaved a sigh.

"Not well, that's for sure..." He said finally. "She was responsible for bringing peace between the humans who had escaped Weil, the Resistance, and the survivors of Neo Arcadia, and it's mostly 'cuz of her that Legion itself came along, plus the whole Guardian organization too, but...well...she just wasn't the same after that."

Omega shut his eyes for a moment.

"Zero, you complete ASSHOLE." He muttered.

"I spoke to her just once after we were killed. It was a little bit after she brought me back."

Omega looked across at him in surprise.

"Wait, Ace wasn't the one who brought you back?"

"Heh...nope, afraid not." Fefnir chuckled. "But he WAS around when I woke up."

Before Omega could finish processing this, Fefnir went on.

"It seems she managed to recover what was left of me, Harpuia and Leviathan from the blast site. Because I was built tougher than either of them, I suffered the least damage, meaning I was the first one of us reactivated. She only asked me to do one thing, before she left."

"What was that?"

Fefnir glanced back at him.

"She told me she wanted us to look out for Ace, basically to just keep an eye on the kid to make sure he didn't bite off more than he could chew. None of us had any idea why, but when we saw Ciel...well, it'd have just left a bad aftertaste if we'd turned her down. She DID resurrect us, after all." He paused, "Plus, I kinda liked the kid. He had guts."

"Well, there's one thing that hasn't changed." Omega smirked, before his expression turned serious again.

"But what about Ciel made you decide to accept?"

Fefnir's expression was grim.

"In the time following our wake-up call, we had a chance to watch her in action for a few weeks, before she finally disappeared. In that time..." His eyes narrowed, "Well, to the public, and the rest of the world, she was the same Ciel we'd always known. She was...driven, for lack of a better word, dedicated to keeping the promise she had made to Zero of creating a utopia for Reploids and humans to coexist, and she did everything she could to continue pursuing that dream." He took a breath before continuing.

"...But there was something different about her. We could all see it in her eyes. She was hurting on the inside, and bad. It wasn't just her desire to keep that promise, an' it wasn't simply her own desire to do right by the people who now looked up to her, but..."

Fefnir paused.

"It was guilt. She felt guilty about..._something_, that's for sure. We don't know what the reason for her guilt was, if it was the memory of Copy X, or the Baby Elves, for Zero killing Craft, or even if it was just some misplaced guilt over Zero's death, like she felt that it was somehow her fault that he died, but..." The Land Crasher shook his head.

"Whatever it was, it scarred her _bad_. And the strangest part was that _despite_ all of that, she seemed to...I don't know, _accept_ that guilt." Fefnir shrugged, "I know it sounds weird, man, but that's the best way I can think of to describe it. Harpuia had a better way of putting it. Something like...'It was like she had committed some kind of terrible crime, but had come to terms with it, willing to bear the burden of that sin as her penance'...Or something like that, I dunno."

"But..."And here, Fefnir leaned towards Omega conspiratorially, "Ya wanna know the REALLY strange part?"

"What's that?"

"That same weird look she had in her eyes, the one that had all of that guilt? There was one time for sure where we saw it the strongest..."

Omega gave him an intense look.

"And just when was that?"

"_It happened any time something related to Ace Phoenix came up_."

The God of Destruction stiffened.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know." Fefnir hesitated, "But anytime somebody mentioned Ace, or anything involving him, she'd always stiffen up and suddenly become really guarded. As for Ace himself...Well, I think it took everything she had to look him in the eyes whenever they spoke."

"So what, you think he had something to do with it?"

"No, I don't think he was actually responsible for it. He seemed just as worried about her as the rest, and almost freaked out when she hugged him once, right before she suddenly up and vanished from Legion. He went practically berserk trying to find her after that. Hell, it took me having to deck the guy in order to calm him down."

"Well, I can't say I'd expect something like that from the guy...He seems level-headed enough."

"Yeah, but that wasn't the kicker." Fefnir muttered. "It was Leviathan who freaked us all out. She said, and I can quote THIS word for word: 'Is it just me, or does anyone else here think that looked less like a hug between lovers, and more like one between mother and son?'"

_**PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFT!**_

Omega's drink sprayed across the clearing.

"Yeah, that was our reaction too." Fefnir remarked dryly, watching Omega gasping for air.

"Wait wait wait, whoa, hold up! Are you saying Ace...fecking...PHOENIX-" Omega gestured in the direction of Legion City. "Is Ciel's...?"

"That's what we figured." Fefnir admitted.

Omega seemed to consider this for a moment, before he went as white as a sheet.

"W-wait...Does that mean I might be his dad?"

_**PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFT!**_

This time it was Fefnir's turn to spray his drink all over the surroundings.

"WAIT WAIT, WHOA, BACK UP A SECOND!" He sputtered, shock and incredulity written all over his face.

"Are you saying...you and Ciel...?" The Land Crasher gaped, his brain apparently unable to finish. Either that, or the mental image required was one his central processors refused to contemplate.

Omega held that pose for a moment, before he lapsed into a smug grin

"Heh, had you going there for a minute, huh?"

"Geh...shit!" Fefnir wheezed, clutching at his chest, "FUCK dude, don't scare me like that!"

The God of Destruction sighed, leaning back as he looked up at the sky once more.

"Nah, me and Ciel were never that close...But it certainly wasn't for lack of trying, mind you."

Fefnir paused, cringing slightly as he considered that statement.

"Wait...by 'trying' do you mean 'trying to get in a relationship of some kind' or 'trying' as in..." he made a gesture with his hands.

Omega sighed ruefully.

"Unfortunately, it's the former rather than the latter. In the eight months I was active, I spent most of them trying to seduce her. The irony here is that in the end, she considered ME, the freaking God of Destruction, a close friend, whereas I..." He hesitated, "Look, let's just say she was one of those few people who I kind of didn't entirely sort of absolutely hate, alright?"

He coughed and looked away, clearly uncomfortable. Fefnir stared at him in disbelief for a moment, before a slow grin began to spread across his face.

"Well, I'll be DAMNED..." He breathed, a full blown evil smile forming on his face, "I guess that answers the question of what the hell you were doing in the Resistance Base while Weil was off causing mayhem!"

Omega bolted upright in alarm.

"Wait, you guys knew?"

"Eh, sort of." Fefnir shrugged. "It was only after we got resurrected and started going through the old history files that we began to find little things here and there that were weird. For example, Zero off curb-stomping Anubis Necromancess, WHILE AT THE SAME TIME being seen chatting on the roof of the Resistance Base with Ciel. You know, simple stuff like Zero being in two separate places at the same time, and apparently having two WAY different personalities."

Fefnir grinned.

"Namely, one of them being QUITE the ladies' man, while the other tried to figure out why the hell these girls were suddenly jumping at him. Considering what me, Harpuia an' Leviathan knew about you, having seen your real identity for our final battle, well...we kinda figured it was you. Except we couldn't figure out just what the HELL you were doing there at all!"

The Land Crasher paused for a second.

"Well, aside from Leviathan squealing about 'forbidden love' and how abso-flippin-lutely romantic and adorable it all was. Me and Harp, of course, thought she was completely NUTS."

Fighting Fefnir looked at Omega, who was staring fixedly at the sky, as if he was trying to make it explode with his gaze alone, and the Land Crasher grinned.

"And I will be damned, but it looks like she was closer than BOTH of us!"

"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, ya schmuck...And Ciel knew too, so stuff it!"

"Yeah, we found the research she was doing on you. She knew who you really were LONG before Zero broke that armor of yours, but we couldn't figure out why the heck she hadn't told anyone, nor why it was she was still hanging around with you if she knew your real identity-"

"Okay, thank you, that's enough sniping at Omega and his lame-ass soap opera stories, GET BACK TO ACE."

"Aaah, you're no fun." Fefnir snorted, and lifted his bottle once more.

"And you talk a lot for a dead guy." Omega retorted.

"Low blow, man, low blow..." Fefnir grunted, "So yeah...anyway, we thought Ace was Ciel's son, which BELIEVE me was a mindfuck in and of itself. But then Harpuia managed to sneak some tests in on Ace. What we got was...anything but."

"Say what?" Omega stared at him.

"Ace was a Reploid. At least, he WAS back then." Fefnir said grimly. "We did find traces of Ciel's DNA encoded into his genetic structure, but beyond that, we got NOTHING."

"So...he's just a Reploid Ciel built?" Omega raised an eyebrow, "And what do you mean 'He WAS'? He's not a Reploid anymore or something?"

"He wasn't JUST a Reploid." Fefnir said grimly. "Why do you think Ciel brought us in to keep an eye on the kid? EVERY major power in the city at the time was after him. They all wanted him under their control. Up to now, we still don't know why. Ace was always ranting about how they all just wanted their own personal 'hero' to control, treating him as some kind of famous hero, and ignoring everything he himself was. So in the end, he flipped them all the metaphorical finger and told them to go screw themselves."

"...Yeah, I can definitely see him doing THAT." Omega muttered. "What'd he do?"

"Well, at the time...the first prototype Human/Reploid bodies were beginning to appear, finally presenting a bridge between the races. Except a lot of people were against them. So our boy Ace here more or less kicked down the doors to the main research facility, and ordered them to cut down his body, reducing it from the combat level body Ciel had built, into something that was very nearly human. Of course, they couldn't reduce it THAT far, but if I had to say, right now, he's more organic than machine."

Omega stared at Fefnir for a moment.

"Run that by me again? He threw away a COMBAT REPLOID BODY, for something that might be as weak as the average HUMAN?"

Fefnir shrugged.

"Well, the man DOES seem to be doing pretty well for himself despite that."

And even Omega had to give him that.

"Of course, that's also why we can't figure out what it was that made him so special to begin with." Fefnir admitted.

"Dandy." Omega muttered. "Just throw it on the pile of other mysteries I seem to be collecting ever since I woke up..."

Shaking his head, he tossed aside his empty bottle, watching with a satisfied air as it smashed on the decapitated hulk of one of Black Thresher's fallen minions.

"So, what happened to Harpuia and Leviathan?"

There was a long pause, before Fefnir sighed and pressed a hand to his face.

"Well, for one thing, those two idiots apparently went and got married."

The God of Destruction stared into space blankly for a minute.

"You know," he said eventually, "This SHOULD surprise me, but for some reason it doesn't."

"Obviously," Fefnir snorted, "His name might be Sage, but outside of tactics and books, Harpuia's about as dense as a rock. It wasn't until Leviathan finally snapped, grabbed him by the head, said 'Goddammit you idiot, kiss me already!' and then proceeded to stick her tongue down his throat, that he finally got the hint."

"HAH!" Omega laughed. "Guess we know who wears the pants in that relationship! Heh heh...ahhh, I wish I'd been there to see it!"

"I got pictures," Fefnir grinned. "But those are back at base somewhere. Anyway, after that, I think they adopted a kid and settled down in a mansion somewhere on the outskirts of Legion. A hillside place, lots of wind, hot springs and a bitchin' lake for waterskiing."

"Yeah, sounds like somewhere those two lovebirds'd feel right at home." Omega grinned.

"Well, when they ARE home, anyway." Fefnir added, "Mostly, they take off to travel the world, since they've retired from A.C.E work. Don't get me wrong, they're still fighters like you and me, but apparently, they decided to simply settle down and enjoy the world they helped create." He laughed. "I'm the only die-hard who's still fighting the good fight."

"Well, it IS sort of all you know how to do well." Omega pointed out.

"Right..." Fefnir grumbled. "Anyway, like I said, I heard they adopted a kid about twenty years ago. Haven't been by to see them in about twenty-three, so yeah, that's about all I can tell you about that."

"Harpuia and Leviathan with a kid?" Omega shook his head in disbelief. "What is this world coming to...?"

"No idea." Fefnir shrugged, " But with monsters like you and Vile crawling out of the woodwork, it's gonna be one HELL of a world!"

Omega threw back his head and laughed madly.

"AGREED!"

And then he noticed it.

"Hey, Fef."

"Yeah?"

"The rain's stopped."

The ex-Neo Arcadian General looked up at the sky. And sure enough, despite the clouds that still persisted overhead, the last raindrops had faded from the air. The legendary Land Crasher felt a dangerous smile cross his face.

"Sooo..."

A matching grin appeared on Omega's face.

"Go time?"

Fefnir nodded.

"Go time."

The world exploded, the pile of rubble that had served as their resting place shattering into fragments of dust and debris.

Omega leapt backwards out of the cloud, the massive Zweihander already glowing in his hand.

"Hey, looks like you're faster on the draw than you used to be!"

Fefnir withdrew his fist from the crater, grinning. "Oh you have NO idea just how far I've come since our last fight! LET'S GO...!"

The massive form of Sodom, his right Knuckle Buster, appeared over his hand. Planting his left arm squarely against the side of it to brace it, he pulled the trigger.

"SODOM! BLAST HIM TO BITS!"

**[Cue Music: Super Robot Wars Z OST- Land Crasher!]**

The massive cannon roared, its jaws opening wide as it launched burning shells at Omega, one after another.

"Whoa!" Omega twisted to dodge the first, vaulted over the second with the aid of the Zweihander, and ducked the last with a yell of surprise.

"Damn...Your timing's different too!"

"Got that right!"

The God of Destruction's eyes widened in disbelief as he saw Fefnir appear right in front him, Knuckle Buster drawn back as he charged forward.

"Sonofa-" Omega brought the Zweihander crashing down, only for it to glance off of Fefnir's second Buster, Gomorrah materializing over his free hand.

"I have you now!"

Sodom's jaws gaped wide as Fefnir lunged forward. The God of Destruction gave a curse of anger as he felt them slam shut around his midsection, armor cracking as the fangs built into Sodom bit into him.

Whirling back in the opposite direction, Fefnir swung him through the air, before smashing him down hard, the God of Destruction coughing on blood as the earth beneath him was crushed by the forces.

"LAND..._**CRASHAAAAAAAAAAAAA!**_"

A geyser of broken earth exploded twenty feet into the air as Fefnir unleashed 7.9 Richters worth of seismic power into the pinned God of Destruction, hammering him down again and again and again. Drawing his free arm back, Fefnir charged Gomorrah to its maximum, and slammed it down into Omega's chest, raging magma erupting from the earth.

"VOLCANIC _**DRRRIIIVAAAAAAAAH!**_"

As the world exploded in a fiery mass of molten rock around him, Fefnir grinned and prepared another round.

"Sorry, Omega, but I'M going to be winning this round, if you don't mind..."

And to his disbelief, he heard a reply.

"Oh, BELIEVE me, asshole, I DO mind! _**ROCKEEEEEET PAAAAAAANCH!**_"

The magma beneath the Land Crasher erupted, a gauntlet clenched into a fist exploding forth as it's surface glowed red hot. It slammed underneath Fefnir's chin with enough force to lift even the powerful Arcadian general clear off of his feet, throwing him into the air as he fell backwards. Even as he sought to recover, the lava exploded once more, and a second flying fist emerged, rocketing through the air to smash into the side of Fefnir's jaw.

"Guhaaaa!"

The Land Crasher was launched spinning through the air before he crashed back to earth, bouncing twice before he managed to get his feet under him once more. Looking up, he swore as he saw Omega burst from the lava, already charging towards him in a headlong rush. In response, Fefnir brought both cannons to bear on him and opened up, blast after blast ripping apart the air as they shot towards him. Zweihander howling in his grip, the crimson destroyer tore the first wave to shreds in a single swing, before darting around another two blasts, leaping over an explosion as he launched the Red Ripper overarm.

Seeing the whirling violet buzzsaw screaming towards him, Fefnir gave a reckless grin.

"Alright, have it your way!"

Running forward, he dropped down into a crouch, one leg out to the side as he spun. The Red Ripper shrieking past a few inches above his head, Fefnir grinned as he held down the triggers, the Knuckle Busters never leaving Omega even as he finished his spin.

Too late though, he realized his mistake.

Omega thundered towards him, armored boots smashing the earth to ruin in his wake. Arms extended out an angle in front of him, he grinned as both of his launched fists returned, clanking into place as he clenched his fists.

"All right, MY TURN!"

As Fefnir attempted to rise, Omega gave him a hand in the form of a devastating straight punch that sent the Land Crasher staggering back with the force. Pulling back on the follow through, the God of Destruction brought his next hand up, the armored fist slamming Fefnir's head back in a punishing uppercut. As the Neo Arcadian reeled, temporarily stunned, Omega smashed his boot into Fefnir's unguarded gut. Watching as Fefnir spat blood, his lungs emptied with the force of the kick, Omega fired his dash boosters.

Fefnir was blasted away, his body demolishing a wrecked building as he crashed straight through it. And then just as quickly, there was another detonation, a series of explosions that punched down through the floors of the building, before Fighting Fefnir burst free of the ground floor. Not having expected such an insane recovery speed, Omega was completely caught off-guard, Fefnir leaping into the air as brought his left fist rocketing down, already glowing with a fully charged Land Crasher attack.

It slammed into Omega's face, smashing him backwards as the back of his skull slammed into the ground hard enough to collapse everything within twenty feet into a crater. Stunned by the force of the seismic shockwave slamming into his head, Omega barely felt Fefnir seize him with Gomorrah once more. The Land Crasher lifted him up and then swung him down again, literally throwing him into the ground. The God of Destruction's bloody form struck the earth hard enough to bounce back up into the air. Before he could touch the ground again, Sodom slammed its jaws shut around his skull and Fefnir raced off, carving a shattered trench of rock with Omega's body as he went.

"Son...of...a...!" Omega gritted.

Shell after shell of burning hot flame smashed into him at point blank range, the ground breaking apart as Fefnir blasted through it all, before bringing the God of Destruction up to smash back into the wall of another building, blowing out the entire bottom floor in an instant.

"Any last words before I settle this?" Fefnir grinned savagely, one free arm drawn up and already shaking with the restrained power of yet another Land Crasher.

Omega matched him with an evil grin of his own.

"Yeah, actually, let's see...Fuck you...oh and-GATE OF BABYLON!"

Fefnir's eyes widened in shock as the world suddenly burned red. Fifteen grenades slammed into him and blasted him twenty feet backwards in a storm of flames.

"What the fuck?" He swore, before a wild laugh from Omega interrupted him.

"I'M NOT THROUGH WITH YOU YET!"

Blazing silver chains, gleaming red in the unholy light of the Gate shot forth, clinking as they lashed around Fefnir's arm, his chest, and one leg. The God of Destruction grinned.

"I unlocked these babies after that night with Queenbee!"

Pulling on the chains, he swung Fefnir up and over him, smashing the Land Crasher down through another building. Repeating the move again, Omega slammed him down into another pile of rubble, chunks of debris being blown twenty feet into the air with the impact. Spinning around, Omega whipped the trapped Arcadian in a circle, his form crashing through everything in his way, before the God of Destruction brought the chains swinging up once more, only to utterly OBLITERATE a still standing building with Fefnir as he smashed the Land Crasher ten feet deep into the ground, the chains breaking with the impact. Even as Fefnir's battered frame bounced back into the air, Omega launched another chain, this one wrapping itself tightly around Fefnir's neck.

"GET OVER HERE!"

With an almighty yank on the chain, Omega brought Fefnir hurtling towards him, the Land Crasher swearing as he struggled with the chain. Releasing the chain, Omega, brought his same hand shooting forward to meet Fefnir, the steel gauntlet already shaking with power.

"Point-blank...ROCKET PAAAAAAANCH!"

As the unbreakable fist slammed into Fefnir, Omega launched it, the rocket powered Gauntlet blasting forward, with Fefnir's jaw pinned squarely on the receiving end of it. The former Arcadian General vanished from sight, blasting a twenty foot hole in the world as he hurtled backwards. Two more ruined buildings and a kilometer of real estate were blasted into a trench by the attack, more clouds of destruction fountaining into the sky.

Omega's eyes narrowed as his flying fist returned, his ears detecting the sound of Fefnir's laughter. Punching a hole in Cyberspace, Omega resummoned the Zweihander from wherever it had ended up with his last throw. His fist clamping down on the handle, he stared as Fefnir rose to his feet once again. Blood running from over a dozen wounds, his single eye still burned bright with the insanity of battle.

"Not bad, Omega! It looks like you've picked up a few new tricks since the last time we fought!"

Omega gave a mock bow, grinning ironically.

"Oh, you know me! Always aim to please, that's my motto!" He paused, "Or aim for a headshot, whichever comes first!"

"I'll remember that one." Fefnir grinned. "Now, it's my turn to show off MY new moves!"

"BRING IT!" Omega laughed madly, and rocketed forward to the attack.

But not even HE, the master of crazy-ass, unexpected moves could have predicted what happened next.

Even as Omega charged towards him, Fighting Fefnir simply grinned savagely and slammed his hand down the ground beneath him.

"FIRST WAVE!"

The God of Destruction's eyes widened in shock as he felt the air temperature suddenly drop around him.

"What the fuck...?"

Almost immediately, an unmistakable sheen radiated outwards from Fefnir, a massive field of ice spreading over the surroundings. Omega swore in shock as he lost his footing, spikes of ice smashing up from the surroundings. Stabbing the Zweihander into the ground, he scraped to a halt, swinging himself back to his feet and diving sideways as another spike emerged from the ground.

"What in the name of FUCK?" He thundered. "WHAT...HOW...SINCE WHEN THE FUCK CAN **YOU** USE FUCKING _**ICE**_?"

"Since Ace had this TOTALLY bitching idea, that's when! Consider yourself lucky! Normally I can't go anywhere NEAR this crazy with it, but with this much moisture around, FUCK YEAH!"

"I'll keep that in mind!" Omega yelled back in annoyance. _'What the hell does he mean he needs moisture...?'_

And then he saw the heat haze rising from Fefnir.

"Oh, you son of a bitch..." He swore, "Don't tell me...!"

His Chain Saber lashing around an icy protrusion, Omega swung himself into the air. A single flash of the mighty Zweihander and the top half of a building began to slide free, Omega's attack slicing it perfectly. Summoning the Gates once more, Omega maxed out his chains, dozens of them slamming into the loose half.

A few miles away, a certain Lightning Bullet suddenly shivered.

"...Someone, somewhere, is about to use a building as a weapon..." Gallidin muttered.

With a single, powerful pull, Omega yanked the severed building towards him.

Slamming both legs against it, he kicked out, putting every ounce of his inhuman strength behind it.

"All right you son of a bitch, TRY FREEZING THIS!"

Fefnir's eyes widened for an instant, before he clenched his fist and crouched down.

"Sorry to disappoint, but I've got something ELSE for this!"

His fingers curled, as if clenching against an invisible power within them.

"SECOND WAVE!"

A wall of heat erupted around the almighty Land Crasher.

He raised his right hand with a dangerous smile.

"Let's go! KING OF HEARTS!"

As a brilliant sigil appeared on the back of his hand, Fefnir drew it back, and then leapt forward, his right hand burning with an infinite heat as it surged forward.

"Here I come! SHIIIINIIIIIIIIIIIIING..._**FIIIIIIIIIINGAAAAAAAAH!**_"

His open hand slammed against the oncoming building...and continued forward.

As if an invisible wall of raging heat had expanded outwards from his point of contact, the entire building began to disintegrate as it continued towards him.

"What the HELL?" Omega demanded, stunned.

And then it was gone, four floors of masonry and steel burned away to ash in an instant. Caught off guard, Omega couldn't react in time, Fefnir's burning grip slamming into his chest.

"GAAAAAAAAAAGH!" The God of Destruction roared in pain, feeling as though a superheated steel lance had just smashed into him. The blazing heat burned through his armor, into his hardened skin...and then through even that.

"HEAT..._**END!"**_

His rush carried both himself and Omega back thirty feet before Fefnir felt the last obstacle burn away, and he broke free, blasting past Omega. Skidding to a halt, he looked back grimly.

"How's THAT for a trick, huh?"

Omega stabbed the Zweihander into the dirt once more, his eyes wide in shock. It was taking all of his power to remain standing. He couldn't even feel most of his right side. Blood splattered from his gaping jaws, steaming as it hissed against the earth.

A hole almost a foot-wide in diameter had been blown through him, a strike of infinite heat simply _erasing_ everything in it's path, leaving a perfect circle, the edges lined with scorched skin, blackened armor and melted internals.

His frame creaking around him, Omega jerkily turned to face Fefnir, his one visible eye burning with rage and shock.

"I...KNEW IT...!"

Fefnir shook his right hand out, wincing as the charred skin began to regenerate.

"That's right..." He smirked. "The Wave ability: The power to control thermal energy! The First Wave pulls in every ounce of heat from my surroundings, freezing them solid. The Second Wave is a collection of attacks, each only using a fraction of the absorbed heat. That attack just now, Shining Finger, was one of 'em."

Dropping back into a crouch, Fefnir grinned as ice began to spread out from him again.

"Want to see the rest of the Waves, or are you done here?"

An insane smile split Omega's face, demonic lights burning brightly within his eyes.

"Done...?" He laughed crazily, his still superheated blood splashing from his body, the massive Zweihander tearing itself free of the ground as he swung it up.

"I'M JUST GETTING STARTED!"

Buster materializing in his hand, Omega slammed it down into the earth, blazing white fury erupting around him as his mad laughter rose to the skies. Fefnir's grin faded slightly.

"...Shit." He muttered, "I forgot he could do that."

Not enough to fully recover the damage, but still enough to bring Omega back to combat strength, the lights of his regeneration strike faded and a brilliant crimson blur rocketed forward.

"COME!" Omega thundered. "_**SEEEIIIIIBAAAAAAAH!**_"

**[Cue Music: Fate Stay Night- Sword of Promised Victory]**

Within the world of the Zweihander, Saber, the legendary King of Knights, raised her head, brilliant green eyes snapping open as they flashed with power.

_'I answer the call!'_

The Land Crasher's eyes widened in shock as wind raged to life around Omega's charging form. Red cloth faded to blue, polished titanium armor plating slamming into place on his body as a silver sheen raced out through a streak of bone white hair. The violet blade in his hands faded, vanishing into a howling sheath of wind.

Omega's eyes flashed.

"_I AM OMEGA! GOD OF DESTRUCTION! I AM THE BLADE THAT WILL BREAK THIS MISERABLE WORLD IN TWO, AND YOU ARE NO DIFFERENT! NOW HOWL...!_"

An impact, a roar of wind, and a flash of light.

"MY _**CALIBUUUUUUUUUUUURN**_!"

Fefnir blinked as he saw the world suddenly sail past him. A hurricane of wind still whipping around him, he saw Omega skid to a halt far, FAR below him, his blue, knightly armor shining, a whirlwind seized in his iron grip. Clad in that blue armor, that which was worn by humanity's greatest King of Knights, and armed with the almighty Sword in the Stone, Omega threw his arms out to the sides, lightning raging around him as he released Saber's power once again.

"Son of a fuck...!" Fefnir cursed as the pain finally struck him, "The bitch is FAST!"

"Absorb THIS, YA BASTARD!" Omega roared, the wind around him dispelling and allowing Fefnir a glimpse of a single glorious golden blade, the magnificent sword held sealed within the sheath of wind.

"Well, that can't be good..." He gritted.

"THE SWORD THAT CLEAVES THE WORLD! **EEEEEX...**_**CALIBAAAAAAR!**_"

Fefnir took one look at the wall of light approaching him and...

"Fuuuuck THAT!"

...decided quite quickly that he wanted NO part of that. Gomorrah materializing on his left arm, he snapped it out to the side and fired. Now with nothing to brace him against the recoil, the force of his shot was enough to knock him clear out of the sky, the blade of Excalibur roaring past him in a thunderous torrent of light and sound.

Crashing to earth, he rolled for a dozen meters before he managed to finally stop himself.

"Ugh..." Cursing, he staggered to his feet as he felt the damage from Omega's Caliburn strike sinking in. Automatically, a field of ice began to spread out once more, his body pulling in as much additional energy it could to boost his repairs. Unlike other regenerators, his was simply a normal self-repair system. However, by diverting more thermal power into it, Fefnir could overclock it, leading to an effect similar to regeneration. Except, it only lasted for as long as he could continue pulling in energy.

And judging by the miniature hurricane held in Omega's hands as the God of Destruction charged forward, that was time he was about to NOT HAVE.

Cursing, he slammed his fist into the ground, trying to blast another wave of spikes up. Unfortunately, with most of the water vapor in the area having been sucked in by the Caliburn's whirlwind, there was no longer enough in the air for the spikes to rise.

Omega grinned savagely.

"GAME OVER, Fefnir-GAH!"

And then the unexpected happened.

The God of Destruction jerked to a halt so suddenly he almost fell over.

"Wh...What the FUCK?"

Fefnir stared, equally surprised.

Omega's boots had frozen to the floor. He jerked and kicked, stabbing Caliburn into the floor as he struggled to free himself from the encroaching ice.

"What the hell's going on? This didn't happen the first time!"

_'Oh dear...'_

Omega's eye twitched as he heard Saber mentally wince.

"What do you MEAN, 'Oh dear'?"

_'I probably should have remembered to mention this earlier, but...'_

She was interrupted by a triumphant laugh from Fefnir, who had staggered back to his feet, still clutching his side.

"I don't BELIEVE this! Hah!" He grinned. "I never expected something like this either, to tell you the truth...But look around!"

Omega did so.

There was nothing, save for the frozen tide that had covered everything around him.

"And your point is...?"

"You're in a Thunder-elemental body, on an ICE field."

"What does that..."Omega paused for a moment. "Oh you have GOT to be kidding me."

_'It means we're more susceptible to ice-based environmental hazards...'_ Saber said apologetically.

"OH GEE NOW YOU TELL ME!"

Never one to turn down a free chance, Fefnir cranked his First Wave up to the maximum, the frozen world expanding outwards at an even greater speed, his power cells charging with more and more energy.

Omega cursed, and fell to one knee, sparks dancing over his body as the ice began to climb even higher up his frame.

"S-son of a...my power...!"

Forcing open one eye, he grimaced as he saw the heat haze around Fefnir intensifying, the Land Crasher's wounds closing as his repair system continued to work overtime.

"Dammit...! Need...to get out of...the ice...!"

Desperately, Omega triggered the release of Caliburn's wind sheath. With a sound like shattering glass, he was blasted free of the ice, smashing back down to earth several meters away.

Even as he struggled to his feet, he looked up and realized he was too late.

Fefnir took a step forward, the very air around him burning red with glow of heat radiating from his body. Sodom and Gomorrah materializing around his hands, Fefnir gave a demonic smile.

"I think I'll just skip the Third Wave for now." He grinned. Planting his feet squarely on the ground, he brought both Knuckle Busters to bear on Omega, who was still getting to his feet.

Omega saw the intense glow radiating from both weapons, and felt the immense power.

"I think I can guess this one." He growled.

"That's right!" Fefnir laughed, now just a black silhouette glowing red in the radiating heat. "A one-shot attack that uses ALL of my absorbed power in one deadly blast! I like to call it...!"

Omega cursed, and lunged forward.

"THE FOURTH WAVE..._**SATAAAAAAARNNN VEEEEE!**_"

* * *

Celtis looked up, as the horizon flashed red.

"Oooooooh crap." Ace said flatly. "EVERYBODY HIT THE DECK!"

And as they complied, it happened.

A colossal blast of energy emerged from within the ruins hiding Omega and Fefnir. Almost a mile wide, the massive torrent of destruction spread out, annihilating the earth and burning the air with it's power. At that colossal size, it was less a beam, and more of an unleashed deluge of power, a solid wall of destruction that annihilated everything before it, even the clouds in the sky burning away with the heat.

"What in...What the HELL is THAT?" Ayano demanded, shouting to be heard over the roar of destruction.

"SHIT!" Ace swore. "That's that damned Lieutenant's Saturn-V strike!"

"Saturn-V?"

"Let me put it this way...!" Marino shouted back, crouching behind a nearby pile of rubble.

"You remember in history, the most powerful liquid-fuel rocket of all time? That was the Saturn V!"

"WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH ANYTHING?" Celtis yelled.

"Remember the rocket engines installed in it?"

"Yeah?"

"Right, it's like that, except Disaster's got two of those, rebuilt as guns, and he dual wields them!"

A roar of power, and the colossal beam doubled in size, almost completely obliterating the point of origin and detonating against the outer boundary of the Sector in a mushroom cloud that made a volcanic eruption look pathetic in comparison.

They all stared at it for a moment, wincing as the shockwave washed over them, singing eyebrows and blasting their hair backwards.

"And you thought that giving a maniac like that weapons like this was a good idea BECAUSE _**WHY?**_" Vent demanded in outrage.

"...Looking back now, I haven't got the SLIGHTEST idea." Ace muttered guiltily, vaulting back out of cover and heading toward the huge, mile and a half wide trench of scorched earth that stretched over five miles away from the origin to the smoking wreckage of the Sector's boundary wall.

* * *

At the bottom of the miniature canyon he had blasted through the earth, Fefnir exhaled, the back of his Knuckle Busters disengaging to release a colossal blast of superheated air, his ravaged body bleeding off the excess heat from his insane attack. It wasn't called the Saturn V for nothing, that was for sure. It was like having two rocket engines mounted on his arms, both of them designed to propel something hundreds of tonnes heavier than him at a speed great enough to escape Earth's gravity.

If it were anyone else, the recoil would have ripped their arms off within the first second. As it was, even Fefnir's massive frame was pushed backwards, his boots carving tracks into the dirt as Sodom and Gomorrah roared. His cigarette burnt almost down to the hilt by the impossible heat, Fefnir spat it out, his eyebrows still sizzling as he shook the soot out of his hair.

"...where are you, ya bastard...?" He growled.

As if on cue, in the burning hell left by his attack, the world blazing orange and shimmering in the heat, a figure stirred.

A single blade stabbed into the earth as humanity's greatest King of Destroyers still stood. Of his armor, nothing but the tattered remnants of his coat were left, the previously immaculate blue coat-tails now battered and worn as his normal crimson one. His entire chest was bare, the ash-stained image of his scarred body visible to the world. The Caliburn held in his left hand glowed, reverting to the massive cross-shaped form of the Zweihander. He stayed there, his singed hair flowing out behind him as silence descended around him once more, his frame lit by the red glow of the burning world to his back.

Fefnir's eyes narrowed.

"Well...?" He challenged. "I know you've got a few charges of that healing move left!"

And then...Omega's head slowly lifted to face him. His eyes two red points of light in the shadows cast by his hair, a demonic smile spread across his face.

_**"MEMORIZED!"**_

Fefnir went white.

"Oh, fuck me sideways."

The glow of the air and earth surrounding Omega faded, the hazy air becoming crystal clear once more, as frosty winds surged to life in the canyon blasted by the Fourth Wave. A tidal wave of ice surged outwards from him, the mighty God of Destruction devouring the heat around him. The power of Memorization was supposed to have been unique to Model O alone, Omega knew, but in that hellish storm of fire, he had once more seen the message he had come to associate with copious amounts of kickass.

REDLINE MODE INITIALIZING.

And below that, the message he had only seen once before, when he had reforged Leos' Darkclaw's gauntlets into his own.

HELIX ENGINE ONLINE.

And in a burst of red light through his mind, the power to devour heat and make it his own was there, as if it always had been.

If Omega had been given to introspection at that particular point in time, he might have come to the conclusion that he had not actually 'memorized' anything. Rather, it was more as though his body had simply..._adapted _to it, to turn something which had threatened to destroy him moments ago into something he could thrive on.

Which, to be honest, meant that either way you looked at it, BAD SHIT WAS ABOUT TO HAPPEN TO ANYONE WHO WASN'T OMEGA.

Fefnir took a step back in alarm as the wave of ice swept past him, advancing at a speed WAY faster than it normally should have.

"Son of a...What the hell kind of power is this? He never had the ability to gank moves before!" He gritted, throwing a hand up to shield his eyes as a particularly stinging gust of sleet struck his face.

"Wait...sleet?"

Omega stood there, Zweihander stuck in the ground next to them, both taloned hands reaching out as if to tear the world in two. His eyes burned blue, his visage almost that of a demon as the ice beneath him began to glow.

"More...!" He rasped, steam hissing from his gaping maw as he doubled over. "Give me MORE!"

He reared back, fangs bared at the sky as he roared.

"MORE...POWER!"

The clouds darkened, as before Fefnir's shocked eyes, spines and pillars of ice began to emerge from the frozen wasteland surrounding Omega, climbing into the sky as he began to steal even the heat from the air itself, exactly as Fefnir had done when he first activated the Wave ability.

"...But I could only do that because there was moisture in the air to steal heat from in the first place!" Fefnir gaped. "He's freezing the atmosphere itself!"

Everything has a point at which it freezes, a point at which no further heat can be drained from it. And the gaseous molecules of the air itself were no exception. There was no liquid phase, with Omega's terrifying hunger changing everything from a gas to a frozen solid in the blink of an eye. Frozen oxygen, chilled carbon dioxide and iced nitrogen, glaciers advancing in every direction from the howling demon.

An iron fist slammed shut over the hilt of Zweihander, Omega ripping it free in one movement. His figure still a spectral silhouette amidst the raging blizzard he had caused, Omega's burning gaze stared straight ahead at Fefnir.

"Thanks for letting me know this can be channeled through weapons as well...!" He grinned insanely. "Now, allow me to repay the favor!"

Within the Zweihander, Saber closed her eyes and concentrated, the white hot sun of Omega's accumulated energy flowing through the blade in the God of Destruction's hands.

'_This much thermal energy..._' she muttered worriedly, '_I am designed for electrical channeling...I don't know if I'll be able to combine this with Calibur-?_'

Saber froze, her head jerking to the left.

The sky to the far South suddenly changed, a separate world appearing and encroaching upon the boundaries of her own. Saber's eyes widened as her connection with the legendary Ace of Blades flashed with power.

The ghostly world appeared, and disappeared just as quickly as it had come, but the fact remained. At that one instant, all of the burning, blazing heat Omega had absorbed had been redirected, moving from her towards another target.

For that one brief instant in time...One of the locked slots within the Zweihander opened, the blade inside stirring briefly from its slumber.

But that instant was all it took.

The God of Destruction rocketed forward, the blizzard around him vaporizing as the contained heat burst from his body. In his hand, the Zweihander changed once again, but this time, it was not the Excalibur that appeared.

A single, colossal gray-black blade, extending for over six feet from the handle, a straight edged greatsword, a blue oval gem set into the cross-like hilt, with an fourteen-inch long handle extending out from the gem. The black blade, outlined with a razor's edge of brilliant, blazing silver, ignited, a supernova of flame erupting forth from it, as if the steel itself was radiating the bright, orange flames.

Ignoring the strange appearance of his weapon, too lost in his mad charge towards victory, Omega swung the raging flames of courage back out behind him, his upper body twisting with it as he leapt forward.

"THE FOURTH WAVE! CRITICAL..._**HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!**_"

And he swung the colossal weapon forward, his body turning in an almost one-hundred and eighty degree swing as the silver edge of his sword sliced a perfect horizontal arc through the air. And from that cut, rocketed a horizontal blade of fire, a red hot, crescent-shaped beam, hotter than even the fury of Ferham's Tera Fire Blaster, that slashed through the world as it raced towards Fefnir, who stared at it in outrage and disbelief.

His arms thrown up before him in an attempt to shield himself, he gave an angry yell, vanishing into the light as the world around him burned away.

"THAT'S JUST FUCKING CHEAatiiiiiiiing...!"

His outraged shout vanished as Omega's flames roared in a voice of their own, blowing away everything in their path.

* * *

Ace stared aghast as another raging wave of flames exploded from the tormented earth, a slash of pure, white-hot fury that threatened to ignite the very air with it's power.

"...That's definitely the Fourth Wave...!" Marino grimaced, shielding herself from the intense heat once more.

"But that's not Fefnir!" Ace gaped in shock.

An instant passed, before he and Marino both turned to one another in horror.

"The Zweihander!"

Not too far away from them, a massive bike roared, Craft's Dullahan traversing the blasted wasteland easily. He gave a sigh, looking back at the figure who stood atop the back half.

"You know, we COULD have just left it to Vile..."

The Colonel's eyes narrowed.

"Not if I know Fefnir..."

* * *

It's work done, the mysterious weapon in Omega's hands reverted to normal, the violet blade blazing forth once more.

Within it, Saber stared uneasily into the southern sky as the nameless world, another Cyberspace that slept within the Zweihander, faded away once again, the weapon and AI that controlled it returning to their sleep once more.

'_Did his absorbed heat draw that weapon's attention?'_ She wondered, feeling the massive entity of another AI like herself disappearing back behind the walls that guarded it. She didn't think it had activated itself consciously. Rather, it seemed that the Zweihander itself had realized that even she could not handle that much power of that particular elemental aspect, and had instead rerouted it to another sleeping weapon, one that was more suited to it. Temporarily bypassing the restrictions, it had allowed for a short-term, emergency activation of the weapon, one that COULD channel that much Fire-Elemental power.

The emergency power shunt now finished, the sword had returned to its slumber, leaving Saber with no clue as to who her new 'neighbour' had been.

She knew one thing, though.

That heat...those raging flames...they had burned hot. Hotter than even the heart of the sun...

That was a sword whose howling fire could burn away even the toughest of armor.

A weapon designed to kill even the lords of flame, the mighty dragons of old.

"A sealed sword of flame..." Saber murmured, her eyes narrowing.

The contemplations of the Excalibur's AI went unnoticed by Omega, who stared forward at the figure who struggled to rise before him.

"I guess your natural tolerance for heat meant that wasn't enough to kill you, huh..." He smirked darkly.

"Fuck...you!" Fefnir growled, one Buster embedded in the ground as he fought to stand back up again. Scorch marks covered his dark skin, his dirty blond hair darkened further by ash, and small patches of his clothes were on fire.

" I gotta hand it to you..." Omega grinned, flexing his fingers. "This power of yours IS totally bitching!"

Despite himself, Fefnir grinned smugly.

"Told ya so."

"So..." Omega leveled the Zweihander at him once more. "You backing down yet, or do I gotta stomp your ass some more?"

"Heh...What would YOU do in my place?" Fefnir grinned, his teeth biting into another cigarette pack, lighting it with one of his Busters as he finally staggered upright.

"Fair enough." Omega grinned. "But no offense, though, you look TOTALLY wasted right now. I doubt you even have enough left in you to SNEEZE on me, much less land a hit."

A vein pulsed in Fefnir's forehead.

"Oh that is IT!" He snapped. "You think THIS is all I've got?" His right hand shot up towards his eyepatch.

"Let's see you laugh after thi-!"

A glint of light, high in the sky.

Moments later, a titanic, iron cross plummeted from the gray clouds, it's massive frame smashing base-first into the broken earth with a devastating impact. Both men staggered back, the shock knocking them off their feet.

Fefnir recovered first, his eyes widening as he recognized the familiar artifact.

"Oooooooh shit." He swallowed, "Busted."

Omega gave an angry growl and clawed ineffectually at the dusty clouds that lingered in the air.

"Sonofa...What NOW?"

"I think it's time this ended, don't you?"

Hearing the familiar, almost mechanically cool voice from behind him, Omega gave an irritated growl and turned.

"I should've KNOWN you'd show up sooner or later, Vile."

There was a pause.

"Okay, the knight armor, fine, I could go with that. But a cowboy? Seriously?" Omega raised an eyebrow as he took in Vile's new look.

"I like to think of it as more of a 'Texas Ranger' look," Vile sniffed, before returning to serious business.

"In all honesty though, I think you'd better end this battle for now, before you give Ace Phoenix even more of a reason to be suspicious of you."

Omega's eyes narrowed, as an unpleasant thought struck him.

"...How long have you been there?"

"Oh...long enough, I'd say." Vile gave a knowing smirk. And then after a few moments...

"So...you and Ciel, huh?"

"Oh, FUCK YOU ALL!" Omega raged, throwing his hands up in disbelief. "I like ONE girl, for all of a few months, and EVERY fucking idiot who knew her has to give me flak about it! I swear to GOD, THIS IS WHY I HATE RELATIONSHIPS! Sex is just SO much easier to deal with! Fuck, at least I get BRAGGING RIGHTS out of THAT!"

Vile smirked, watching the God of Destruction slamming his head against a nearby rock in anger. It wasn't often one could find a way to get under the God's skin, and Vile planned to make full use of that!

"Fefnir Diz Aster!"

Omega spun around.

Fefnir staggered to his feet, cursing as he saw the familiar black figure perched atop the one remaining building.

"Gah...I should've KNOWN you'd show up to kill the fun, Colonel..." Fefnir growled in disappointment.

His black coat flowing outwards like a raven's wings, the Colonel-Commissar of Legion looked down at his subordinate, a rare smirk crossing his face.

"Hardly."

Fefnir's one eye widened slightly.

"Wait, what?"

"I am simply here to remind you that use of your release needs to be approved by me before you can activate it. But despite being forbidden to use that..." The Colonel gave a dismissive wave. "Feel free to fight with everything else until you're flat on your back."

Fefnir stared up at his superior for a moment in disbelief, before a wide grin split his features.

"Fucking SWEET! I knew even YOU couldn't be such a hardass all of the time, boss!"

With a crazy laugh, he whirled to look back at Omega, a manic grin on his face.

"Oi, oi! God of Destruction! Think you're ready for another go?"

Omega gave a dangerous smile, slamming his fists together as he drew the Zweihander once more.

"I should be asking YOU that, ya damn second-rater!"

"Oh, then it is ON now, bitch!" Fefnir challenged, his system overclocking once more as he fed on the heated surroundings.

Twin worlds of frozen ice exploded from them both, rocketing outwards as both men activated the power of the First Wave.

"What's this?" Fefnir grinned. "You can't beat me with your own power, so you're spamming mine?"

"Big words from somebody whose ass I smashed into the dirt less than ten minutes ago!" Omega mocked.

The two ice fields slammed into one another, and instantly erupted skywards, combining with one another to climb into the sky, a colossal wall of frost that split Sector 14 in two, so high that it was even visible to Ace and the others from where they stood.

"The fuck is going on down there?" Vent demanded. "Fire one minute, then ice the next?"

Already knowing what the other was going to do, both Omega and Fefnir brought their right hands up, a storm of raging heat emanating from them.

"This hand of mine glows with an awesome power!" Omega shouted.

"It's burning grip guarantees my victory!" Fefnir yelled.

"Then let's go...all of my rage, all of my hate, and all of my vengeance!"

"With all of my anger, all of my sorrow, and all of my hunger for battle!"

"**KING OF SPADES!"**

**"KING OF HEARTS!"**

Omega and Fefnir both drew back their arms, their deadly gaze fixed squarely on the other, the enemy that lay on the other side of the wall before him.

"GOOOOOD...!" Omega roared.

"SHIIIIINIIING...!" Fefnir howled.

They would settle it here! All of their rage, all of their hate, the dark, boiling emotions forged in the chaos of Neo Arcadia, all of the things that Fefnir couldn't let go, even after all this time, and all of Omega's memories of that time!"

Both of them had fought there!

Both of them had died there!

And yet, here they both stood now, having outlived even the hero who had beaten them both!

Now, Fefnir would settle the debt he owed, against the man who had beaten and humiliated him in that first encounter!

Now, Omega would settle his hidden anger, the resentment he had felt towards all who had escaped from Weil, with the chance to bring him down once and for all, while he remained sealed!

_**"FIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINGAAAAAAAAH!"**_

Two voices screamed as one. Two sets of dash boosters roared as two of history's most berserk brawlers shot towards one another, a world of infinite heat raging in their fists.

And as the air shook for miles around them, something stirred, lured out by the immense power and the raw emotion of the battle.

The frozen wall of ice, tall and thick enough to stop even an icebreaker battleship, an impenetrable fortress wall, shattered, two burning grips of flame piercing it from either side to slam into one another as Fefnir and Omega sought to annihilate one another. From that clash, a raging wall of heat erupted, smashing the entire wall of ice to dust and vaporizing the remnants. Even that frozen substance ignited, the ice itself catching fire in a blaze of glory, everything burning away.

And there, at the heart of a supernova, two men still fought. They saw not the world around them, but rather, that burning wasteland from a hundred years ago.

That ancient battlefield, ringed by raging flames, and covered in the ruins of Omega's former shell.

Omega could see it all now. The hate that had festered in Fefnir for what Omega and Weil had done to his friends, and to Neo Arcadia. His anger at not being able to protect any of them, and his fury at not having done something...ANYTHING at all, to stop Weil before it came down to this! And most of all, a bitter fury at realizing that he could not entirely blame Omega for his actions, the discovery that the God of Destruction had been controlled by Weil.

And Fefnir in turn saw Omega. The rage that had been locked away deep within him, held at bay by Weil's constant control, the rage that would have annihilated the mad despot in an instant had it been allowed to be free. His anger at Weil, for twisting the Hachishinkan to his purposes, and constantly locking Omega down within that damned white armor. The jealousy against Fefnir and the other two Guardians, being able to escape Weil, to turn their blades against the dictator...Omega's dearest wish, but one that he would never accomplish, and his anger at being forced to destroy them all in his death, a cowardly victory that only served to increase his hatred against Weil.

For one moment, they both stood there, attacks struggling to break through, Fefnir clad in his fiery, horned armor, and Omega once more a copy of Zero.

And then it was over.

A new detonation, twice the size of any previous ones, ripped through Sector 14. A solid wall of sound rippled outwards, a dull roar that drowned out all else. A brilliant pillar of orange fire erupted towards the clouds, blasting a hole through the gray morning and out into the blue sky overhead.

As the flames of destruction roared past him, Vile's single eye narrowed, his face still in shadow despite the brilliant light of the battle's end. It would appear, he knew, drawn by the fury and passion of the battle. His gaze flicked upwards, to where the impassive Colonel-Commissar stood, the building crumbling around him as his coat billowed in the hurricane of fire.

Behind said building, seated on the ground, Craft leaned back against the side of his Dullahan, its massive frame shielding him from the worst of the storm.

"Well," he murmured, "I suppose this is what you'd call 'the recklessness of youth'?"

Celtis muttered a few choice profanities under her breath as she held on to the ground for dear life. Just ONCE, she'd like to find Omega doing something that DIDN'T involve blowing up real-estate by the acre. Nearby, she could see Ace and Marino hidden behind a still standing wall, the latter crouching down to shelter beneath Ace's outstretched coat, the Scarlet Phoenix himself still peering around it as he sought to see into the heart of the inferno.

As the flames began to die down, two figures became visible.

"Son of a..." Ace muttered, "All of that, and they're BOTH still standing?"

Vent dug himself out of a pile of sand and dirt, his hiding place having been completely buried in the explosion.

"I'll admit, that's pretty damn epic."

Ace considered that for a moment.

"Point."

Marino and Celtis, the only women present, and therefore, also the only _sane_ people present, simply sighed.

Omega grinned.

"You know, for a thickheaded, stubborn bastard, you're all right." His right arm fell limp, the skin still burning in places as his regeneration began to kick in.

Fefnir gave an answering smirk.

"And for a womanizing, amoral psycho, you're surprisingly easy to get along with."

His right arm was totaled, little more than a bare metal skeleton left, the rest of it having been burned off by the heat of Omega's attack. Not only that, but the entire right side of his jacket was now a scorched tatter, his skin now scarred with a sizable burn.

It was this scene that Ace and the others finally arrived upon. A kilometer wide basin of blasted earth, littered with flaming fragments of ice, and broken bits of rubble, all burned black by the flash fire.

"Son of a...he fragged Disaster's Shining Finger?" Ace gaped. "What the fu...What the HELL is this guy?"

Celtis winced slightly, as did Craft a short distance away.

"On the bright side," Marino interrupted, "It looks like it's over, so we might as well get down there before they start up again."

Recovering, Ace set aside his incredulity for a moment, before starting down the slope towards the fighters. Halfway there, though, he froze, Vent almost crashing into his back.

"OW! Dammit Ace, if you're in front, then-" The Commander stopped as he saw the look on the Scarlet Phoenix's face. "Ohhhh crap. When you look like that, it usually means somebody just fucked up."

Ace stared intently across the crater, his eyes locking onto the figure of Vile standing amidst the wreckage.

"What the hell is he doing here...?" Ace muttered. If there was one thing he'd learned about the Renegade, it was that anywhere the shit was about to hit the fan, chances were good that you'd find Vile there, just WAITING for it to happen. As a result, he could often be found hanging around the target of Ace's next Security operation, often BEFORE Ace had even begun planning said operation. However, for him to be here now, WITHOUT one of Ace's insane plans about to go down, it meant that it was something else entirely! And for that something else to not only bring Vile out in person, but from the looks of the True Maverick right now, it was going to be bad. Bad enough that Vile looked like he had come loaded with enough heavy ordnance to frag an entire enemy fortress!

Vile's wrist cannons began to spool up, his fingers curled tightly around the handles of two monstrous revolvers. The leather shoulder pads of his coat opened on flaps as not two, but _four_ long-barreled photon lasers emerged, sliding out of hiding. To crown it off, the clamps holding the front of his coat shut over his chest disengaged, the wide, oblong muzzle of a reactor cannon visible in the light.

"Shit, that's practically an anti-warship beam array right there! That chest cannon ALONE is probably enough to cut through tank plating in one shot!" Vent swore silently, "How many guns does that guy HAVE?"

"Enough that I'm starting to feel like I didn't bring nearly enough of my own..." Ace muttered. "What is it, Vile...what's got you so riled up...?"

Vile stood there, weapons at the ready. He could already hear the faint creaking of metal and shifting debris that signaled his prey's presence.

Ace froze as he saw a patch of earth move near Fefnir and Omega, who were still standing in the center of the crater.

"Oh SHIT!" He cursed. " I KNEW I forgot about something!"

He broke into an all-out run, Vent moving after him as he too instinctively sensed danger approaching.

"H-Hey, wait!" Marino yelled in alarm. "Ace! Where are you going?"

"We forgot one important thing in this whole Thresher mess!" Ace called back, desperation in his voice, "Saber said it himself!"

Marino froze as she realized what he meant.

"Oh NO...Saber said...he could detect-!"

It was Celtis that cut her off, six shots slamming into the ground near Omega's feet. The God of Destruction staggered back a step in disbelief.

"What the f- Arcana do you WANT me to kill you?"

"MOVE, you idiot!" Ace yelled. "It's right beneath you!"

"Wha...?" Even as Omega asked the question, he felt the ground underneath his feet shift, and in that instant, he smelled it again. The delicious scent of his prey, forgotten in the mayhem of Fefnir's arrival on the scene.

Violet-tinged darkness exploded from the ground as the Virus Core, the mad existence that had been the sentience of Black Thresher, attacked. It had survived the destruction of its second body, after fleeing its first, and had hidden itself in the wreckage of Sector 14. Then, drawn by the overwhelming energy emanating from the clash of the legendary God of Destruction and the almighty Land Crasher, it had resurfaced, the hunger that had driven it as Black Thresher now driving it to seek the source. It would either tear it apart for food, or possess it if the host was found to be acceptable.

It burst from the ground, dark purple and red lightning forming the outline of the giant shark once more as the ghost of Black Thresher roared, malice given form and substance. Omega's eyes lit up as he stared at the colossus, his fangs already lengthening in an insane smile not unlike the one permanently etched on Black Thresher's jaws.

"I always DID want to try sushi...And if I can do that by biting the throat out of a hundred-foot tall Godzilla shark made out of pure energy, then FUCK YEAH!"

He lunged forward.

"Lunchtime, bitches!"

**[Cue Music: Heats-by Kageyama Hironobu]**

Light radiated as Vent summoned the power of Biometal once more. Back in the Guardian Base, X and Z gave startled yells as they were pulled through time and space, Vent automatically activating the Megamerge protocols once more.

"Son of a...is it too much to ask for a WARNING when you do this shit?" Z snapped.

"I'd almost finished my book, dammit!"

"Yeah, well, tell that to the giant shark ghost made out of fucking LIGHTNING." Vent snapped. "ME-GA...MEEEEEEERGE!"

Red and blue thunder roared through the air, Vent clenching his fists as blue armor, clear as the sky slammed into place around his right arm, a gauntlet as red as the burning earth clamping around his left. A silver chest, with a heavy black flak jacket flaring in the wind, his red and blue boots pulverized the earth as he charged forward. Brown hair flashed into gold, long white and red fins extending back from his brow, stretching out behind him. The final touch, the black visor over his left eye sprang to life, and it was complete! The newest Megamerge! The Combination Form...

"Model ZX..._**PLUUUUUUUUUUS!**_"

Nearby, Ace was a streak of scarlet, red lightning flashing over his frame as he barreled down the slope.

"It's been a while since I had a chance to use this thing's full power...!" He grinned, the unmistakable scarlet cloth suddenly writhing with a life of its own.

"IKUZOOOOO! _**SCARLET SKIIIIIIIIN**_!"

His trademark scarlet coat whipped around him, hardening into plates of armor as it wrapped around his limbs. Now encased in an armored carapace of ceratanium alloy stronger than anything else in the world, Legion's legendary Hero of Justice thundered forward, helmet slamming shut over his features, the triangular visor flashing gold as coat-tails of brilliant scarlet energy emerged from the boosters in the back of his waist!

"Evil Never Rests...AND NEITHER SHALL I! _**IIIIIIIIIIIRON...PHOEEEEEEEEEENIX!**_"

As one, both heroes leapt, the force of their jump smashing the ground to ruin behind them as they hurtled into the sky, far above Thresher! Outlined in the sunlight shining from the torn sky above them, red and blue light flashed from their armor, blinding the ghost of Black Thresher far below them.

"SUPREEEEEEEEEME...!"

"COMMANDEEEEEEER...!"

"_**KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICK!**_" Two voices roared, twin comets splitting the sky in a torrent of fire and lightning as they streaked from the heavens, smashing into Thresher's ghostly body with the force of a fallen god.

The black ghost was slammed back down into the earth it had been summoned from, a colossal eruption of power exploding around it as the double kicks smashed it still deeper. Already damaged by the seismic effects of Fefnir's repeated Land Crasher attacks, the broken earth exploded, a volcanic eruption of lava blasting fifty feet into the sky as the magma vent Fefnir had unwittingly created erupted amidst the tremors of an 8.1 earthquake that knocked several of the other combatants off of their feet. And as the massive fountain of blasting magma reached its apex, two figures reappeared, skidding to a halt as their boots plowed identical tracks across the battered rock, armor and shielding glowing red-hot from their contact with the lava.

There was a long, LOOOOOOONG silence, both of them remaining in the same position. It was Vent who finally broke it.

"Did...did we just...?"

"...do the same move...?" Ace finished, his voice sounding oddly strangled.

Another awkward silence, as both men studiously avoided looking at one another.

"...Let's never, EVER mention this again." Ace said finally.

"Agreed." Vent managed.

There was another brief silence.

"Then again...we just double flaming-drop-kicked a hundred-foot-tall giant ghost shark made out of fucking LIGHTNING into the dirt so hard it triggered a volcanic eruption and an earthquake at the same time."

A pause.

"Okay, yeah, that was pretty fucking sweet." Ace admitted. "Alright, we'll keep it for bragging rights, but as far as the rest of the world knows, this never happened."

Violet lightning crackled as the remnants of Black Thresher attempted to form a coherent shape once more. Ace's eyes widened as he saw Omega attempt to once again sink his fangs into the energy, with even less luck than before, the God of Destruction swearing in annoyance as he unsuccessfully attempted to gnaw through one of the specter's fins.

"Of course! SABER! We've gotta break down that defense screen first before you can attack the core!"

"_**THAT WON'T BE A PROBLEM."**_

The voice, as cold as the depths of space, shook Ace as it thundered over the battlefield, accompanied by the sound of siege supports slamming into the ground

"Who in the..." Omega took one look behind him and...

"SWEET SON OF A BITCH-!"

-threw himself sideways with a panicked curse.

Black Thresher barely had time to react before what felt like the condensed armory of an entire country slammed into it like a tsunami. Warship-breaking cannons thundered, plasma arrays screamed death, missile and rocket launchers howled, and revolvers roared, as the King of Renegades cut loose with everything he had, a storm of cannon and artillery fire heavy enough to blast an entire continent into ruin.

His frame shaking with the pounding of each volley, still being pushed backwards with the recoil despite the two siege support pylons that had extended backwards from his waist, and even as the ground around him shattered into dust, blasted away by the backlash of his monstrous blitzkrieg, Vile's single red eye burned like a star of death, murder and hate radiating from it as he beheld the form of Black Thresher still attempting to rise.

_**"UUUUUUOOOOOOOOHHHHHH!"**_ The normally silent and even tempered True Maverick gave a roar of rage, his burning eye flashing as he fired his boosters. His backwards motion slowing down, Vile stomped one boot down, crushing the rock beneath. Then another step. And another, and another.

_**"FALL, YOU EVIL, UNDYING BASTARD!"**_

And still Vile stormed forward, his armor cracking and his clothes tearing as he forced Black Thresher down and down, intent only on murdering the monster before him into a scorched and shattered stain on the landscape.

Even Omega had to stop and stare in awe. The legendary Faceless One, the coldest customer he'd ever encountered, had now turned that iron coldness into a frozen hate, a hate that cut deeper than anything Omega and his burning rage could.

"The HELL...?" Omega gritted his teeth, another wave of explosions punching him back. "What the fuck's gotten into you, you idiot?"

Silence descended immediately following that outraged question. It was a second before Omega realized that it was simply because Vile had finally emptied his colossal stores of ammunition.

The Renegade's eye narrowed angrily as he stared down into the kilometer-deep pit he had blasted Black Thresher into, the walls of it still glowing with the heat.

"...Damn it."

He leapt back as a black and purple mass of data erupted from the pit. Missing Vile, it careened off, finally attempting to flee. Omega's eyes widened as he recognized it.

"The core!" He thundered, and charged forward. "GET BACK HERE, YOU SON OF A BITCH!"

The Virus Core darted left!

"DOUBLE BUSTER!" It veered wildly, a hail of Buster fire from Vent forcing it back.

The Virus Core swerved right!

"PHOEEEEENIX...UPPER!" It jerked itself back as a tornado of flame erupted in front of it, Ace rocketing up towards it in a whirling uppercut of fire.

As it tried desperately for one more avenue of escape, a wave of heat slammed into it, followed by an all too familiar glow.

"THE FOURTH WAVE!** DAI YON HADOOOOOOOU!**"

Fefnir's colossal blast of power, released from his only remaining hand and the true form of the Fourth Wave without his Busters channeling it, blasted the fleeing Core from the sky and sent it hurtling back to earth, smoke trailing behind it. He grinned.

"What, you guys thought I was out of it already?"

And as the Virus Core struggled to find some new path to take, one more figure appeared, a black specter that plummeted from the heavens, cold iron cross raised high, the blade glinting in the morning light.

**"CRUX ADJUDICATOR!"**

The wrath of God, in the hands of the Colonel-Commisar of Legion. The Iron Cross that judges the guilty, the monolithic weapon ripped a hole in the world, slamming into the earth and blasting a fifteen meter wide crater.

The Core screeched in agony, data spilling from a rend slashed into its side.

Omega's jaws gaped wide, a terrifying smile on his face as he leapt into the air. In desperation, the Virus fell back on the storm of tendrils that had been used before by the last Core Omega had faced.

"CHOW TIME!"The God of Destruction laughed madly, his fangs ripping through three of them in a single bite.

And it was that moment, with the Virus Core one bite away from him, that it all went to hell.

**[Cue Music: Deus Machina Demonbane OST- Laughing At The Beast]**

A massive impact smashed into Omega from the side, the God of Destruction flying through the air. Even as he spat out a curse in anger and shock, he heard a shrill screech of agony from the Core...

And a rustle of metal, as if of a thousand chains being unleashed.

Black chains erupted from the earth, tearing the world to pieces as they pierced through everything. The core's defenses were smashed in an instant, the tendrils of corrupted data ripped to fragments as one, two, three, four, FIVE chains slammed through the deadly Core.

"Wha...WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS?" Omega heard Ace swearing, sounding more shocked than he'd ever heard him before...and for the first time, sounding afraid.

Omega hit the ground hard and rolled. Even as he recovered, looking up angrily at the skewered core, he heard a panicked yell.

"Wha...what's going on...? H-HELP!"

His head snapped around, and Omega's eyes widened in disbelief at the sight before him.

"The fuck...? ARCANA?"

And sure enough, Celtis stood there, digging her heels in as she fought desperately with the raging weapon in her hands.

For it was not Celtis that was the source of the black chains that were ripping into the world.

The Hades, the legendary crimson handgun forged by the nameless Magnum Phoenix roared, the howl of the deathly white skull sigil resonating through the forest of chains. It bucked and fought in Celtis' grip, like a wild animal trying to break free. She struggled to hold it down with both hands as it jerked her this way and that. And from the burning skull sigil radiated the chains that now pierced the world around the stunned fighters.

"What the hell is wrong with this damn gun?" She demanded, her voice hysterical as she tried to stop her movement, the black chains only pulling her closer and closer to the struggling Virus.

"Ace!" Marino demanded, "You're the resident Artifact specialist! What's happening?"

Ace could only stare at the black chains, aghast.

"It can't be...! Why does the Hades...No, this CAN'T be! It's IMPOSSIBLE! The Hades can't have this kind of ability!"

And then it emerged.

The white skull warped, a fountain of black and red energy emerging from it's circular recess. That storm of power coalesced, a single dark hand materializing as it clawed at the world. In it's grip it held the chains that bound the Virus Core. And following that iron grip, came the upper torso and head of the entity to whom that arm belonged.

A corrosive, dark mass of energy, condensed into a vaguely human shape...It was like a shadow given three dimensional form, it's outline crackling and snapping like flames, edged with dark, angry red. One red eye glowed on it's left, a burning gold eye blazing on its right, the black void where the shadow should have had a face split in a shark-like smile.

**"_ITADAKIMASU._"**

Razor-edged fangs opened wide, and slammed shut over the struggling virus with all of the finality of a guillotine.

And just like that, the virus was gone. The chains retracted, pulling free and disappearing back into the Hades' sigil. The black silhouette grinned madly for an instant, before it too vanished in a blast of dark fire.

The Hades itself jerked once more, and fell silent in Celtis' hands. The strength left her legs, and Celtis collapsed to the ground, staring blankly at the immobile weapon in her hands in a mixture of terror, panic and raw shock.

"Wha...wh-wh-what just happened...?" She managed finally, her voice shaking.

No-one had an answer for her. Even Omega and Vile could not explain it, the former still trying to come to grips with what had just happened, and the latter still too shaken from his all-out, no holds barred attack on the Thresher.

And Ace...

The Scarlet Phoenix staggered, one hand clutching at his head. His eyes wide behind his visor, he gasped raggedly for breath.

That silhouette, that shadow...! Memories flashed behind his eyes, vague glimpses of a black specter from his past.

"It...can't be...!" He managed.

He...knew that figure, of that Ace was one hundred percent certain.

But it couldn't be that person, the man who had vanished the day Legion had been born...

And...even though the appearance was unmistakably the one belonging to...that man...then why...

Why did it feel so..._**WRONG**_?

* * *

Not too far away, the man to whom that silhouette matched, gritted his teeth in anger, his fists clenching as he regarded the events unfolding.

"...Magnum Phoenix...Still, you refuse to stop interfering...!"

His teeth ground together, for an instant resembling the sharp, razor-edged fangs that the shadow of the Hades had possessed, his one golden eye fading briefly to red.

He glowered murderously down at the Hades in Celtis' grip, the weapon that had dared manifest its' avatar in his form. Then, with an angry growl, he turned and vanished, the world burning red and gold as he disappeared.

Miles away, aboard the invincible battleship of black iron, the man named Captain Greene turned to the North, his eyes narrowing.

* * *

**A/N**: Merry Christmas, ya big lugs! I actually got this chapter finished a couple days ago, but considering just how much all of you guys were looking forward to the inevitable showdown between Fefnir and Omega, I figured, what the hell, might as well make a Christmas present of it! Hope it didn't disappoint!

On to the author's comments!

Well, for a talking chapter, this might've had a biiit too much actual fighting in it to be considered as such. Oh well, you got a look at Omega's past, and some interesting info on some other MMZ characters and maybe even on Ace too.

Also, Omega gets an epic new ability, and Fefnir demonstrates that his level of destruction and mayhem has improved considerably since his MMZ days, as he is now capable of mixing his impossibly destructive fire and earth abilities with some limited ice abilities.

The specifics of the Wave ability:

1) First Wave: Drains all heat from the surroundings in contact with user. If the air is particularly humid, it is possible for spikes of a sort to be used, as the ice can then 'climb' into the air, as it freezes the airborne moisture. The First Wave is a passive ability and will continue to drain heat until the user shuts it off.

2)Second Wave: A variety of heat based attacks, each of which only utilizes a fraction of the thermal power stored in the user. There are any number of moves that fall under the category of the Second Wave, like the Shining Finger for example. There's a whole bunch of other moves he can use as well, each of them requiring only a certain amount of power to use. Kind of like mana or SP is needed to cast spells in RPG games

3) Third Wave: Where the First Wave is more or less an omnidirectional wave of heat absorption, the Third Wave is a condensed version of this ability. The First Wave spreads a thin layer of ice in all directions around the user as it continues to absorb heat, whereas the Third Wave will create a thicker layer of ice, moving in a straight line of the user's direction. It drains heat much faster, and with greater effect, but its actual _area_ of effect is much smaller than the First Wave.

4) Fourth Wave: Where the Second Wave is the term applied to the array of attacks that can be utilized by tapping into stored reservoirs of absorbed thermal energy, the Fourth Wave does no such thing. Instead of relying more on the number of attacks that can be executed through skillful management of the stored reserves, in the manner of the Second Wave, the Fourth Wave simply drains all of said reserves, channeling it all into a single all-out attack. It can be fired from the user's hand as Dai Yon Hadou, or channeled through a weapon, resulting in an attack that varies from user to user. In the case of Fefnir, this would be the Saturn V strike, whereas for Omega it would be the Critical Hit.

There's also a first glimpse of what Omega's next blade will be, but I can't make any promises on when I'll actually GIVE him it, because the next few chapters are kind of...not...planned...yet...

Kudos to anyone who identifies it!

Also, is it just me, or does anyone else find it vaguely humorous that Vile's so-called 'casual' outfit packs just as much, if not MORE firepower than his normal combat armors?

And finally, Ace and Vent are the WORST TEAM EVER.

Oh yeah, and the Hades can apparently eat Virus Cores now.

...What, you thought only the Zweihander would be doing crazy stuff? Well, apparently, so too did everyone else!

Well, see ya next chapter!

Later!

DarkShift Out!


	31. Chapter 30: Another Magnum Phoenix?

**Chapter 30: Another Magnum Phoenix?**

Disclaimer: Megaman and its assorted characters belong to Capcom. Ace Phoenix, and all the associated insanity that comes with him, belongs to me.

* * *

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?"

Celtis yelped and ducked, most of a screen sailing over her head as she dove for for cover.

"THIS MAKES NO GODDAMN SENSE!"

Marino flattened herself against the wall as part of an I-beam fell from the battered ceiling.

"WHY DOES THAT DAMNED GUN HAVE THE DOMINION ABILITY?"

Queenbee gave a squeak of alarm and leapt into the air, some form of scanning array crashing to the ground and skidding past her in a shower of sparks.

"CALM THE FUCK DOWN, YOU JACKASS!"

**WHAM.**

The ceaseless tirade of deranged ranting was cut off as the culprit, one Ace Phoenix was sent the length of the room, skating on his back with the force of Vent's punch. Shoulders heaving, the Guardian Commander stood there, fist still extended as he glared at Ace, the Scarlet Phoenix's eyes unfocused and wild with anger and frustration as he struggled back up.

"You snapped out of it yet, moron?"

Ace staggered, clutching at his head, his already unruly hair now even worse.

"It...but it makes NO SENSE! Why...why does the Hades have the ability of the Zweihander of Dominion! And why...WHY DID IT LOOK LIKE THAT?"

Vent sighed and cracked his knuckles.

"And this right here, is why I say you take this crap too seriously."

He strode forward.

"For the last time, Ace-" He grabbed the still freaking-out Scarlet Phoenix by the front of his shirt.

"I said..." He drew his fist back.

"TO CALM THE FUCK DOWN!"

**SKA-WHAM!**

Celtis winced at the sound of Ace smashing headfirst into the floor. Vent's punch had smacked him from vertical to horizontal in one blow, the back of Ace's head hitting the ground hard enough to crack tiles.

Vent straightened up and heaved a sigh. Looking down at Ace coolly, he dusted himself off and spoke.

"You thinking straight again, or do I have deck you a couple more times? Personally, I'm hoping for Option 2."

A faint groan.

"Ow...fuck, you hit like a girl..."

"Aaaaand he's back." Vent grinned, and extended a hand. Grabbing it, Ace pulled himself back up to his feet wincing as he felt the back of his head.

"Dammit...seriously, dude, did you really have to deck me in the FACE?"

Vent looked sideways, and paled.

"Uh...I think that's going to be an improvement for you in a couple minutes."

"Huh?" Ace turned to follow his gaze. "What are you...Ohhhhhhhh shit."

Marino stood there, arms folded tightly across her chest, one high heel tapping against the floor in irritation. Considering the twitch that had developed under her left eye and the vein pulsing on her forehead, she was definitely NOT happy. And the reason was obvious. While she HAD managed to dodge the falling I-beam, escaping injury, her clothes had not been so lucky. It had torn a massive, gaping swath down the center of her shirt, wrecking both the pink suit, and the bra underneath it. If it hadn't been for her tightly folded arms, the sides of the suit could have probably fallen open to reveal a sight that would have most likely KO'ed Ace on the spot.

"Ace..."Marino grated. "What have I told you about these breakdowns of yours...?"

Ace swallowed.

"U-umm...th-that they're childish and that...I should get better control over my temper...?" He tried. At this point, Vent had carefully started edging away from the Security Commander. He could sense an asskicking from a mile away, and he had the common sense to get while the getting was good.

"Good. So you have no excuse for me to not beat the hell out of you now, right?"

Then Marino noticed that Ace wasn't paying any attention to her. The Scarlet Phoenix had come to sudden, highly distracting realization and was staring at something lower down.

It was at this point that the female thief realized that not only had the bar ripped through her shirt, but it had also torn the front of her skirt too. And while her folded arms were doing wonders to protect her chest...well...

Ace stared.

"R-red...?" he managed weakly.

Marino's face went the color of her panties.

What followed next is too graphic too be described here. Suffice to say, it involved about a hundred knives, a warhammer, two shotguns, four chainsaws, a katana, a spinning kick to the head...oh yes, and a new record for broken bones in Ace's body.

* * *

**Sometime later...**

"Why did _I_ have to get slapped too?" Vent demanded in outrage. "I didn't even say anything!"

"But you saw plenty." Marino replied frostily, now clad in a new, undamaged suit.

"I thought that's why you took all my money!"

"Yes, well, it was too traumatic for me to make up for it with just money alone..." Marino sniffed, turning away. Inside her mind however, she was nowhere near that calm.

_'Oh god oh god oh god...!'_ She wailed, mentally flailing around in a desperate panic, _'He SAW them! I've never been so embarrassed in my life...! What do I do?"_

Unnoticed by either of them, Celtis and Queenbee huddled in the corner, staring at Marino in abject terror.

"I'm scared..." Queenbee whimpered.

"She could give Omega a run for his money..." Celtis said shakily, hiding behind Queenbee.

Ignorant of all this, the bloody figure buried twelve feet deep in a crater on his lab's floor groaned and struggled to his feet.

"Pain...So much pain..." Ace winced. "Ow..."

"GAH!" Marino leapt about a foot into the air. "O-oh, Ace...y-you're okay!"

"Ugh...wha' happened?" The Scarlet Phoenix groaned, cringing as he felt his aching skull. "I feel as though I just got beaten down for some kind of perverted reason or the other..."

"Oh..s-so...you don't remember...?"

"The last thing I remember was Vent socking me in the face..." His eyes hardened, "Vent, you bastard! What the hell was all of that for anyway?"

"Wha-? Oh, now you're blaming ME for this? BULLSHIT! Your crazy girlfriend here did that! Plus, she took all my money and mauled you just because you saw her panti-"

**MARINO...CRUSHAAAAAAAA!**

WHAM! CRUNCH!

"Guh...O-ow...! Mother...fucker..!" Vent wheezed and crashed onto the floor. "Sweet Jesus, the pain...!"

Ace raised an eyebrow.

"What was he talking about?"

"O-oh, nothing, haha..." Marino laughed nervously. "Just a totally untrue story he thought up! Haha..."

She slumped over, sighing with relief. "Thank God..."

Ace looked pensively up at the ceiling.

"I remember flipping out about the Hades, then Vent punching me...after that, I just remember..." He raised an eyebrow, "...Something about red lace...?"

Marino twitched.

"W-well, that can't be anything important, right?" She gave another fake laugh. "L...let's just go explain the whole mess with the Hades for now, okay?"

Grabbing Ace, she started pushing him towards the door, still talking as she desperately tried to get his mind onto other things.

"Hey, where are the others, anyway?" Ace asked, worried.

"Oh...I think they're in the food court..."

"Oh, okay."

A pause.

"Wait, we have a food court?"

* * *

**The food court...**

Ace, Vent, Marino and Celtis stared aghast at the sight before them.

Seeing their looks, the Colonel-Commissar of Legion City turned to face them, a bored look on his face.

"Ah, you've finally arrived, I see."

"Colonel..." Ace rasped, "What the HELL did these idiots do to my food court?"

Blew it up, was what Celtis didn't say, except with food instead of explosions.

A towering pile of empty dishes and inedible remains rose up in the center of the room, chicken bones, leftover lettuce, bits of ham and shrimp still sticking to some of the empty platters.

"That's...that's gotta be at least three weeks worth of food right there!" Vent gasped.

Marino's eye twitched.

"Colonel...what did they DO?"

Colonel tugged at his hat brim briefly.

"...It seems that Saber had developed quite an appetite after being denied his Virus Core. Thus, when he came back here, he immediately set about devouring anything edible in range. Truly, it was a most impressive sight." Colonel's gaze turned nostalgic, a distant smile on his face as he gazed off into the voids of memory. "I have not seen a feeding frenzy that fearsome since the likes of Magma Dragoon..."

"This is NOT the time to go getting starry-eyed with nostalgia, Colonel!"

"Ahem. Yes, quite right, where was I? Ah yes..." His face took on a distinctly uncomfortable look.

"And that was when..." He lowered his head, "My foolish second in command challenged him to a competition."

Marino, Ace and Vent turned to stare at the towering pile of remains, and as one, they all winced.

"Dammit..."Ace's face fell. "Poor Disaster...he was a brave hero."

Vent sniffed, throwing off a salute, "I didn't know much about the guy, but he was a great fighter. We shall remember him."

"Disaster, you fool..." Marino pressed a hand to her face, "We're going to miss you...

"..." The colonel Commissar said nothing, tugging his military cap down to hide his eyes.

A brief silence followed.

"Um...you guys do know he's not dead, right?" Celtis asked hesitantly.

Another pause.

"Are you sure?" Ace asked, sounding oddly hopeful.

"I'm pretty sure."

"...Blast." The Colonel-Commissar grumbled.

"Oh, fuck you all." Fefnir growled despondently.

Ace and Marino sighed and looked up to see the Land Crasher flat on his back, spread-eagled out on the floor as steam rose from him.

"Goddammit, Fef, don't you even know how to die epically?"

"Yeah, and I actually had a chance to use this whole tragic speech I'd been saving up." Marino said dejectedly.

"HAH! I KNEW you had it in for me since that time I told Ace about you having a crush-"

**MARINO STOMP!**

Vent cringed.

"Ace, I think I may have mentioned this before...but your second in command has some SERIOUS issues."

"Really?" Ace looked surprised. "Like what?"

Vent stared at him for a moment, then turned away clutching his face and muttering something like "...can't POSSIBLY be that dense..."

Ace raised an eyebrow at his rival's strange antics, and turned his attention back to Fefnir.

"So what happened?"

"What's it look like?" Fefnir groaned. "I've been burning it off as soon as I eat it, and I STILL can't keep up with that bastard! Where the hell does he keep putting it all?"

Omega leaned back in his chair, a contented look on his face as his shark-like fangs crunched up the last chicken bone.

"God DAMN, but the food down here is AWESOME!" He said admiringly, "Hell, it ALMOST makes up for losing that Core to that damned servant of mine!"

Syrene purred as she picked out another piece of shrimp for her employer, long legs curled up in his lap as she leaned against him.

"And what about me...?" She murmured teasingly, "Was I a good servant of yours, boss?"

Omega had to admit, her information on the FFA, the rules, and the fact that she had been the one to tip him off on the idea that he might need to show up, HAD been fairly useful.

"...Yeah, I suppose you were pretty good." He admitted.

"So...when do I get my fee?"

Omega grinned right back at her.

"That depends on which fee you're talking about..."

Syrene licked her lips hungrily, and leaned in, pressing her chest up against him.

"Which one can I cash in right now...?" she breathed.

A pair of hands slid around the Emerald Queen's hips.

"Master..." Queenbee pouted, "Were you going to have fun without me...?"

Her collar, mark of Omega's 'ownership' jingled invitingly with the buckles that decorated her human form.

"Eh?" Syrene jerked, startled by the newcomer. "Wha..wh-who're you?"

Omega blinked.

"Oh yeah, I just remembered you two never met before. Syrene, this is Queenbee, Queenbee, this is Syrene."

"W-wait, _that_ Queenbee...? But...how...?"

"It's not important," Omega waved dismissively. "The point is, she's with me too."

"Wait what...?" Syrene managed, before gave another yelp as Queenbee hugged her tighter.

"U-um...nice to meet you..." The ex-Pseudoroid said hesitantly. Syrene took in the belts all over her rather...exotic dress, and the collar around her neck, and she blushed.

"Err...N-nice to meet you too..." She said, "B-but I'm not sure if I'm into this kind of thing..."

"Ah...don't worry..." Queenbee smiled, "Master can still make us both feel good...And miss Vix taught me some things too..."

Syrene colored. "Is...Is that so...Um...well..."

_'It...wouldn't hurt to try it out, would it?'_

"I guess...I d-don't mind that..."

At that point...

"OH COME ON! WHAT, DO YOU TURN EVERY GIRL YOU SLEEP WITH INTO A BI?"

Omega's eye twitched as the temperature in the room dropped several notches.

"Ah. Right on time."

Celtis clamped her hands over her mouth in panic. Sure, she had been thinking it, but WHY THE HELL DID MODEL O HAVE TO GO AND MAKE HER SAY IT?

Omega smiled at the two girls.

"Excuse me for a minute, would you ladies? I just remembered that I have to go kill something now."

Celtis was halfway out the door by the time Omega got to his feet.

"GET BACK HERE, YOU!" A silver chain shot out of the air and snared Celtis neatly around her neck, yanking her back towards Omega.

Queenbee's eyes lit up.

"Master has chains now!"

As one, Ace and Vent decided they really, REALLY didn't want to know.

Celtis tugged desperately at the chain around her neck, before she felt Omega's iron grip clamp around her skull.

"You've got some explaining to do, microbe." He growled, eyes burning with anger.

"Uh...Model O made me do it?" She squeaked.

There was a pause.

"I meant the Virus Core, you idiot!" Omega yelled. "That...GAH! That's like starving yourself for a whole day, just waiting for the all-you-can-eat buffet to open, and then the goddamn restaurant gets shut down by health inspectors!"

He dropped Celtis, ranting to the world in general now.

"I mean, COME ON! I broke a goddamn battleship the last time! Do you have any idea what I could have done with a core that came from a giant undead mechanical shark? The kind of crazy-ass powers I could have been rocking with now?"

"Koff...koff...dude, didn't you like, TOTALLY GANK my Wave ability in any case-"

"FIRST WAVE!" Omega didn't even bother looking towards Fefnir as the ice raced out.

"HOLY JESUS SHIT THAT IS COLD!"

"And then that goddamn handgun of yours goes and jacks it all! I could have been a giant, demon-shark blasting maniac with lightning powers! Or hell, I could have gotten those totally sweet space bending abilities!"

_'So...you are saying you are dissatisfied with my power, is that it...?'_

Omega stopped in mid rant at the sound of Saber's voice.

"Eh?"

'_You think my Excalibur is too weak, is that it?_' Saber's eyes were still closed, the AI still in her meditative pose, but the vein pulsing away in her temple gave it away.

It suddenly occurred to Omega that pissing off the AI of a legendary sword that lived _inside his head_ might not exactly be all that smart of an idea.

"Uh, wait, hold on, that's not what I meant! I-I mean, you're strong yes, but, uh...who knows, I might get something stronger...?"

SNAP.

_'Oh, now you think that you might get a sword BETTER than mine! Really! So my power isn't good enough?'_

Omega could already feel Saber's sword glowing.

"Hey, hey, hold on a minute! Let's not do anything rash in theeeeere-!"

_'Allow me to show you just how 'good' I CAN BE! EEEEEEEX-'_

"OH SHI-"

**'CALIBAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!'**

The room exploded. Omega gave a yowl of pain, his entire frame lit up with electricity.

"YEEEEAAAAAAGH! SWEET SON OF A BITCH THE PAIN!"

When the fireworks had eventually died down, and Omega had finally stopped glowing like a Christmas tree, Queenbee scuttled over to him. After a few moments, she carefully poked him in the side, ignoring the scorched clothing.

"Master...?"

"Is he dead?" Syrene asked, looking over her shoulder.

"Please say yes." Celtis said fervently.

"I hate you all." Omega groaned, his voice muffled by the floor.

"Dammit..." Celtis hung her head.

_'Have I proved to you the supremacy of my sword as yet, or shall I give you another taste?'_ Saber asked threateningly, hefting Excalibur again.

"N-nah...thanks. I'm good...ow."

As Omega picked himself up, aided by his two beautiful concubines (Syrene and Queenbee, obviously), and muttering profanities about crazy tomboy girls in armor and why installing them in your head was such a blatantly RETARDED idea, Marino turned and looked at Ace.

"What was that about?"

"I think you'd have to ask the Zweihander that," Ace muttered to himself. "I dunno, but I think I'm more concerned with what I found out about his version of Fefnir's Wave ability...and worse, that damned Hades."

He turned and walked out, only to come face to face with Ferham.

The Scarlet Phoenix actually staggered back a step. Ferham herself looked equally stunned, as if she hadn't expected to meet him there.

Then the moment had passed, and they both recovered. Ace cleared his throat, adjusting his tie as he looked away.

"...Ferham...I...It's been a while."

"It has." Ferham replied coolly.

The awkward silence stretched on, neither of the two making any attempt at eye contact.

"...So...how've things been for you?" Ace tried.

"...I've been doing alright." Ferham admitted, "It seems like there's still call for mercenaries, even all these years later."

Ace flinched at her words.

Silence descended again. It was finally broken by Marino, who sighed and strode up to them.

"All right, that's enough of this, you two. I swear, you're putting me on edge and I'm not even in this conversation...Go on Ace. We'll meet you up at the Command Center after this."

"Y-yeah..." With a last glance of regret at Ferham, Ace was gone, his coat flowing out behind him.

Marino waited on him to get out of earshot, before she rounded on Ferham.

"And you...'Even after all these years'? Really?"

Ferham winced.

"Sorry...it just sort of slipped out..."

Marino groaned, pressing a hand to her face. "Ferham, you KNOW he's still beating himself up. You don't have to go around rubbing his face in it, dammit."

"Tch." Ferham folded her arms and looked away. "I...I know that, but there's still some part of me that just can't find it in me to simply let it slide...And if my acting this way makes him remember that things don't always work out the way he thinks they will...then maybe I can keep him from making that mistake again."

Marino sighed, and held up her hands in mock surrender.

"All right, all right...If that's what you want to do, then I won't stop you, but just...don't get too carried away playing Devil's Advocate, all right?"

Ferham gave a rare smile.

"Don't worry...I suppose I do still owe him to some small extent." Her face turned serious again. "Anyway, I just stopped by to pick up some supplies, and then I'm heading out again."

"Already? I thought you'd stick around a bit longer this time."

Ferham shook her head.

"No...you know I can't stand to be around here too long. The only reason I came back at all was because you were calling in a favor for that race."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Marino replied, waving one hand in dismissal. " 'Some small part of you's still not ready to forgive' etc etc...I get it already. Well, go on then."

Ferham grinned.

"Well, I'll see you around sometime, I suppose."

With that, Ferham turned and walked off, raising one hand in a careless farewell. Marino watched her go, hands on her hips. Then she gave a rueful sigh and shook her head.

"Sometimes I think you two idiots are just too damn melodramatic for your own good..."

_'It also means one less rival around to fight for Ace!'_

"Shut up, you." she muttered to herself.

With that out of the way, she turned around to find everyone staring at her.

"...What?"

It was Omega who eventually spoke up.

"Okay, am I the only one here wondering just what the HELL that was?"

"If I didn't know better, I'd say Ace just got OWNED by that chick with the wings. For God's sake, did he actually FLINCH when she talked to him?"

Marino's eyes hardened.

"Look, we've all got stuff we'd prefer to keep hidden, all right? Ace is no exception to that. Just pretend you didn't see anything, and let's just go already."

"Are you kidding me?" Vent asked, "I know what I saw and I definitely-"

Beam knives rustled menacingly.

"-saw absolutely nothing, no sir not me I have NO idea what you're talking about please don't stab me." Vent finished quickly, taking a few steps back out of knife range and hiding behind the Colonel.

As they were walking off, however, it was, surprisingly, Celtis who sidled up next to Marino with the question.

"In all seriousness though...what happened between those two...?"

Marino sighed, looking forward.

"Look...sometimes...there are just people who...don't want to come back to life, alright?"

And with that, Marino increased her pace, leaving Celtis behind to wonder at her words.

* * *

In Command and Control, Ace leaned on the railing, watching his staff hurry about as they continued their operations. He wouldn't lie, his encounter with Ferham had rattled him badly.

There were few things in the world that could make even the reckless Scarlet Phoenix stop, and what had happened to Ferham was one of them. Emboldened by his successes with resurrecting other fallen heroes and anti-heroes like Craft, the Colonel and Marino, he had thought that was all there was to it. That was all it took to bring one back. Not once did he ever stop to think that maybe, just maybe...one of those Reploids could have willingly given their lives, sacrificing herself to end it all, and to be with the one she loved, who waited on her in the reaches of Cyberspace.

Ferham was one such Reploid. When she realized he had resuscitated her, it had taken both Craft and the Colonel to hold her back, long enough for the sedatives to kick in.

For him, the naïve, idealistic fool he had been, the realization that Ferham had not wanted to come back to life hurt him, more than if she had simply just stabbed him in the heart. The guilt had all but killed him, and it had been weeks before he could bring himself to speak to anyone else. He hadn't had the guts back then, to undo what he had done, nor would he have forgiven himself if he had 'killed' Ferham once more, sending her back into Cyberspace just to assuage his own tormented consciousness. Neither would Ferham's pride allow her to kill herself, simply to return to the void where the one she loved remained.

And so she remained, stricken with the curse of Life, which Ace had unwittingly given her.

In the years since then, their relationship had improved slightly, and now they could actually stand to be in the same room for almost ten minutes before the awkward silence that ensued forced one or the other to leave quickly.

Ferham herself had actually managed to say that she had 'forgiven' him in a sense, understanding that he had simply been trying to do the right thing, to give those who had died a tragic deaths like hers, simply because their beliefs had happened to go against the wishes of the 'world'. He had wanted to give them a chance at the happiness that they had never had in their old lives. For Marino, a world where she and Cinnamon didn't have to continually be on the run, hiding from those who wanted the miraculous machine built into the innocent nurse's body. For Craft, a chance to atone for the mistakes of his past. For the Colonel, a world where he could prevent the tragedy of Repliforce from being repeated, and a chance to make the world of his sister's dreams a reality. And Nana, an opportunity to clear the stain from the history of Giga City, the actions of Epsilon's Rebellion and to reveal the treachery of Colonel Redips. And not only that, but to stop corruption such as that from ever rearing its head with her skill at dealing with the bureaucracy and sniffing out those who would seek to use the system of government for their own criminal ends.

Ace straightened up, taking a deep breath, as if to relieve the crushing pressure in his chest. His gaze hardened as he stared at the far wall, reaffirming his silent vow once more.

He WOULD make it up to her. Then, and only then would he be prepared to forgive himself.

Exhaling, he allowed himself to relax, just as the doors opened behind him.

Placing a smile on his face he turned, once more the reckless and hotheaded CEO of A.C.E.

"Well, it took you guys long enough!"

"What are you, kidding me?" Omega muttered, "Your damn assistant kept us waiting outside there 'until you got ahold of yourse-"

WHAM! CRUNCH! STAB!

Vent cringed. Even HE wasn't that suicidally insane...

Ace's eyes flickered sideways for a moment. Marino wouldn't meet his gaze.

For a moment, he felt a slight twinge of gratitude. He was glad she'd given him that extra space...

"Anyway..." He said, once again returning to business mode, "Now that you've all finished enjoying the sight of Saber getting mauled again, if you'd kindly direct your attention to the screen, I'd like to get on with the briefing."

"First off, the enemy we have all just defeated, namely, Black Thresher."

A nod at one of his many operators, and an image of the giant mechanical shark appeared on the screen.

"First of all, it appears that our worst suspicions have come to pass. Donovan Gates, the Gatemaster, has indeed been successful in mass producing his Virus Cores, or at least he has managed to produce and sell more than one of them, as can be evidenced by Black Thresher." He took a breath.

"The way it works is this: Black Thresher itself is just a construct. A mass of nanotech, built with nothing more than an animal intelligence. It is a bundle of instincts, controlling an amorphous body, little more than a parasite. By attaching itself to other forms of machinery or vehicles, such as a train, or a bike, it can then assimilate that machine into itself, and warp its shape into one more suited to Black Thresher. An example of this, again, would be the train, or rather what it DID to the train upon fusing with it. Not only that, considering what it did to Ibelis when it was in the form of her sister's bike, I think it's safe to say that even human and Reploid cybernetics fall within the range of acceptable prey."

The screen showed a shapeless blob, a formless mass that writhed and moved on its own.

"This is Black Thresher's real form. Like I said, it's just a mass of nanotech, with no real form of its own."

"E-Ewww..." Celtis cringed. "Is it just me or is anyone else getting a slightly disgusting feeling from that...?"

Ace hesitated for a moment.

"...Uh, well..." He paused, lowering his voice to a near whisper, "Look just don't say the word 'tentacles' around here, oka-"

"GAH! TENTACLES? WHERE?"

There was a sound like whirling death and suddenly beam knives were stuck in practically every exposed surface.

Ace twitched, almost two dozen of them lodged in the armor of his Scarlet Skin.

"...See what I mean...?"

Celtis poked her head out of cover, to see where Marino was looking around in a panic, another twenty knives in her fingers as she spun, searching for the nonexistent tentacles.

"So help me GOD if I see even ONE LITTLE SQUIRMING BASTARD IN HERE, I AM GOING TO STAKE ITS SORRY ASS TO THE WALL!"

More knives ensued.

"Thank you Marino, I think that's enough..."Ace said weakly.

Marino blinked and looked around, as if waking up.

"Er...so...there aren't any...?"

"No, Marino...I was just telling Arcana to not say that word around here..." The Scarlet Phoenix said testily. "Now I understand you hate...'that'... but really, it's your fault for borrowing 'Taimanin Asagi' and 'La Blue Girl' from that pile of discs I had marked for the god damned INCINERATOR!"

"I was bored, all right?" Marino yelled, red-faced, "Besides, they looked like they had ninjas in them!"

Ace groaned.

"For anyone else, that'd be like saying they watch a porno for the story...but you didn't know any better, so I guess it's not your fault. BUT NOW YOU KNOW WHY I HAD THEM MARKED FOR THE INCINERATOR!" He paused for a moment. "And for all you smartasses out there, no, I did NOT know they were hentai before I picked them up, so fuck you."

There was a pause.

"Um...Ace, who are you talking to?"

"NO-ONE YOU NEED TO WORRY ABOUT!" He replied desperately, "Now get these damn knives outta me already!"

While Marino and Celtis began the arduous task of turning Ace into less of a pincushion, Omega considered the last few moments.

"Tentacles, huh...?" He murmured, "I guess it's a good thing I left Queenbee with Syrene upstairs, then..."

Considering the ex-Pseudoroid's rather...amorous tendencies towards him anytime something sex-related came up, he wasn't sure she could have kept herself under control. And as for Syrene...He winced.

"That was one dam that definitely shouldn't have been broken..." Omega grumbled. "I mean, sure, I was her first time and all, but DAMN, man..."

Oh well. At least the two of them shouldn't get up to TOO much mischief.

He paused, then grinned.

Or at least any 'mischief' he wouldn't mind pictures of...

Ignorant of Omega's fantasizing about his two other servants and lots of yuri goodness, Ace winced as he pulled another knife out of his coat's elbow.

"By the way, what happened to Vent and the others?"

Marino sighed, tugging out a particularly stubborn blade.

"Vent and Fefnir got into an argument and decided to settle it with arm wrestling. They then broke a wall and several other pieces of furniture, after which the Colonel hauled them up on charges of gross misconduct and thrashed them both. Now he's got them both scrubbing floors to clean up the mess they made. No idea what happened to Nagato and Queenbee."

There was a pause as they both turned to look at Omega, who was staring off into space and grinning.

"Okay, you know what, let's keep it that way." Ace said hastily.

"Yeah, let's go with that." Marino agreed hurriedly.

"Where do you even keep this many knives?" Celtis demanded in annoyance as she finally managed to pull a knife out.

"Knifespace." Marino shrugged. "Kinda like Hammerspace, only pointier."

When they had finally finished de-knife-ing Ace ("Can't we just turn the damn things OFF? They're ENERGY knives for Christ's sake!"), he resumed his speech.

"Anyway, as I was saying, this was Black Thresher's true form. Then, sometime during the last FFA Rally, Black Thresher came into contact with Vesper Royale's bike. Assimilating that, it not only put her in the hospital, but with my Spatial Reactor at it's disposal, Black Thresher became far, FAR more powerful than it would normally have become. The Spatial Field protecting it made it all but invulnerable to the heaviest of attacks," He paused, thinking of Vent and his own attacks, "Or also to attacks with a high enough level of Awesome. And yes, Awesome IS a scientifically quantifiable unit. Anyway, now with the ability to move both above, below and _through _the ground, along with its near invulnerability, Black Thresher was free to grow and expand, absorbing every ounce of mechanical life within Sector 14."

His face fell.

"We weren't able...to save everyone before we finally managed to cut it off, locking down Sector 14. And even then, if it hadn't been for Black Thresher deciding that Sector 14 was enough space for its territory, it's unlikely that we'd have been able to stop it if the damned thing had decided to expand further. At that point, it had reached its full growth, completing the massive exoskeleton which we fought."

The screen changed again, now showing Black Thresher in all of its screaming, broken black-armored glory, shrieking with rage as it tore down building after building.

"Quick question here." Omega held up a finger. "If it could have gotten out at any time, and CONTINUED to wreak havoc, then why didn't it?"

Ace shook his head.

"Up to now, we still don't have a satisfactory answer to that question. So far, the best explanation we have is that Thresher's more animal instincts were in control, leading to it being satisfied with having marked out a large enough territory for it to hunt and exist in. Beyond that, your guess is as good as mine."

_'Or not...'_, Ace thought grimly. He had an unpleasant suspicion regarding the real motive of Black Thresher, but until he got a few certain checks done, he'd keep that theory to himself...

"Once we DID get the area locked down and evacuated, however, it was open season on the bastard's ass." Ace grinned and clenched one fist. "And it wasn't until attempt number seven, using the FFA as both a lure and reinforcement, plus using Saber as a finishing move, that we got the sucker!"

"Wait wait whoa..."Omega held up a hand. " 'Using Saber as a finishing move'? You _knew_ I was coming?"

"Of course." Ace replied, "In fact, you were the key to it all! We were pretty much counting on you to show! No-one else in Legion had the stopping power we needed to bring Thresher down once and for all, at least, not while it had that Spatial Field protecting it. But with the Zweihander..."

"Yeah, yeah, that's nice. How did you know I'd show up? I'm new here, remember? I wouldn't have the first clue about the FFA even _existing_ if that Ibelis chick hadn't..."Omega trailed off, his eyes widening.

"You son of a bitch." He breathed, the blood draining from his face.

Marino looked away, a pained look crossing her face.

Celtis looked from one to the other, a puzzled look on her face.

"What are you talking about?"

"Think about it, Arcana." Omega growled. "The only reason we even found out about the race being held that day was because Ibelis showed up and picked a fight with me. And the reason she did that was that 'someone' had told her that I was walking around with her sister downtown. Queenbee's been through a lot, and now she dresses and looks a lot different from Vesper, what with the scars and different skin tones. Unless you knew she was Vesper in advance, you'd never recognize her now."

Celtis' eyes widened as she realized what he was getting at.

" And the only person who knew that, and had the resources to arrange for Ibelis to find out...!"

"Was me." Ace replied calmly. "That's correct. I was the one who set Ibelis on you. A few words in the right place, a rumor here and there, and that was all it took. Less than an hour after that, Ibelis had goons tracking you."

"So...all this time...the whole thing was just your plan to beat Thresher?"

"That's correct." Ace nodded. "I'll admit, you choosing Celtis for the race instead of competing yourself was something I hadn't expected, but I was confident once you saw the level of enemy we were up against, you'd show up sooner or later."

"So let me get this straight..." Omega said slowly. "You mentioned to Ibelis that Queenbee- her sister- was alive and well, walking through Legion City with a strange guy-namely me- and then everything after that was all just part of the plan?"

"Yep. Everything except the bit where you sent Arcana here instead, but that turned out to be a big help in the end anyway, so it's fine."

"You know, would it have killed you to just ASK me?"

"Nope." Ace shook his head. "Until that point in the race where Marino co-opted all of the remaining racers, we didn't have clearance to post a bounty on Black Thresher, partly due to the highly sensitive nature of the Reactor and also partly due to the conditions surrounding Vesper's defeat during her last race."

"But..." And now it was Celtis who spoke up, a troubled look on her face. "What about Ibelis? Wasn't it cruel to get her hopes up like that? She thought her sister might still be alive, but then...we...we had to tell her..."

Ace felt the look Marino was giving him, but forced himself to ignore it. He knew she hadn't been happy about the idea of thrusting Vesper's death upon Ibelis like that, and to be honest, he wasn't all that pleased with the idea either, but...

"It had to be done." He said, his voice controlled. "Better she faced the truth now, rather than be crushed by finding out about it years later. Or more likely, she may never have found out, and would spend the rest of her life haunted by it. This way, she gets closure, and also an immediate way to deal with the pain."

"I.e, picking a fight with me." Omega said dryly.

"Precisely," Ace said, "Although it appears she got far more out of this race than just that, as she fought in it against the same thing that had killed her sister, and now has the bike Vesper once used, something that no doubt means the world to her. And not just her..."

He tapped a button, and a smaller screen appeared over the larger image of Thresher. It was feed from one of his aerial cameras, shot from somewhere within the ruins of Sector 14.

A single grave marker stood there. And next to it were Ayano and Ibelis, the latter leaning back on the XGRA Thresher.

Both were looking down at the grave, upon which a single bouquet of flowers rustled in the dusty breeze.

And to Celtis' surprise, rather than a subdued mood, the air around the two was actually quite lively, both women smiling and laughing as they talked. Ibelis flicked some dust from the top of the marker, a fond look on her face as she regarded her sister's resting place.

_'You may be gone, sister,'_ it seemed to say, '_but I'll make sure the name Royale won't be forgotten.'_

The smaller screen winked out as Ace killed it with another button. Without turning to face them, he spoke again.

"Both Ayano and Ibelis, people who were closer to Vesper than anyone else, found some kind of peace from the defeat of Black Thresher. They both came to terms with the loss of Vesper Royale, and the closure they needed to move on."

"You got lucky." Omega growled.

"Yes." Ace said quietly, "Yes, I did. I knew the risks. This could have just as easily pushed them even further over the edge. I knew it could happen, and I would have accepted that guilt as my own. Instead, I chose to believe in them, that they were as strong as I hoped, strong enough for me to save them both and to crush Black Thresher once and for all."

Celtis stared at him for a long time.

"You wouldn't have changed your plan would you...Even if you had another chance."

Now Ace turned to face them, his eyes cold and hard.

"Even if I had to do it all over, I would still choose this path. Even if it's a foolish idea, no matter what, I will always choose that option. I will never choose anything other than the path that leads to salvation for all of those involved. No matter how astronomically small that chance may be, I will still choose it! Better that than to simply discard them like expendable pawns!"

And then Celtis realized it.

"This was just as much about helping Ayano and Ibelis as it was taking down Thresher, wasn't it!"

"Correct." Ace nodded. "Despite being Security Commander of Legion City, I was unable to stop Gates from kidnapping Vesper. And for her to have died in such a manner..." He turned away and looked up at the ceiling. "Let's just say I have a considerable debt to pay off..."

Silence fell over the four of them. Omega eyed the Scarlet Phoenix's back, wondering once more exactly how to judge this man. Marino simply leaned on the railing, looking out at the screen, her gaze occasionally flickering back to Ace. Ace...well, nobody ever knew exactly what he was thinking anyway.

And Celtis just stood there, piecing together the whole thing in her mind.

'_So...in order to make up for letting Vesper get kidnapped, Ace wanted Ayano and Ibelis to fight Black Thresher, even if not to officially kill it, but just to be there in the fight for when it was defeated. That would let them get over the loss of Vesper, and allow them to move on. But in order to defeat Thresher once and for all, he needed Omega and his Zweihander. So he arranged for Ibelis to find out that Omega had Vesper, who was actually Queenbee. That got them both involved in the race. Then Ayano and Queenbee...settled their differences, so Ayano came to terms with Queenbee being who she was. And then we beat Thresher once and for all, and Ibelis got back Vesper's bike, so to her, it's like she avenged her sister's defeat and got her own revenge!_'

There was a pause while Celtis digested all of this.

'_WHAT THE HELL IS _**WRONG**_ WITH PEOPLE IN THIS CITY?_'

There was silence as the other three stared at Celtis, who was holding her head in her hands and wailing soundlessly at the ceiling.

"I think you broke her." Omega commented. There was a pause while Ace considered this. Then he gave a groan of despair and smacked himself in the face.

"Oh noooo...I'm turning into a dark and melancholy brooding character with a penchant for needlessly complicated plots!" He flailed around for a moment. "Quick! Somebody deck me before this turns into DeathNote!"

**POW!**

Several stories up, Vent suddenly twitched.

"I feel as though I just missed the single greatest Christmas present I might have gotten since Aile got me that anti-tank shotgun last year..."

"Dude! Your sister gave you an anti-tank SHOTGUN for Christmas?" Fefnir's eyes lit up. "Best. Sister. EVER."

Back in the command center, Ace groaned and started picking himself out of the wall.

"When I say 'deck me', using the Zweihander like a baseball bat is not what I had in mind...Ow..."

Omega lowered the flat of the Zweihander, a bemused look on his face.

"Hey, you asked, I delivered. Take up the fine print with my lawyers."

"You have lawyers?" Celtis asked.

"Psh, no." Omega snorted, "But if I did, I'd tell him to go bother them in any case."

Ace dusted himself off and signaled Marino.

"Marino? Yeah, next time I go with a Magnificent Bastard plan, and somewhere along the line it turns into some needlessly complicated guilt complex emo melodrama, strap me to a chair and make me watch the Twilight movie. Okay?"

Marino winced.

"You sure about that? You weren't exactly...sane after the first one, and that was watching it for half an hour!"

Ace blinked.

"How bad?"

"Ace, you were running around trying to stake anything that sparkled for the next two hours."

"Bad then."

"Little bit, yeah."

"Fine. Next time just tell me to go with the direct approach!"

Their whispered conference over, they both straightened up again.

"Ahem!" Ace cleared his throat. "At any rate, this leaves us with only one question left unanswered: Who was it exactly, that granted Thresher a Virus Core, and then released it into the area where Vesper Royale would be passing?"

As Omega and Celtis looked back up at him, he folded his arms.

"I know from Vile that originally, the mass of nanotech that makes up Thresher was little more than an inanimate blob, a fragment of whatever it had formerly belonged to, and dating back to the era of the Phoenix Artifacts. When he first encountered it, the thing was stolen before he could destroy it. By infusing that machinery with a Virus Core, the Virus became its consciousness, taking control of the frozen nanomachines and awakening them once more. However, something like that...it would have been FAR too easy to detect that on scanners, as we did on the night when Thresher first appeared, attacking Vesper and stealing the Reactor."

"Which means you think somebody KNEW Vesper had your Reactor and intentionally waited until her race to sic the little bastard on her." Omega said, interested despite himself.

"Exactly." Ace frowned. "Unfortunately, beyond the fact that we know that, there isn't much else that we do know. Now that Nana's back, however, between her and the Colonel-Commissar's detective skills, they may be able to turn up some things that we haven't been able to yet. Not to mention, Vile's still out there as well."

His frown darkened further as he turned back to the wall screen.

"Which brings me to my last point..."

A gesture at one of the operators, and suddenly the wall monitor came to life with an image of the all-too familiar handgun with the skull sigil.

"...The Hades." Ace said, his voice jerking slightly. Marino, remembering his earlier freak-out over the Hades and its apparent Dominion ability, tensed.

"Yes...so, apparently it seems as though Celtis' Hades has...the same ability as the Zweihander...of Dominion."

Ace stood there for a moment. Then...

"DAAAAAAAAAAH! NO! NO IT DOESN'T! HOW CAN IT? IT MAKES NO GODDAMNED SENSE, DAMMIT!"

WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!

Marino grabbed Ace, who had run over to the wall and was now banging his head on it repeatedly, ranting in outrage.

"Oh for the love of-ACE! GET OVER IT ALREADY DAMMIT!"

"DAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

WHAM! WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!

Eventually...

"Haha, yeah...sorry about that."Ace laughed sheepishly, "Just a minor breakdown, that's all."

"I-is that so..." Celtis sweatdropped.

"Not to worry though, I recover fast!" Ace gave them a thumbs-up, grinning confidently.

"Uh...it's been like three hours, dude." Omega pointed towards the clock.

"Haha, WOW that clock is wrong!" Ace laughed, although it seemed a bit strained now. "A-anyway, back to the subject at hand!"

He gestured to the Hades on the screen.

"All right...to summarize, the reason for my constantly flipping the fuck out over this whole thing is this: NEVER, in any of the files of ALL THREE A. has there EVER been a recorded mention of the Hades possessing this ability. That is a power that should have SOLELY belonged to the Zweihander of Dominion. I don't know who, how or WHY they did it, but SOMEBODY has managed to create a fully functional duplicate of the Dominion system."

"So...somebody else managed to forge the Magnum Phoenix's tech?" Celtis tried.

"NO!" Ace snapped, slamming one fist down on the railing hard enough to bend it. Something in his wrist made an unhealthy crackling noise, but he ignored it. "For one thing, that's completely IMPOSSIBLE. Even the best scientists of A.C.E today can only make it up to five of the mathematical dimensions required to construct something like the Hades. Weil was mad, but even so, he was BRILLIANT by our standards, making it up to six. Hence the reason he was able to make the Reapers. You want to know the dimensions the Magnum Phoenix worked in to craft something like this?"

When no answer was forthcoming, Ace threw his hands into the air.

"Eight. EIGHT DIMENSIONS. Normal reality, like ours, is about what, four? And that makes up time and space. I can't even BEGIN to comprehend eight dimensions. Even for us, the fifth dimension in our calculations is theoretical. The point I'm making, is, it is LITERALLY impossible to duplicate something like this."

"And yet, there it is." Omega nodded to the screen.

Ace gritted his teeth. "No, there it ISN'T. The truth is a LOT more frightening."

The God of Destruction turned back to Ace.

"Explain." He growled, his voice hard, "Now."

"This duplicate system was also built in eight dimensions, or at least, it matches the key specs of the Dominion, at least, those parts of it we can understand and identify. The problem here is..." He nodded to the operators once more and suddenly the skeletal image of the Hades altered, now colored in two distinct hues.

"All right, ignore the color change for now. From all of the investigation we've done, of all of the Artifacts and all of the technology left by the Magnum Phoenix, we've begun to recognize certain...'tells', you can call them. They're sort of like signatures, certain design methods or concepts that he and only he had. That's what we look for when we're determining whether or not we're dealing with a genuine Artifact or a cheap fake. We rate them on a scale of one to ten, where one is a total fake and ten is a guaranteed Artifact. Generally, the stuff we find is literally one or the other, either a 1, or a 2 if we're dealing with a real genius, and tens for everything else. You simply can't fake a Phoenix Artifact, that's all there is to it. And the Dominion system is possibly THE most complex Artifact we've found so far. Despite that..."

He took a deep breath.

"Despite that, the rating on this duplicate is...a nine."

Omega raised an eyebrow.

"So...what're you saying?"

"What I'm saying..." Ace said, turning to look at the screen, "Is that out of HUNDREDS of artifacts, of which all are either a 1 or a 10, this one is a 9. In other words, this was built by someone who very well might be the Magnum Phoenix himself."

As he let that sink in, he went on.

"The design principles, the concepts, the very way of _thinking_ that is represented by the completed work here matches almost exactly with the original."

"...Almost?" Omega's eyes narrowed.

"It IS the Magnum Phoenix's work...and yet it isn't." Ace admitted, shoulders slumping. "This duplicate...it's like the creator had the same mindset of the Magnum Phoenix, but was just...not as elaborate. Both achieve the same effect, but where the Magnum Phoenix's system fits together as simply as possible, this second one isn't so simple, being a bit more heavy handed. It achieves in three layers what the Magnum Phoenix's accomplishes in one."

He sighed and scratched his head.

"Dammit, this is hard...Alright, the only way I can think of to explain it is...it's like...If you were to take the finest work of the painter Van Gogh, and then compare it to his earliest. It's the same genius, the same _person,_ behind both paintings, but the...the experience behind each one is different. The more experienced one has smoother lines and accomplishes in fewer strokes what the older one, done by the younger Van Gogh, would do in more strokes."

"So...what you're saying is that the version Arcana's using with the Hades is like an older model to mine?" Omega asked. "God, you could have just said that!"

There was no humor on Ace's face.

"I would have, if that's all it was." He pointed to the screen, where the two toned skeleton of the Hades still floated. "All Phoenix Artifacts have one other thing in common."

"What's that?"

"Their age." Ace replied. "All of the Phoenix Artifacts are on or around 300 years of age, as that's when they were all built, back before the Cataclysm. Don't worry, the Hades is still WELL within that range. It's definitely a genuine Phoenix Artifact, of that you can be sure."

Jerking a thumb over his shoulder, Ace gave a fixed, insane grin.

"SO, who cares to guess just how old the second Dominion system is?"

Omega gave a groan.

"It isn't in that range, is it..."

"No, it ISN'T!" Ace raged. Snapping one arm out towards the screen, he pointed at the green parts of the Hades' skeleton. "You see these green areas? THESE are the areas of the gun that ARE the correct age! Over and around 300 years old! You see this red part here?"

He pointed to a narrow set of red lines, which seemed to run through the Hades' entire length.

"This represents the Dominion hardware. Care to take a guess how old THIS part is?" He answered his own question in a moment.

"Less than ONE HUNDRED!"

Omega stiffened. One hundred...That was his era! 22XX, the fateful century in which he had returned to Earth again! But that made no sense! Ace had just said it was like a younger version of the Magnum Phoenix had built it! How was that possible if it had been built AFTER the original?

Seeing their stunned looks, Ace gritted his teeth.

"NOW do you understand why I've been flipping out?"

"Time travel...?" Celtis suggested weakly.

"I don't think so." The Scarlet Phoenix shook his head. "If it was time travel, there'd only be ONE of the Dominion anyway. No, I've got another theory."

"Well, I got nothing."Omega sighed. "May as well hear it."

"Right."Ace nodded. "The fact is, there was something ELSE present a hundred years ago, which was also present during the Golden Era THREE hundred years ago..."

"And that was...?" The God of Destruction prompted. In response, Ace hit a few keys on the console next to him.

Almost immediately, the screen went blank, replaced instead by a logo they all knew well.

"A.C.E!" Celtis gasped. "That's right! You had said there was one back then too! Isn't that what became Legion today?"

Ace nodded. "Good. You remembered! Yes, the A.C.E that was present during the aftermath of Ragnarok's fall was the one that gradually transformed into the core of Legion, after which it shut down, retreating back into obscurity as Legion continued on in its place. As I've mentioned before, this A.C.E I have now is simply that same second one, reactivated and refurbished for a new era!"

Catching Marino's look, he hurried on.

"Er...But I digress. Anyway, my point is that for both versions of the Dominion to appear in two separate eras, two eras which BOTH possessed an A.C.E I might add, is no mere coincidence."

"AHA!" Celtis lit up, "So you think whoever built my version of the Dominion came from the 22XX A.C.E!"

"Nope!" Ace said proudly, "I think whoever built your version of the Dominion came from the 22XX-wait, what?" His thought process crashed and derailed as his brain caught up with him. "Uh...y-yeah, that's actually exactly what I meant...Wait, how'd you get that?"

There was a pause as Celtis stared at him.

"Wait, you mean I was right? I was just guessing!"

Ace groaned and buried his face in his hands. "Upstaged by a complete amateur...oh how the mighty have fallen..."

Melodrama out of the way now, Ace turned serious once more.

"But yes, that's exactly it. And of all of those connected to A.C.E, there is only ONE man who had the capability to do something like that."

The screen flickered, and a photo from the A.C.E database popped up on the monitor. It was blurry, and much of the detail had been lost, but it was still fairly easy to see what was going on.

"This was an amateur photo taken during the grand opening ceremony of Legion. It was an event held to celebrate the official formation of Legion as the world's government. But that's not what I want you to see."

The screen zoomed in on one side of the photo. And there in the corner...

**[Cue Music: Demonbane OST- Laughing At The Beast]**

Celtis stifled a gasp. His face was partially hidden by a nearby stand of flowers, and the image was too blurry to make out much besides the color but she would recognize the monochrome appearance anywhere! The jacket as black as night, and the collared shirt a dead white color...it was him, the man who had locked Model O away within her mind!

"CEO of the A.C.E Corporation of 22XX." Ace's voice was grim. "No known last name, only one first name: Alexander. THE Alexander. It was just as much of a title as a name, considering just who he was and what he was capable of. This is probably the only picture of him that exists today, and even then it's not one that shows his face. If there was ever anyone who could do something like this, it would be him."

"Well, that makes it a lot easier!" Omega threw his hands up into the air, "Let's just go grab him then! He might've been a hotshot back then, but by now he's gotta be an old geezer!"

"Unfortunately, we can't do that either, I'm afraid." Ace sighed. "Didn't I already tell you? This was the last time anyone saw him. After the ceremony, he just...disappeared. Vanished into thin air."

"Aaaaaaand now we're back to square one. Thanks, Phoenix!" Omega said sarcastically, "As always, you've been a big help!"

"Shut it, you." Ace grumbled, before turning to Celtis. "At any rate, that's the explanation for the reason your Hades ate that last Virus Core-"

"Which I'm STILL pissed about, I might add!" Omega yelled from somewhere in the background.

"...as I was saying, that's the reason for it. The clincher is the avatar it summoned to devour the Core. It looks way too similar to Alexander for it to be a coincidence. I suspect it's some hidden aspect of the Hades' power that caused it to manifest in that appearance, and not through any action of the original Alexander."

He paused.

"Because I mean, that'd just be a bit STUPID. Why go through all this trouble to secretly add that to the Hades, and give me all of these headaches, if the first time it activates it goes 'Oh hey guys, look at me, I'm Alexander!'"

Celtis had to stifle a grin as she imagined the mysterious figure saying something like that.

"Heh heh...yeah, that would be pretty silly..."

Somewhere in the world, a monochrome stranger was screaming curses up at the Magnum Phoenix in between sneezes.

Ignorant of that, however, Ace went on.

"Because of the differences between the two, we don't know how your own will manifest, or even WHAT it will manifest. It will probably be weapons, sure, but what weapons, and whether or not they'll have an A.I, or if they'll give you armor, similar to what Saber's can do, I have not the slightest damn clue."

Omega preened. Oh yeah, still number one here, baby!

"...Although I have to admit, for his first Megamerge form, that looked kind of...girly."

There was a sound like breaking glass, sort of like the sound you'd expect to hear if you'd just kicked a man's pride in the crotch.

Omega slumped over, a cloud of depression over his head and pointedly ignoring the snickering sound in his mind.

"Oh, SCREW you, Saber..." he muttered miserably.

And so it was in all of the confusion that nobody thought to look a little to the right of the mysterious Alexander. A fountain in the foreground concealed them, but if one had paid careful enough attention, they would have seen two more people standing there, as if talking to the monochrome CEO.

One, a man in a brilliant scarlet overcoat.

And the other, a lithe woman, her long golden ponytail running down her back like a fountain and clad in a glamorous ankle-length pink dress...

* * *

**A/N:** The mysteries are really starting to roll now, huh? And we finally have a name for the mysterious monochrome stranger, whose motives as yet remain unclear. Whoever he is though, he appears to be quite pissed at the moment...

Moving on!

Yes, in case you hadn't noticed, these most recent chapters appear to be revolving more and more around Ace and the mystery surrounding just who he really is. I will probably keep this trend up for the next few chapters, as I think it's finally time I got down to business regarding him and how he ties into everything. Once I get past him, though, you should be in for some more Unit V goodness, so stay tuned!

And as you've noticed, things are not quite all as easy as they appear among the ranks of resurrectees...sometimes, there are those characters who, no matter how much you like them, can't be brought back as easily as you'd think. I decided to do this with Ferham, because she didn't simply give her life up, the way others from the Megaman series did, like Craft and the others. She also did it to chase after the man she loved, Epsilon, Commander of the Giga City Rebellion.

He had all the personality of a BRICK, but at least I respect him anyway.

I figured I'd also do it as a little jab to all of the other Megaman writers out there who're continually bringing back dead characters from earlier eras (myself included!). There's a lot more to it than simply resurrecting them. They need to have a reason to come back, a reason why they would choose to be alive again.

In the immortal words of a legendary hero and a great man:

"Those who passed away are dead. And if we forcefully revive them, they'll only get in the way of those who come after."

Words to live by, my friends. And to surpass those words, you need a raison d'etre, which I THINK means 'reason to live' or some variant of that, otherwise I just said to surpass it you need raisin-something-or-other.

Crap.

Uh, anyway, WOW this is a long author's note.

I'll just leave you all alone for now! Also, if you know who said that totally epic quote, you officially qualify as having an awesomeness rating high enough to punch out Black Thresher's Spatial Field!

Also, for those of you who noticed Ace's off-hand comment about Omega's version of the Fourth Wave and are wondering why I didn't expand on it, rest assured, it will be taken care of!


	32. Chapter 31: Interlude

**Chapter 31: Interlude**

Disclaimer: Seriously, if you don't know the drill by now...

* * *

It had been two weeks since the fall of Black Thresher, and the weather was finally beginning to return to normal patterns.

In one of Legion's darker districts, well away from any prying eyes, a lone figure in a trenchcoat strode onwards. His large frame was magnified by the wide shoulders of his coat, and in the invisible darkness that lay between his open collar and wide brimmed hat, a single red eye burned.

All in all, someone who silently proclaimed to the world that they were NOT to be messed with if you wanted to live for longer than two minutes.

Vile glared out into the dimly lit streets before him, not seeing them, his mind once again returning to the events of Black Thresher's final defeat. It had shaken the Renegade, and BADLY, to see a fragment of...HIM, after so long. Even if it was just a man made copy, forged from the original data, it didn't change the fact that still, the Virus Core was essentially a bootlegged version of the Maverick Virus. And that in turn, was really...

Vile's fists clenched involuntarily, and he forced himself to relax.

He hadn't doubted even for a moment. From the moment his intelligence network had started pulling in information on what had really happened in the battle against Gates, he had immediately started arming himself. He could not...no, he WOULD NOT allow the threat of Sigma to reappear in this world. It had cost him much...far, _far _too much, to put an end to the father of all Mavericks once before, and he would not allow that to happen again.

It wasn't recorded anywhere in the history books and to this day, it still remained a closely guarded state secret, with Ace himself personally standing watch over it, but...

Sigma had not died that day on the Jakob Elevator.

He had survived, reappearing on Earth one last time.

And Vile had ended him. Completely and utterly. But it had cost him, cost the _world,_ a terrible price. It was not a price he would be willing to pay ever again, whether it was the price of his victory, or the price it had taken for him to be the one who stood up to defeat Sigma.

Too much pain lay behind in those years.

On the day that Sigma came to Giga City.

Vile shut his eyes, and forced himself to move on. Those pains were gone now, buried beneath the dust of the centuries past, and he had no wish to revisit them.

What remained now was to see just what role these new Virus Cores would play. It seemed as though Omega, the God of Destruction, and now the Hades, crimson handgun of legend, both fed on the corrupt entities, devouring them and in turn gaining powers of their own. He would allow them their feeding frenzy, but from the moment a Virus Core went out of line, he would be there to put it down once more.

His resolution hardened once more, Vile turned one final corner and looked up, rewarded by the sight of his destination. One of his safe houses/residences that he kept for those rare times when he found himself staying in Legion for any extended length of time, the run-down apartment block before him was anything but. With a front of actual apartments to allay suspicion, the back of it hid the EXCEPTIONALLY well defended residence that Vile was currently staying in, along with Rika and...he hesitated for a moment.

Pandora...

Vile actually stopped for a moment, several conflicting emotions running through his mind as his thoughts turned towards the former agent of Albert.

In all honesty, Vile simply...didn't know what to think about her. Always quiet, Pandora spoke haltingly, her words soft and unsure. She always seemed to be thinking about her next words before she said them. The poor girl really didn't have any real skill at being social, but to be honest, with an upbringing like hers, Vile couldn't really blame her. He, a Reploid who had spent his entire 'youth' being a maverick, both literally and metaphorically, had laughed wildly, reveling in the glory of the destruction he had wreaked in pursuit of his goals. Pandora, on the other hand, had spent much of her time hiding behind the shield of her brother, who had constantly protected her from the direct wrath of Albert, her only contact with the outside world being the time spent setting the stage for Albert's downfall and with the only people she had met being the Chosen Ones, Serpent, and Albert. In that sort of environment, it'd be a miracle if she DIDN'T have some kind of social problems.

And yet despite that, she was here now without her brother, meeting new people like himself and Rika, and still trying her best to adapt. The diminutive Chosen One, formerly of Model W, and now powered by a Model O, was trying so hard that it almost hurt to watch her. Bit by bit she was beginning to act less introverted around the two of them, having established a rapport of some kind with the equally silent Rika. It was actually surprising how quickly those two had begun to get along. For Rika, Vile suspected it was a little like finally having an older sister figure, which was a little odd, considering the fact that in many ways, Pandora was considerably more naïve about the workings of the world outside of fighting. Hell, the two of them had gotten to the point where they were helping one another wash their hair!

Vile himself made certain to stay WELL away from the bath anytime this was going on, as A) Rika still had yet to understand the concept of modesty, something which Pandora wasn't all that knowledgeable about either, to be honest, and B) He wasn't entirely certain his poor heart was ready for that kind of punishment yet.

It had taken him about three months before he had finally gotten Rika to learn to wear a towel or something when she got out of the bath. Sure, he was cold, emotionless, and thought of her as an unofficial younger sister, but he was still a man, dammit!

Pandora, on the other hand, had gotten that part pretty quickly. Actually, to be honest, he was a little worried about her. For some reason she seemed to still be almost painfully shy around him, and had practically fled the one time he'd encountered her in a towel...

Aside from that, though...Vile's expression clouded.

No matter what else happened, Pandora was still searching for her brother. He knew it was still too early to be affected by it, but for the last two and a half weeks, since the meeting in Ace's office, he had dedicated almost all of his mainframe's considerable power towards finding Prometheus, with no result. More than once, he'd had to put Pandora to bed himself, after finding her asleep at the monitoring console. Vile knew it was foolish to hope for a result this early, and had the almost mechanical patience to simply wait until his sources got a hit. Pandora, on the other hand, was still keyed up and anxious for news of her brother.

Bit by bit, she was beginning to settle down however, as Vile's cool temperament and Rika's infinite patience began to rub off on her. Unit V was never one for recklessness, preferring instead to rely on methodical precision in all of their actions. In many ways, the polar opposite of Omega and those around him.

He sighed as he kicked aside one of the groaning thugs that littered the front doorstep. No doubt a group of them had once again made this mistake of assuming Rika was defenseless, and therefore an easy target. Judging from the occasional patch of ice, and the smell of ozone, Vile noted approvingly, Pandora had helped out as well. It wasn't often that she set foot outside the safe house, but for her to do it now showed that she was gradually getting a bit less shy about larger groups of people, including ones that were trying to kill her.

Punching in his access code in a concealed keypad, he waited patiently as the heavy, metallic sounds of the locking bars disengaged, the nuke proof entrance unlocking itself for his arrival.

Opening the now disarmed door, he closed it behind him and stepped into the entrance hall. A tastefully decorated room of tiled floors, a mirror on the wall with a table underneath it to drop off any unnecessary items, and a slight step that led to the rest of the house. Reaching out to the nearby hatstand, he unhooked his helmet, switching it with the hat he had been wearing up until a moment ago. A few black sparks of energy danced around his head for a moment, but Vile pointedly ignored it.

Loosening his collar, he stepped up into the main hall, the door closing behind him with a pneumatic hiss as it locked once more. Stepping forward he took a right, poking his head into the living room.

"I'm back, Rika."

The quiet nanotek looked up at him from her position near the couch. She could often be found camped there, knees drawn up to her chin with one of her fluffy comforters wrapped around her like a miniature tent and the TV on in front of her.

"Welcome back, Nii-san." She replied, a touch more warmth in her voice than her regular funereal tones.

"As lively as always, I see." Vile replied dryly. "Here, I got you something." Reaching under his trenchcoat, he pulled out a small tub of ice-cream. Her eyes sparkling, Rika caught it as he tossed it through the air. Transforming her fingers into scissors, she started cutting her way in without a second thought. Vile sighed.

"No overeating this time."

He stayed there for a while, watching her. For a moment, he remembered the moment at which his path had crossed with hers, another memory dredged up by the appearance of Black Thresher and its advanced nanotechnology.

A rare smile crossed his face.

Unlike the other memories, this one was far more welcome.

Seeing her now, attacking the ice cream with almost childlike happiness, he could hardly believe that this had been the same emotionless assassin Reploid he had first encountered all those years ago.

It had been over a hundred and twelve years ago, during the era when Neo Arcadia was still only just establishing itself as the dominant superpower in the world. It was through that hellish wasteland, the world slowly recovering from the blight of the Elf Wars, that mercenaries and lone wolves like Vile thrived, wandering always onward.

The massive armory of war machines he now possessed had been just a distant dream back then, consisting solely of the Siege Armor Punisher, which doubled as the Crucio Siege Tank, and a few other Armors he had come across. It had been on one such hunt for new Armors that he had first encountered Rika.

He had broken into a military factory deep in the Arctic, in search of the 'secret development section' reported to be concealed inside. It was places exactly like that which Vile was hunting for, always seeking a new edge for his high tech arsenal. What he found, however, was not the weaponry he had in mind.

Using nano-technology copied from the mysterious fragment which would later become Black Thresher, this secret facility's real goal was to create a mass-produced army of nanoteks, assassins who could go anywhere, kill anyone, and take any form they chose. With minds designed like the most coldly precise computers, they would show no mercy, no remorse, designed for the purpose of carrying out their mission objectives at any cost. They were to be the Neo Arcadian government's finest weapons, the secret police to be feared by all.

And then Vile happened to them.

To be fair, it wasn't actually his fault. He had chosen to break in RIGHT in the middle of the project's heads'...disagreement.

The original creator of the nanoteks had apparently suffered from an attack of conscience, declaring that the Project had never been intended for such a savage and brutal use. His comrades, on the other hand, were of a different opinion. The end result was that all twenty-four of the completed nanoteks were loosed, with kill orders for their creator. Vile, now caught in the middle of a war he hadn't expected, had immediately been targeted by the nanoteks, having correctly and intelligently been identified as a threat. Under attack from the released assassins, and having been seen by several of the other military-minded scientists, Vile had had little recourse other than to do what he did best, and razed the place to the ground.

Amidst the wreckage, he had found the mortally wounded creator of the nanoteks. Dying, the man had entrusted Vile with his last work: The prototype of a new generation of nanotek, the girl who Vile would later name Rika.

It wasn't exactly in character for the faceless Renegade to do such an act of charity, but then again, a LOT had changed in him since his revival after the Jakob Elevator battle.

Having seen the mayhem caused by just twenty-four of those emotionless assassins, and the calculated inhumanity of their growth and development, Vile had gone on a new hunt. Searching for any remains of the nanotek project, he scoured the earth for any survivors, looking for information that he could use in the event anything ever went wrong with Rika, and also to ensure that there would be nothing left for the authorities to use in order to track her down. His methodical culling soon brought an end to the nanotek soldiers and their financial backers, only a few fragments of their research surviving and being repurposed towards other areas, such as medical technology. Neo Arcadia's dream of a flawless assassin disappeared, ground into dust beneath Vile's armored boots. The only remaining example of that was the girl who, from the moment she had first opened her eyes, floored the Renegade with the words "Good morning, Nii-san."

Of all of the things Vile had expected, for the girl to immediately decide he was her big brother was WAY off the list.

It turned out that the creator of the nanoteks had sought to make up for his earlier mistakes, designing Rika to be more of a living, sentient being, rather than being like her emotionless siblings.

He hadn't quite gotten there, as Rika wasn't quite what you'd call...talkative. Then again, Vile supposed that was as much his fault as it was the creator's. After all, he wasn't all that outgoing either, preferring the company of his Armors to other people.

The Renegade had to admit though, having her around had been a great help. Her nanotek abilities had made her invaluable in his efforts to restore the various war machines he had collected, and even made it possible to upgrade them. In addition to that, it had been rather nice to have another person around. Someone who was equally quiet, preferring her actions to speak louder than her words, and with any number of quirks of her own. Vile's life, which to be honest had been fairly monotone when he wasn't out on a mission, had actually become a bit more lively with her arrival, and it wasn't long before he quickly got used to thinking of her as a younger sister/daughter. Not to mention that she too had a nearly limitless lifespan, her nanomachines constantly rejuvenating her.

All in all, Vile hadn't regretted taking her on even once.

...Although that one fateful day when she had asked him what 'sex' was had come very, _very_ close.

The Renegade shuddered slightly. He could face down legions upon legions of enemy soldiers. He could face both Zero and X in a two on one fight. Hell, he had even bested Sigma!

He could face all of those life-and-death situations without even flinching, but all of that had been small fry compared to having to explain the 'birds and the bees' to Rika...

Vile groaned, pressing a hand to his face. No, he'd really rather not go back to that memory again...

"Nii-san?"

He looked up. Rika, halfway through another spoon of ice-cream, tilted her head sideways, regarding him curiously.

"...It's nothing." He said easily. "Just thinking about some things, that's all."

Rika stared at him for a moment then, apparently reassured, nodded and went back to her ice cream, tugging the blanket around her as she regarded the TV intently. Vile blinked, and then grinned ruefully.

"Straightforward as ever, I see."

With that, he leaned off of the doorframe and headed off again. After a moment, though, he poked his head back into the living room.

"Oi, Rika, where's Pandora?"

"Mmph..." Rika bit down on another spoonful and glanced back at him. "...Kitchen."

Vile raised an eyebrow at that, but said nothing, disappearing again as he headed for the kitchen.

"...why would she be in the kitchen?" he muttered.

And then he started to smell faint traces of smoke in the air.

"...Oh no."

Vile broke into a run.

Rounding the corner, he grabbed the edge of the door and swung around it, skidding into the kitchen area-

And stopped.

Pandora, singed and disheveled, gave a squeak of alarm at his appearance, most of the kitchen in disarray, and with her staff pointed at the miniature iceberg which now occupied the spot previously held by the kitchen's stove.

Pandora gave him a guilty look and managed a weak, sheepish smile.

"U-umm...welcome home...?"

Vile groaned and sank his head into his hands.

* * *

In another part of town, Omega leaned back against the wall and grinned as he heard the sounds of a bike engine approaching. Right on cue, the ground a little way away from him rippled, and the prow of Thresher breached the surface, the white machine shifting back from its shark-like form into bike mode, tires screeching as it came to a halt. The cockpit hissed open, revealing Ibelis Royale, one hand pressed to her forehead and wincing.

"I am NEVER going to get used to that..." she muttered.

Thresher's space bending capabilities were astounding, that much was true, but the human senses were just not equipped to comprehend such a phenomenon. Seeing Thresher warping space from an outsider's viewpoint was one thing, but seeing that distortion from up close, and more importantly, from INSIDE Thresher, well...

Let's just say Ibelis preferred travelling OVER land, rather than THROUGH it. In all honesty, she would have simply used bike mode to get here, except for the fact that certain...authorities, were still on the lookout for her, meaning that Thresher's shark mode was a lot easier to hide with.

"You're late."

She looked up to see Omega leaning on the wall of the alley, arms folded as he regarded her coolly.

"I ran into some difficulty avoiding Security on the way here." She replied, her tone matching his.

"Fine." Omega said flatly, his expression suddenly darkening. "So now that you're here, would you mind explaining just why it is you called me out here? I'm missing some VERY important things by coming out here..."

_'And by 'important things' here, I mean Vix, Syrene and Queenbee. And all at the same time too, dammit!'_ he seethed silently.

"Very well then." Ibelis nodded. "It is regarding the matter of our wager on the outcome of the FFA."

Omega turned, immediately dismissing his thoughts of the other three girls. His eyes narrowed.

"There WAS no outcome." He said, an uneasy feeling in his voice.

"To you, perhaps..." Ibelis said quietly, "But to me it was all too clear. I failed. Not only was I unable to kill Thresher, but I was even used by it, twisted into a puppet simply to give it access to my sister's weapons! No..."

She wrapped one hand around her midsection, a pained expression on her face as she looked away.

"My sister's soul is at peace now, and I have done my part to achieve that...but the one who truly laid her to rest, ending Black Thresher...was you."

"...What are you saying?" Omega asked suspiciously, eyes narrowing.

Ibelis bit her lip. "For me...everything in that race was a failure. As far as I'm concerned...it was your victory, and my loss."

Omega turned to look at her properly now, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.

"You..."

Ibelis lifted her head, a weak smile on her face.

"Winner takes all, remember...? And a Royale never goes back on her word..."

Omega stared at her for a long time, his eyes running over her body. The fall of her short hair, just brushing against the nape of her neck...the racing suit that clung to her athletic body, the gentle swelling of her chest...her sleek hips and long legs...So demure...so vulnerable...so defenseless...!

"NO!" Omega stumbled back, slamming himself against the wall, one hand clawing at his face, a pained snarl escaping him. Ibelis started in shock.

"S...Saber...?"

"No...!" The God of Destruction snarled again, raging at himself. He had almost lost it right there, almost overwhelmed with a storm surge of desire. He lifted his head, one eye glaring out at Ibelis from between the fingers of one claw.

"No..." He rasped again, his breathing slowly coming under control again. "Not like this..."

Gritting his teeth, Omega forced himself to straighten up again, his more base desires buried once more. He looked across at Ibelis, anger and pain in his eyes.

"Is that really how low your opinion of me is...?" He said quietly. "Did you really think that was the kind of man I was? For the sake of a wager, that I would take you... against your will?"

Ibelis stepped back, taken aback by the pain in his voice.

"N...no...I..."

"Then why did you come here?" Omega demanded. "To me, the one man who you previously couldn't stand, with an offer like that...? What do you take me for, some kind of beast in heat?"

"C-Celtis had said you had an interest in me..." Ibelis tried.

The God of Destruction took two steps forward, claws slamming into the wall on either side of the Royale's head. His voice was low, his eyes menacing.

"And...?" He said, a dangerous tone in his voice. "So what? You think that was all it took? An 'interest' in you would be all it would take for me to jump at this chance, to 'collect' on my wager?"

"Let me explain something to you..."Omega growled. "I may act however I feel like, and you may just write me off as nothing more than a womanizing, sex-crazed maniac with a penchant for violence, but NEVER will I take a woman against her will!"

His voice was bitter.

"Even someone as twisted as me has limits to what he will and will not do. And for you to come here, suggesting something like that, for the sake of your pride...your 'word as a Royale', is an insult without equal..." He looked down at her, his eyes cold. "So I recommend that you have a DAMNED good explanation for yourself, Ibelis Royale!"

Ibelis had not taken her eyes off of him once, even at the height of his rage. She stood there, her back pressed against the wall as she stared up at him. Then, as Omega demanded an explanation, she smiled.

"I had to know." She replied simply. Omega stared at her uncomprehendingly for a moment, before he caught on.

"You sly minx..." He gave a dangerous smile. "You were TESTING me?"

Ibelis met his gaze levelly.

"I needed to confirm it, once and for all, what kind of man you really were. Whether or not you were someone who I could safely entrust my sister's body, or if you really were as twisted as I had first thought."She smiled.

"It seems as though there is indeed more to you than the brash, arrogant rebel you appear to be. And from what Ayano has told me, Queenbee too is someone who I can trust."

Omega stepped back and shoved his hands into his pockets, his tattered crimson coat rustling around him.

"Your words, not mine..." He smirked, one eye flicking open to look at her, "But I never said otherwise, now did I?"

"True..." Ibelis admitted, "But then, even if you had told me back then, I probably still wouldn't have listened."

"Heh! Fair enough." Omega laughed. "But still, even after the fiasco of that whole race, you still thought you needed to test me? Whether or not it's your sister's appearance, the person looking through those eyes is Queenbee, and she belongs to ME! My prize, the first I've found since waking up in this world!"

He raised one clawed hand before him, talons clenching.

"Rest assured, if there's anyone who dares to lay a finger on her, or make some other claim on her against her will, I'll be there to trash them once and for all! She chose to become mine all on her own, and I'll obliterate anyone who says otherwise!"

Ibelis sighed.

"That's all well and good, but to be honest, I'm more worried about the danger she's in from you..."

Omega laughed again.

"Danger? Ha ha...well, like I said, she's all too willing, and who am I to turn down a beautiful girl?"

Then his face turned serious.

"But just get one thing straight...she might look like your sister, but the person in that shell is NOT Vesper Royale. It's Queenbee. A different individual, with her own goals, her own dreams, and her own personality. She didn't ask to be what she is today, and you have no right to see her just for the body she's in."

He turned his back to Ibelis.

"Your sister is dead. She's no longer here. But, if I had to say it..." He hesitated, "She still lives on, both in the appearance of Queenbee, and in your memories, the name of Royale. You can't change what happened to her, but with the death of Black Thresher, at least you can say she's finally been put to rest."

"...I know." Ibelis said sadly, looking away. "It was terrible of me to see her just as my sister's body, but at the time, I..."

"It's enough." Omega smiled, looking away into the distance. "It's all over, so there's no sense in continuing to talk about it. Vesper's ghost has finally been laid to rest, Black Thresher's been put down, Ayano's apparently developed a bit of a crush on Queenbee, and you've come to terms with Queenbee having Vesper's body. That's all of it, finally wrapped up and settled. Now, there's only one thing left to do..."

Whirling around, he snapped one finger out at Ibelis, startling her.

"And that's your problem with me being Queenbee's 'Master'!"

Ibelis jerked, reddening.

"W-well, her having my sister's appearance is one thing, b-but for the two of you two to be doing...th-that...!" Ibelis blush intensified, steam starting to rise from her head. "W-well, that's an entirely different matter all together!"

Omega raised an eyebrow as she continued to babble.

"I-I mean, I know Queenbee m-might have certain...t-tastes, b-but um, it's still a little hard for me to get used to!"

There was a pause.

"You know, I've been meaning to ask this for a while, but..." Omega finally said, "Exactly how did you know what she and I were doing? And how do you know what Queenbee's 'tastes' are...?"

There was a brief silence, during which Ibelis made a strangled noise of panic.

"Um, I mean, er, I just, you know, uh, information, and, and...!"

Omega's eye twitched.

"You were watching, weren't you."

"N-no! I wasn't...! I'd never...!" Certain memories rose unbidden in Ibelis' memory, and she jerked.

"...I'm a horrible person...!" She whimpered, slumping over in depression. Omega grinned and sidled over to her, patting her on the back.

"There, there..." He snickered, "Don't worry, we've all got our hidden vices..."

The God of Destruction looked around for a moment, before leaning in closer to her.

"So..." he grinned conspiratorially, "Interested in putting on a show of your own?"

Ibelis' traitorous mind flipped through a few choice images, adding in the sounds of Queenbee's squeals of delight, and Omega's wild laughter, before suddenly replacing Queenbee's image with her own, writhing in pleasure-

And then the poor girl overheated and passed out.

Omega stared down at the incoherent Royale and her nosebleed, wincing.

"Ooookaaaaay...That might have been a bit too much too soon...I think I'll wait a while before I break out the rest of the epic pick-up lines..."

Nearby, Thresher took a break from gnawing on the wall to roll its mechanical eyes and give a sarcastic snort, as if to say, "No, gee, ya THINK?"

The God of Destruction stared blankly at the wall, one eyebrow twitching.

"Aaaaaaaand NOW I'm getting pick up tips from a sentient bike. Ya know, just ONCE I'd like to have a day that doesn't hit an 8 on the crazy scale."

* * *

Vile dropped down into a free seat and leaned on the table, heaving a sigh.

"Alright, Pandora...what happened?"

Pandora fidgeted in a seat of her own, staff across her knees. Since she had come here, she had changed a fair bit, actually opening up a bit to the faceless Renegade and his adopted charge. He'd come back from the final defeat of Black Thresher to discover that one of things among Rika's to-do list on her 'girl's day' (aside from painting the poor, poor, defenseless Punisher Ride Armor PINK) had been to find some casual wear for the former agent of Albert. After finding a set of clothes the Witch had liked, Rika had even gone out of her way to change the colors to match Pandora's regular color scheme. A white dress with a knee length skirt and blue frills on the sides, and a fitted blue and white blouse on top that left her arms uncovered, save for the black bodysuit that all Reploids, combat or otherwise were outfitted with. To Vile's surprise, Rika had actually convinced the shy girl to take off her helmet too, leaving her hair completely free.

Looking at her now, Vile was reminded once again that, despite the cold appearance, and the hostile attitude she had been shown with in all of her battles with the Chosen Ones...Pandora was a strikingly beautiful woman.

...even with the smudges of ash on her face, and the cinders on her white dress.

The Renegade forced himself back to the present, reminded by the lingering scent of smoke, and the singed marks on Pandora's face and clothes.

"W...well..." The Witch started, "I...I wanted to try...that thing you do...where...you make...um..."

She gave Vile a beseeching look.

"This isn't about cooking again, is it?" He raised an eyebrow. Pandora's eyes lit up in remembrance.

"Cooking!...Yes...that was what it was called...!" Then as the rest of his sentence sank in, she hung her head.

"...yes, it was..."

Vile sighed, and rubbed at his helmet.

It had happened about a day after the fiasco with Black Thresher. One of the things which Vile would never be caught DEAD admitting was that he was, in fact, an excellent cook. After all, in two hundred years of life, you had to find SOMETHING to help pass the time, right? So in his free time, when he wasn't patching up his weapons, and doing maintenance work on his stored armory of combat machines, Vile, the infamous Renegade, had decided to try his hand at cooking. Which had actually been more of an important skill than he would have thought, as it turned out that unlike Vile, who needed no such thing, Rika's system required actual food. And so, he'd learned to cook very quickly. It was either that, or the diminutive nanotek would very quickly send him bankrupt with restaurant bills.

This of course, was due in part to her IDIOT creator raising her on some EXCEPTIONALLY high class food.

So anyway, about a day after Black Thresher bit the big one, Vile had been forced to put his cooking skills to work, partly because Rika had finished the last of the cooked food in the fridge and also because she had been pestering him to do another one of his famous three course spreads, the last of which had been done in celebration of wrecking Aerios' face during the Model O mission.

It also had NOTHING WHATSOEVER TO DO WITH THE FACT THAT SHE HAD SAID THAT PANDORA WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO IT AS WELL.

NOPE, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING LIKE THAT HERE. NO SIREE.

Plus, it wasn't all that often he'd get a chance to show off like this...

At any rate, Vile had gone all-out, pulling together all of his remaining supplies to make a feast worthy of even the Wise Men! Rika of course, had gone all sparkly-eyed, and dove right in, piling her plate high. Pandora on the other hand...

"What's wrong?" He had asked. Pandora had stared at the table of elaborate cuisine in awe for a few more moments, before replying.

"D-did you...make all of this...?"

"Yes, I did." He had answered, "Why? Something the matter?"

"No...it's just...I never knew it was possible to...do things like this...Or that there could even be...so many different types of food..."

Vile had raised an eyebrow.

"...You mean you've never heard of cooking before?"

Pandora had shaken her head.

"No...when we were with Albert...there was no time for such things. Our capsules would give us all the nutrients we needed...enough to keep us functioning until...our next return." She looked back at the food, which Rika was still silently carving her way into. "There was never anything like this...I saw pictures, and sometimes people with such things in the cities, but...I didn't think it was possible to make something so amazing...with your own hands."

"I see..." Vile had said quietly. "Albert really ran you ragged, didn't he..."

Pandora had nodded sadly, looking back at the feast again, only to blink as a plate of food was thrust towards her. Lifting her head in surprise, she found it held in one of Rika's hands, the quiet nanotek pausing in her gnawing of a chicken leg to stare at the Witch.

"...For me?"

"..." Rika had said nothing, merely giving a slight nod.

"That answers that question." Vile had smirked, Pandora gingerly holding the plate in both hands, as if it was a glass sculpture that might disintegrate at the slightest wrong movement. On the other side of the table, Rika had returned to attacking her chicken with increased gusto.

The Witch had then timidly picked up a piece of shrimp on the end of a clumsily held fork, and gave it a slight nibble.

And then her face had lit up with a radiance that Vile still remembered, giving a gasp of amazement at the taste.

The night had gone by quickly after that, with Pandora discovering rapidly that she had a surprisingly large appetite, her customary shyness temporarily forgotten in her eagerness to try all of the delicious food before her.

Since then, though, Vile had caught her giving sidelong looks at the stove, the Witch occasionally sidling over to it now and then to poke and pry at it, as if to figure out just how it was such a simple machine could give birth to such a variety of amazing dishes. Anytime he asked, however, she had hastily snatched her hands away, hiding them behind her back and pretending as though nothing had happened. Whenever she wasn't off constantly monitoring the information coming in from Vile's network (to the extent that he sometimes found her asleep in there come morning), or scanning the news for any reports of her brother, he would usually find her in the kitchen, quietly wandering around and intently examining every nook and cranny of the room. And of course, on the rare occasions that the Renegade stepped up to carry out another culinary masterpiece, she was always there in the background, hovering around and peering over his shoulder at what he was doing.

This was the first time she'd actually tried anything, though. He supposed she must have just been waiting for an opportunity when he wasn't around. Whether it was a matter of her pride, in that she didn't want to ask him for help, or if she was just too shy to ask him in the first place, he had no idea. But the fact of the matter was...

He turned to look at the block of ice that was now his stove. For the entire duration of the conversation, Rika had been sitting next to it, quietly chipping away at it with a small chisel and hammer, collecting the shavings in a mug underneath. When the mug had reached it's full capacity, she'd stop and take a break, munching away at her homemade shaved ice silently.

Catching Vile's questioning look, she tilted her sideways and stared back at him.

"Ice cream's done." She said, and went back to munching on her cup of shaved ice.

The Renegade gave a sigh and turned back to Pandora.

"Pandora..."

"Ah!" Pandora jumped in surprise, stiffening. "Y...yes?"

"...you know, if you wanted to learn how to cook, you could have just asked me."

The Witch reddened, and started to protest.

"N...no, I couldn't do that...You've all done, um, so much for me already, so I...I um..." Her face fell. "I...I just wanted to be able to do something in return...for you..."

The last two words were spoken more to herself than Vile, which is why the Renegade missed them. He groaned.

"Pandora...Look, I keep telling you, it's fine. You don't have to go out of your way to do anything you don't want to, just because you think you have to. I decided to bring you in on my own. There's no need to push yourself. While you're here, you're a guest of Unit V-"

"But...but I want to help...!" She persisted. "You went out of your way to save me and you even...stood up for me against Legion Security! And...even after that, you were kind enough to...offer me a place to stay while you helped look for my brother..."

Pandora lowered her head.

"N...nobody else has ever...done anything like this for me before...s-so I...I wanted to do something to repay you..."

"And so you tried to cook something on your own as a surprise." Vile leaned back in his chair as Pandora nodded guiltily. The Renegade sighed.

"Well...all right, if you feel that strongly about it...I guess I could..." He coughed, looking away, "I suppose I _could _teach you the basics..."

Pandora looked up, hope in her eyes. Seeing it, Vile cleared his throat, averting his eyes once again.

"...A-at least enough to make sure you don't destroy my kitchen again!" he added hastily.

The Witch of Lightning and Ice stared at him for a moment longer, before she finally smiled, elation dancing in her eyes.

"Th...thank you, Vile..."

The Renegade twitched, once again feeling that strange...sensation at the sound of her saying his name. Quickly changing the subject, he hurriedly turned to look back at the now much smaller iceberg.

"...So...what exactly were you trying to make?"

"O-oh..." Pandora started. Pressing a finger to her chin, she gave a slight frown, trying to recall the name. Vile meanwhile, was very careful to look away from her again, as by now he was beginning to suspect that Pandora would very likely kill him with her weapons-grade adorableness/innocence before long...

"Um...Oh, that's right!" She said finally. "I think you called it...a...a...salad?"

The Witch looked up at Vile to see if she'd pronounced the strange name correctly.

The Renegade, on the other hand, looked as though he'd just been turned to concrete.

"A...salad...?" He croaked.

His neck moving with a wooden, creaking sound, Vile slowly turned his head to look back at the iceberg, and all of the scorch marks that surrounded it.

"You tried to make...a SALAD...?"

"Yes..." Pandora tilted her head slightly. "Why? Is something...wrong?"

Vile's mouth was dry.

"I think...you might need to learn a bit...more...than just the basics..."

* * *

Marino sighed as she stared out at the sight before her. Next to her, Cinnamon laughed and clapped her hands together in delight.

"Isn't this fun, Marino?"

Marino pressed a hand to her face and groaned.

"Fun...that's not exactly the word that springs to mind..."

At the moment, they were standing in one of the EXTREMELY high tech conference rooms Ace had gotten built inside of Legion HQ. Unlike many of the other similar facilities like this one, however, this was the Scarlet Phoenix's favorite, as he had taken the liberty of installing a few...personal touches.

Which served in part to explain why he and Vent were both up on top of the specially reinforced conference table and using it like a stage as they rocked out to Guitar Hero on the screen that had been installed into the far wall.

With real guitars.

And surround sound.

With spotlights, smoke machines and a laser light show to boot.

Plus any number of random HQ workers, A.C.E or otherwise who had heard of the epic duel, all of whom were screaming for their favorite.

"All right, you otaku bastard!" Vent yelled triumphantly, his guitar blasting the final chords of his song. "Try and top that!"

"OH, WILL I EVER!" The Scarlet Phoenix laughed madly, "THEME SONG TIME! CUE MUSIC...!"

**[MEGAMAN ZERO MYTHOS: DEPARTURE!]**

Ace's guitar howled as the speakers roared again, Vent gritting his teeth in a savage smile.

"Not bad, Phoenix!"

"OH, I'M NOT DONE YET!" Ace whooped, hammering away at the strings.

In the audience, Cinnamon cheered and jumped and down.

"Go get em' Mister Ace!"

Nearby, Fefnir gave a wild yell and threw his hands into the air, accidentally flinging his empty beer glass across the room.

"WOO! I FUCKIN' LOVE THIS JOB!"

The Scarlet Phoenix whirled, blazing red overcoat whipping epically around him as he moved, skating and dancing across the polished stage/conference table, guitar screaming under his fingers. The speakers blasted away, the theme song of a legendary hero sounding from them, stirring the fans into an even greater frenzy.

As the instrumental song wound down, Vent opened one eye and gave a dangerous smile.

"All right, Phoenix, time I challenged you on your own turf!"

He slammed one boot down on the table.

"MICROPHONE MODE!"

Ace spun around in shock as he saw a mike come spinning up out of a concealed hatch in the table.

"Oh you sneaky son of a bitch!"

Vent grinned as he caught the mike, twirling it expertly as light flashed off of his whipping hair.

"You snooze, ya lose, Ace old buddy!" He turned to the screen. "CUE MUSIC...!"

He paused for a moment, then gave a devilish smile.

**[SORAIRO DAYS-MASAAKI ENDOH VERSION!]**

"SHIT!" Ace cursed desperately, staggering backwards under the onslaught. "My one weakness, multiplied by four! The infinite GAR of Masaaki Endoh, plus the infinite awesome of Gurren Lagann!"

**Kimi wa kikoeru**

** Boku no kono koe ga  
Yami ni munashiku  
Suikomareta**

"Oh-ho, looks like Ace has a real fight on his hands...!" Fefnir grinned, "YEAH, VENT, KICK 'IS ASS!"

Marino shot the Land Crasher a look.

"And just whose side are you on, anyway?"

"Whichever one happens to be more awesome at the time!" Fefnir replied cheerily.

** Moshimo sekai ga  
Imi wo motsu no nara  
Konna kimochi mo  
Muda de wa nai**

Ace whistled aloud in surprise.

"God DAMN...!" He grinned, "How'd he even learn the words to this? I thought he HATED me and my anime stuff!"

** Akogare ni oshitsubusarete  
Akirametetan da  
Hateshinai sora no iro mo  
Shiranai de**

"I got fifty bucks on Vent to win!" Some random audience member yelled.

"You're on!" Fenir yelled, immediately attentive to anything that involved gambling

**Hashiridashita omoi ga ima demo  
Kono mune wo tashikani tataiteru kara  
Kyou no boku ga sono saki ni tsuzuku  
Bokura nari no asu wo kizuiteiku**

Marino leaned over to Aile.

"How DID he learn the lyrics for this anyway?"

** Kotae wa sou itsumo koko ni aru...**

Aile took a sip from her drink and grinned as she watched her idiot brother rocking out on the stage/conference table.

"Well...let's just say he has more in common with the crazy boss of yours than he'll ever admit in public."

"Ooooh." Marino nodded. "Ace WAS wondering where his spare discs kept disappearing to..."

"Yeeeeeah..."Aile winced. "Just don't let anyone else know about that, alright? I'm getting a FORTUNE in blackmail off of Vent..."

Ace smirked

"Curses...! If this keeps up, even I won't be able to out-awesome him! Think fast, Ace, or you're out of bragging rights for another week...!"

And then his gaze fell on Marino, a single spot of pink color amidst the crowd, and inspiration struck him. Where Ace's specialty, and therefore his weakness, was in anime themes, Vent was best at 80's music, real rock 'n roll. And Ace only knew one eighties song...

"Only one thing to do..."

He punched the surface beneath him, and a second mike flipped up into his hand.

"COUNTER-ATTACK WITH HIS OWN STRATEGY!"

Marino jerked as she heard Ace override Vent's tune with one of his own.

"H-hey, wait a minute...!" She stammered, recognizing it.

"CUE MUSIC...!"

**[Van Halen- Dance the Night Away]**

** _Have you seen her? _**

_**So fine and pretty. Fooled me with her style and ease!**_

Aile paused, a thoughtful look on her face.

"Wait...I know this song..."

_**And I feel her from across the room.  
Yes, it's love in the third degree! **_

"You know...the one that played for..."

"Hah hah, er, n-no, I'm sure this isn't a song you'd know..." Marino laughed nervously.

_**Ooh, baby, baby!  
Won'tcha turn your head my way? **_

"Oooh! I know this song!" Cinnamon cheered. "This is the one they were playing at that party last year!"

"Erk...!" Marino blanched and leapt at Cinnamon, desperately trying to silence her.

"Cinnamon! Quiet!" But Cinnamon simply danced out of reach and went on.

"Remember? The one where you and Ace were dancing together?"

Marino paled.

_**Ooh, baby, baby!  
Come on, take a chance!**_

"Ah-HA!" Aile smacked one fist against the palm of her hand. "I KNEW this sounded familiar! Wasn't this the song Ace said always reminded him of you?"

"E-er...n-no, you're mistaken..." Marino tried, her flustered demeanor not helping her in the slightest.

_**You're old enough to dance the night away!  
Oh, come on, baby, dance the night away!**_

Fefnir grinned up at the stage.

"I dunno, he seems to be pretty specific about who he's pointing at."

Marino made a panicked noise and looked up at Ace.

Whether it was by accident or design, the Scarlet Phoenix was indeed singing in her direction, elaborate gestures and all as he continued to sing his heart out.

Vent grinned, following Ace's line of sight.

"Well, it ain't as epic as any of the other classics he could have done, but..." He smirked at the sight of a blushing Marino, her normally professional manner evaporating as she tried to decide whether to be embarrassed, flattered, or just a confused mix of the two.

"Well, he's got all of his heart behind it, so I'll give him that!"

In the crowd on the other hand...

"For the last time, I'm telling you i-it's...it's not like that! I just like him as a friend, okay?"

"Then why are you blushing?" Aile teased.

"Sh-shut up!" Marino retorted hotly. "I-it's hot in here, that's all!"

"What's hot in here?" Aile grinned mischievously, "The temperature, or your boyfriend up on the stage?"

"B...b-b-b-b-boyfriend?" Marino spluttered, "He's not my boyfriend, dammit! Who'd want anything to do with him? He's loud, reckless, has no self control, is insane and totally irresponsible, and, and, and, and...!"

Always puts the needs of others before his own.

Always believes in himself and his justice.

Always seeks to protect those too weak to protect themselves.

Always stands up for those without the strength to.

Always...

Always...

"O...okay, f-fine!" Marino stammered, "M-maybe I do like him...a bit...b-but not as a boyfriend, dammit!"

Aile patted her sympathetically on the back.

"You keep telling yourself that, ninja girl..."

"U...uuuuuuuu..." Marino whimpered, and buried her face in her hands, steam rising from her head. "S-stop teasing me...!"

"Aw, but you're so adorable when you're in denial!"

Vent groaned.

"Friggin' tsunderes..."

* * *

"Check."

The Colonel-Commissar frowned slightly, down at the chessboard before him.

"Interesting..." He murmured, "I hadn't thought of that."

"Well, it's not exactly a move you'd play unless you were extremely reckless, or had an extremely complex plan in the works." Nana smiled.

Colonel stared at her for a moment, one eyebrow quirking.

"And which of the two are you?"

Nana flashed him that innocent smile again.

"Why don't you try taking that rook and find out for yourself?"

The black-clad Colonel-Commissar folded his arms and stared down at the board, thinking. He and Nana were currently out in one of Legion's nearby parks, taking in the sunshine at one of the stone tables arranged around the blue lake to their left. It was a bit of a weekly habit. Once a week, regardless of where they were, whichever city they were in, Nana would drag the Colonel off to play a round or two of chess with her. As a distinguished academic, there were very few opponents she could find on par with herself. Ace, unfortunately, while indeed possessing an IQ that rivaled her own, rather spoiled it with his overabundant reserves of GAR and epicness.

Which is why any form of chess match with him usually ended with him making some kind of epic, inspirational speech of manliness to his pieces and then shoving them all forward to 'attack' her side, epic theme music playing in the background.

So as we were saying, she had difficulty finding a worthy opponent to challenge her in chess, which to Nana was a bit of a shame, as she rather liked the game. However, when Ace had assigned her to operate for the Colonel, she had made the mistake of challenging him to a match.

Five turns later, she was staring at the board in openmouthed awe, Colonel having mercilessly shredded her defenses and utterly routing her.

Lacking in academic and textbook knowledge he might be, but the fact remained that the Colonel-Commissar of A.C.E, formerly the Colonel of the Repliforce, was still possibly the greatest military tactician in the world.

Again, Ace was disqualified, due to the inherent idiocy that came along with being so ridiculously hot-blooded. It also didn't help much when he kept coming up with plans much like the ill-named 'Operation: Turn-Legion-HQ-Into-A-Giant-Laser-Cannon-To-Wreck-That-Damn-Orbital-Toaster'.

Somewhere inside, Nana suspected that it had been that moment, faced with a strategic genius even greater than her own, a calculated skill at military strategy, and the fact that he had all but brushed her off, despite her being so famous and well-known, that she had begun to take an interest in the man.

After that, she had come back to him again and again, constantly challenging him over and over. At first, he had been a bit bewildered by the intensity of her attentions, but had gone along with it on a whim. And to his surprise, he found he rather enjoyed clashing wits with the smaller academic. Amidst their constant debating, their verbal spars, and chessboard wars, the two discovered that they had a lot more in common than one would think to look at them.

For one thing, both of them had lost someone dear to them as a result of Maverick actions. And both of them had their entire organization simply manipulated from behind the scenes in order to cause their respective tragedies. For Nana, it had been the insane Colonel Redips, masterminding the entire battle of Giga City in order to get his hands on the legendary Supra Force Metal. And for the Colonel-Commissar, well...he never really spoke about it much, but he had told her that the entire thing had been set in motion by Sigma himself, just using the Repliforce as a scapegoat.

Again, another similarity. Both of their respective factions had been at odds with those in power, fighting a valiant battle against their 'oppressors'. However, where the Giga City Resistance had been justified in their actions, Colonel's Repliforce had not been. Instead, they were simply used by Sigma as expendable pawns.

A rare smile flickered across the Colonel's face, and he leaned forward.

"Interesting...Bishop to E-6."

Nana jerked out of her reverie and looked down at the board.

"Ah...blast." Her face fell as she saw that the Colonel had neatly disarmed the trap set by her rook and knight.

"That was certainly an interesting maneuver." He remarked, looking at her intently. "Every time I think I've seen it all, you bring out some new combination to try and trap me."

"Flattery will get you nowhere." Nana laughed, "And it's not like you can talk either! I still have yet to defeat you, remember?"

"True enough." Colonel admitted, turning to look out at the lake. "This is a rather beautiful place, though. How did you happen to find it?"

Nana gave him an odd look.

"It's a little less than a half hour's walk from the front of Legion HQ, Colonel. A lot of people know about this place."

"I see..." The Colonel coughed to cover up his error. "Regrettably, much of my time is spent either in training or in my official work. I do not have the time necessary to go exploring, nor have I ever felt the need."

"Always the workaholic, aren't you..." Nana sighed.

The Colonel simply shrugged.

"It is who I am." He shifted. "Had it not been for your...insistence after that first game, I most likely would not be here now."

He looked out at the blue lake and the greenery around it, a few civilians scattered here and there as they too enjoyed the artificial oasis.

"So for that...I suppose I must thank you."

Nana started and almost dropped her piece. Thanks? From the COLONEL?

"Uh um er, I mean...n-no, i-it's fine!" She stammered quickly, waving her hands frantically. "Really! I-I...I-I just did it because I finally found somebody who I could play against, that's all!"

'_Wh-why does it feel so hot all of a sudden...?_'

"I see." The Colonel nodded. "Very well then."

He got to his feet, adjusting his military cap again.

"Then I suppose I should be going. I've heard reports of gang violence breaking out in Sector 3's western district."

Nana blinked.

"Hey, wait...! What about our match?"

The Colonel-Commissar of Legion gave her another rare smile.

"Checkmate."

She looked down at the board. After about five minutes, she finally saw it.

"Son of a...How do you ALWAYS do that?"

** [Cue Music: MMZ-Break Out in Resonance]**

Turning, she saw the Colonel strolling away, black coat-tails flowing out behind him, the saxophone music of the park's speaker's fitting his stylish figure perfectly. With a sigh, she pressed a button on the table and the virtual chessboard disappeared.

"As classy as always, Colonel..." She sighed ruefully and started after him, projection board folded under one arm.

After a moment...

"GAH!"

WHUMP.

Colonel winced slightly.

"Are you all right?"

Nana sat up, groaning as she dusted a few errant leaves off of herself.

"Yeah...I'm used to this by now." She grumbled, getting back to her feet. "Damn klutzy circuits..."

Looking back up, she took a deep breath and started off again.

"Well then, shall we?"

The Colonel nodded, and started walking once more.

A few steps later, though...

"WHOA!"

THUD.

The chessboard dinged off the back of his head, accompanied by another feminine yelp. Still looking forward, the Colonel simply gave a slight groan, and pressed a hand to his face, stopping once more.

As a trash can rolled past him, he heard Nana attempting to swear as politely as possible and he sighed.

* * *

Celtis gave an angry growl and stomped down on another unfortunate thug's head.

"Try to rob ME, will you? I'll teach YOU to mess with my hard earned money! I just BOUGHT this jacket, dammit!"

Kitara winced as more stomping ensued.

"All right, Celtis, I think you made your point well enough..."

"Like HELL I did! NOBODY TRIES TO ROB ME AND GETS AWAY WITH IT!" Celtis kicked another unconscious mugger in the ribs for good measure and ignoring the cheers of Model O in her head for more gratuitous violence.

She gave an annoyed growl and stomped off, heading back for Kitara's shop.

"Oh, by the way, Celtis!" Kitara started, remembering something.

"I was asked to give you this." She handed Celtis a piece of paper.

There was a pause as Celtis read the note.

"WHAT DO YOU _MEAN_ 'THIS IS ALL THE SCREENTIME I GET FOR THIS CHAPTER'?"

* * *

**A/N:** Whoops, and looks like we just ran out of time! Oh well! Better luck next time, Celtis!

...What?

Anyway, as you can tell, there was nothing too special about this chapter. I've been growing a bit concerned with the number of all-out combat chapters I've been doing recently, so I thought I'd put together one that's a bit more...slice of life, showing off some of the daily moments of a few of your favorite characters in here.

Kinda like character building, except shorter. Because, I mean, if I didn't try something different every now and then, things'd get pretty boring, right?

Besides, if I'd continued going by my plot-driven style, I wouldn't be able to work in random little scenes like Ace and Vent duking it out in Guitar Hero/Kareoke Hero, or the EXTREME randomosity of the Unit V crew.

I'll be honest, I MAY have gone a bit overboard by making Vile have cooking as a side hobby. That just seemed a bit...odd, to say the least. Tell him anything about it, though, and it's YOUR funeral, dude!

Also, you got a little insight into his past with Rika, though not much, since I'm still holding back some of the juicy stuff for later. And I'm sure I've gotten some of you more than a little worried with the references to Sigma and Giga City...What, you thought Vile was just part of the scenery for two hundred years? Psh, HELL no!

Some BAAAAAAD stuff went down after X8. Let's just leave it at that for now.

Plus, I feel like I've been neglecting them recently, so I decided I might as well give them an appearance, even if it's a non-combat one. Don't worry, though, the awesome fight scenes with Chuck Norri- I mean Vile, are still to come!

Omega didn't get all that much screentime here, except to show off his 'cool' side a bit more, as compared to his batshit insane side, which appears, well...the other ninety percent of the time he isn't acting cool. But let's face it, that doesn't really matter all that much, considering the fact that he generally tends to steal the whole show just by SHOWING UP in the other chapters!

And...heh heh...well, Colonel's just awesome enough that he can get background music even outside of a combat chapter! The Resonance Break Out was just too classy and stylish for me to pass that up!

So yeah, don't worry, I'll bring out the next chapter a week sooner to make up for how short this one was!


	33. Chapter 32: RESUME THE AWESOME!

**Chapter 32: Resume the Awesome**

**Disclaimer:** I only own my characters, Capcom owns Megaman in general

* * *

Ashe growled in anger as she wrecked another enemy, the Mechaniloid crumbling to dust underneath her boots.

"Dammit, this is REALLY starting to get out out of hand...!"

She raised her head and looked around grimly.

Where she stood had once been a busy intersection within Legion City. Now it was barren and deserted, several storefronts in ruins along with much of the road. Over a dozen corpses littered the ground around her, all rendered completely non-functional. But the truly strange thing about it was the type of Mechaniloid that had taken part in this attack.

All of them were civilian models. Regular mechaniloids that you could find in any part of the city, used for things like construction or roadworks. Not a single one of them was of the military type preferred by most Maverick forces.

This was the third time this week alone that this had happened. For the last month, similar incidents had been occurring throughout Legion City. Mechaniloids would be fine one minute, and then the next, they would go berserk, ripping up the surroundings on a wild rampage. Ace had been all but tearing his hair out over it, as the attacks were all but impossible to predict, outbreaks of Mechaniloid violence appearing in random locations with no identifiable pattern to be found.

Nearby, Grey himself finished off the last of his enemies with a bolt from his rapid fire A-Buster. Sighing, he looked down at the wreckage.

"What a waste..." He murmured. "All of these Mechaniloids, just going crazy like that..."

"I know." Ashe grumbled. "There's no point to all of this! Even the regular Mavericks we deal with at least have SOME kind of purpose. These just seem intent on simply...I dunno, just wrecking as much stuff as they can before we get here!"

She stopped as her communicator bleeped another signal.

"Haaaah...hang on a sec, Grey." She tapped the line open. "Ashe here."

"Ashe? This is Aile. How're things going over there?"

Ashe sighed.

"Yeah, we just finished off the last of these idiots. This barely rates even a workout for me! These things aren't real Mavericks, after all."

"Good, then you've got no problems with heading off to deal with another batch of them, right?"

"What?" Ashe's eyes narrowed. "Where are they?"

Aile leaned back in her chair on the Guardian Base, staring up at the screen with a calculating look.

"From the reports we're getting, there seems to be another disturbance up in the eastern block of District 9."

There was a pause on Ashe's end.

"If you make any District 9 movie references now, I AM going to kill you." Aile deadpanned.

"God, FINE!" Ashe threw her hands up into the air. "Just transfer us over there and get it over with, would you?"

"Ah ah aaah! None of the sass!" Aile chided.

"Yes, _MOM!_" Ashe rolled her eyes.

* * *

The two Chosen Ones teleported into a scene of madness. People were screaming and fleeing in a frenzied panic, trying to escape a crushing death from the tide of berserk machines. A screech of tires, and a dump truck mechaniloid rocketed across the street smashing into a nearby wall. After a few moments, it reversed and repeated the process, slamming its face into the wall again and again, until the whole front of the building eventually caved in on it.

"As humorous as that was to watch..." Ashe said dryly, A-Transing back into Buckfire, "Let's get down to business."

She turned to see another mass of mechaniloids milling around, a mix of construction models and a few more common ones, like delivery-bots and so on.

"Well, this looks easy enough..." She muttered.

"Uh...Ashe?" Grey raised a hand.

"Yeah?"

He pointed to a few hulking shapes that had been previously hidden behind the crazy mechaniloids.

"Are those what I think they are?"

There was a brief silence, after which Ashe reached up and dialed Aile once more.

"Aile?"

"Yes?"

"Uh...with the reports coming in from here...did they mention anything about, er, y'know...any demolition jobs scheduled to be carried out today?"

Aile stared at the piece of paper an aide had just handed her.

"Oh dear."

Ashe's eye twitched, even as the first wave of det-charges sailed through the air towards her.

"Yeah, that's what I figured."

Killing the communication, she brought Buckfire's crossbow arm up, letting loose with a wave of flaming arrows. Even as the explosions shook the air, the massive shapes of the demolition mechaniloids lumbered forward. Built squat and stocky, they were more or less walking tanks, designed for optimum protection in the case of an error in demolition. One arm ended in the stocky muzzle that was responsible for planting the explosive mines used in their job, and the other ended in a powerful wrecking ball made of ceratanium steel.

These were machines designed to shrug off collapsing buildings.

And now it was Ashe and Grey against four of them now, plus the other less dangerous ones that had now begun to notice them.

Not to mention that, from the looks of their erratic movements, they were all nuttier than a fruit bat on a sugar high.

"Well, this just plain SUCKS..." Ashe muttered.

Then, a spark of lightning crackled through the air. The Chosen One blinked.

"What the..."

What happened next was a blur of thunder, a torrent of lightning, and an unmistakable track of impossible right angles, over a dozen of the smaller mechaniloids instantly destroyed by the colossal power surge.

When the smoke finally cleared, Ashe was faced with the sight of Gallidin Voltzer, the legendary Lightning Bullet, standing proud atop the wreckage, and facing down the still standing demolition mechaniloids.

"What in the...Gallidin?"

Gallidin then turned around and gave an EXCEEDINGLY OOC grin, making a V-sign with his fingers.

"Hey, Ashe! You were right, this body's WAY better than Hedgeshock!"

Ashe blinked, and then her jaw dropped.

"GREY? What...how...WHY ARE YOU USING GALLIDIN'S BODY?"

"Hehe...did you forget, Ashe?" Model A's consciousness temporarily moved across into her mind, practically RADIATING smugness. "I'm the Biometal for BOTH of you, remember? So it doesn't matter which of you gets a new A-Trans form using me, BOTH of you can use it! In this case, you got Gallidin, and Grey here can use it too, because I have the data saved!"

"Oh, that is just CHEATING now." The female Chosen One groaned. Then, as a shadow fell over Grey, she froze.

"Grey, behind you!"

The younger Chosen One whirled, eyes widening as a massive wrecking ball hurtled towards him. A flash of lightning, a shower of sparks and he vanished, the demolition mech's attack sailing onwards through empty air. As it crashed into the ground a sizable distance away, Grey reappeared once again, skidding to a halt next to Ashe. Without even waiting, the female Chosen One laid down a barrage of flaming bolts, courtesy of Buckfire's launchers. An inferno blossomed in the midst of the street, a towering wall of fire that engulfed all four of the enemy machines.

"Heh, that should get their attention..." She grinned, only to swear a moment later, another wrecking ball bursting from the inferno to rocket at her. As she leapt out of the way, Grey shot in for the kill. He raised one claw, Gallidin's wristblades spinning up to maximum.

"I got this one, Ashe-GAH!"

His triumphant cry was cut off by a startled yelp, his blades screeching harmlessly against the impenetrable surface of the wrecking ball. He flew backwards, talons digging into the asphalt as he still struggled to pierce the metal surface.

"Blast...! It's...tougher than I thought!"

He looked back, and his eyes widened in alarm as he saw another wall approaching quickly from behind.

"If I can't stop this in time, I'm gonna be a Gallidin pancake...!"

"Falcoooon...**_KIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICK!"_**

A flaming meteor shot from the skies, slamming into the side of the wrecking ball and blasting it away from the younger Chosen One in a shockwave of fire and sparks. The steel sphere flew through the air for a few meters, before striking the ground and bouncing across it for a dozen more.

Grey stared after it in surprise, before turning around.

"Wow, Ashe, that was soooo cooool!"

Ashe stood there, still as Buckfire, and still frozen in the follow-through pose of her kick. She was silent for a moment.

"Grey?" She said carefully. "Did I just rename Buckfire's regular kick to some weird, over-the-top action-y name and yell it at the top of my lungs?"

"Um...yes?"

Ashe was silent for a moment more, before she clutched at her head in both hands and started swearing.

"GODDAMNIT! THAT CRAZY BASTARD'S STARTING TO RUB OFF ON MEEEEE~!"

Grey tilted his head to the side.

"Which one? Ace, or Mister Saber?"

"Urk!" Ashe twitched. "Wh-wh-wh-WHO SAID ANYTHING ABOUT SABER?"

"...Well, he's usually the one you're talking about when you say 'crazy bastard', isn't he?" Grey looked at her curiously, "And besides, wasn't he the one who did that same totally cool kick on the Iron Lizard back during the train mission?"

Ashe looked around shiftily.

"Look, it doesn't matter, okay? Just so long as it's ANYBODY BUT THAT SABER GUY!"

She gritted her teeth and stomped off, muttering.

"Stupid, dumb Saber and his crazy-ass antics. Arrogant little know-it-all who always thinks he's all that and a bag of chips...So what if he's so drop-dead gorgeous?"

_You do, apparently_, her conscience said traitorously, _not to mention the fact that you were eavesdropping on Vix, Syrene and Queenbee all discussing their 'nighttime encounters'..._

"I...I was doing no such thing!" Ashe sputtered, reddening.

_You were drooling._

"Stupid inner monologue..." She grumbled, still red around the ears. As the flames ahead of her disappeared, revealing the four enemies hulking frames, she shelved her obvious tsundere attraction for the white-haired, devilishly handsome Reploid who she totally did NOT fantasize about being in a threesome with her and Vent-

Okay, you know what, let's just stop there.

Ashe charged forward, transforming back into Bifrost.

"Alright, you lugnuts want to play hardball, then let's play hardball...!"

One of the demolishers stepped forward, swinging it's wrecking ball arm, not bothering to launch the ball off this time. Bifrost's jaw slammed shut on it, trapping it instantly.

"I'll...bite you...to CHUNKS!" Ashe roared, clamping down with all her strength. The Demolisher staggered backwards under the force of her charge, stumpy legs digging at the road surface, but that was all.

"The hell...?" Ashe spat, anger and annoyance in her eyes as she felt Bifrost's icy fangs begin to crack. "Why won't these damn things break already?"

"Well...they ARE designed to wreck buildings, after all..." Grey sweatdropped.

"Oh shut up and get the others!"

The younger Chosen One transformed into Queenbee, taking to the air and peppering another Demolisher with a fusillade of stinger bullets. Most ricocheted off, but he did succeed in drawing the opponent's attention. Yet again, the wrecking ball shot towards him, propelled on it's length of chain. With a yelp, Grey transformed into Model ZX and fell past it, landing feet first on the machine's face. He stayed there for a minute, desperately looking for some kind of conveniently placed eye socket or something he could stab, as everyone KNOWS big, impenetrable foes ALWAYS have one of those, before he gave up and decided to leave it up to the falling wrecking ball.

Leaping out of the way, he grinned, as the Demolisher's own weapon succumbed to gravity and smashed it directly in the face, essentially disabling it.

Ashe, meanwhile, was not faring so well. The Demolisher in front of her had managed to get a grip on the floor, and even now had begun to push her back, her already cracked jaws beginning to fail on her.

"Dammit...who the fuck BUILT these things?" She grated, "I've met BOSSES with weaker armor than this!"

Finally losing her temper, Ashe twisted her head and simply threw the whole Demolisher sideways. It flew for a dozen meters before crashing back to earth, but remained relatively undamaged.

"Son of a..." She transformed back to Model A form, nursing her jaw with one hand. "How the hell am I supposed to deal with something like this?"

"Ashe! Catch!"

The female Chosen One spun, surprised as she caught the length of chain Grey threw at her.

"Use this!"

Ashe looked down at the chain.

"What do you mean, use...this..." As she followed the chain to its other end, Ashe realized Grey's plan and grinned evilly.

"Now THIS is more like it! Thanks, Grey!"

A flash of light, and suddenly she was clad in the fiery orange of Model F. With the strength of the most physically powerful of the Mega Men coursing through her, Ashe gave a wild yell and pulled on the chain with both hands.

It had taken Grey almost a full five minutes of sawing with the ZX-Saber to cut through the chain tether of the Demolisher he had downed, but he had to admit, watching Ashe administering the worst beatdown of all time with a wrecking ball twice her size was pretty much worth it.

"EAT THIS, YA PUNK!" Ashe screamed, her first blow smashing the Demolisher in the face so hard it practically backflipped onto the concrete floor, pieces of armor flying everywhere. Even as the deafening crash of its landing rang out, Ashe's boots hit the ground once more, the Chosen One spinning around once more. As the Demolisher struggled back to its feet, one arm raised to strike down at her, Ashe brought the stolen wrecking ball around one more time, slamming it across the face with so much force that the machine spun around in a full circle, finally overbalancing and crashing down on it's back. Carried forward by her momentum, Ashe swung the massive weapon up and over, a roar of triumph escaping her as she brought the wrecking ball smashing down, instantly destroying the machine and blasting it apart. Bits of Demolisher raining around her, Ashe gripped the chain tightly, turning to face the remaining two Demolishers with a dangerous smile on her face.

"All right, two down! WHO'S NEXT?"

She started forward, but stopped as the chain in her hands jerked.

"The hell...?" Looking back, she swore in anger. She had hit the Demolisher so hard that the wrecking ball had blasted clean through it, splitting the machine in two before sinking halfway into the ground. Where it was now stuck.

"Son of a...!" She tugged on it frantically, swearing as she tried to get it free. Seeing her peril, Grey leapt forward, only to be forced back by a wave of launched explosives.

As a shadow fell over her, Ashe cursed again and looked up, realizing that she had wasted too much time. The Demolishers were right on top of her, one with wrecking ball-arm raised in preparation to smash her. Even as she prepared to dodge out of the way-

Something flashed in the air above her-

-and something silver streaked from the sky, slamming into the earth between them with a devastating impact.

"God damn it...!" Ashe stumbled backwards, almost knocked off of her feet by the wave of dust and debris. Coughing, she pried open one eye to see what had happened.

The two Demolishers had halted their advance. For there, blocking their way, stood an unmistakable shape.

**[Cue Music: SRW OG- The Sword That Cleaves Evil (TV version)]**

A single, mighty iron cross stood there, its end firmly embedded in the cracked ground.

Dispatching the last of the explosives, Grey turned to stare at it in surprise

"A cross...?"

Model A's eyes widened. "Oh no...I've seen that before...!"

Even as Ashe herself recognized the legendary Adjudicator, the iron cross wielded by Legion City's most fearsome enforcer, black cloth rippled in the wind, and he was there, a dark figure striding past her.

Spotting a new target for their rage, the two Demolishers charged, makeshift weapons coming to bear.

"Hey, look out, mister!" Grey yelled. If he heard him, the dark Colonel-Commissar gave no indication, his hand finding the handle in the center of the cross and calmly tearing it out of the ground as he passed.

He fixed the enemies before him with a cold glare.

"I am Colonel...**COLONEL-COMMISSAR**!" He thundered, breaking into a head-on charge, the titanic cross held out behind him in a one hand grip.

"**I AM THE SWORD THAT PUNISHES THE GUILTY!**"

"You can't be serious...!" Ashe gasped. "You idiot, those things have Ceratanium-alloy armor! You won't be able to even DENT it with a sword!"

Light flashed along the long arm of the Adjudicator cross. Once more, the blade emerged from its edges, turning the massive piece of iron into a deadly sword. But this time, only the front edge of the cross became a sword. On the back half, the side facing away from the enemies, the entire surface opened, and energy blazed forth.

"His sword has ROCKET BOOSTERS?" Ashe gaped in outraged disbelief. "ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?"

The black Colonel shot forward, a blazing white flame burning the world behind him, cold fury in his eyes.

"_**CHEEEEESTOOOOOOOOOOOO!**_"

A single, thunderous roar, a shockwave of force that blasted Ashe clear off her feet, and the Colonel was past them, the monolithic iron weapon swinging once.

Time stopped, for a brief instant.

And then, as the Demolishers slowed to a halt, the force of his attack made itself known.

Their wrecking ball-arms shuddered for an instant, and split in two, cut down the middle. Then, as the Demolishers staggered backwards, they jerked, armored frames convulsing. In the next second, they were torn apart, a colossal, gaping rend separating their legs from their torso, before a second ragged wound slashed down through their bodies from head to toe, the jagged edges completely separating left from right..

As the two machines exploded, a fireball of fury and destruction raging past him, the black Colonel-Commissar stood tall, military greatcoat whipping around him as the brilliant light of destruction cast its shadow over his features.

"**THERE IS NOTHING...THAT CAN ESCAPE MY JUSTICE!**"

Ashe stared at the conflagration in disbelief, her mouth opening and closing.

"How...how the...we half killed ourselves fragging two of those things, and then he just waltzes in and ONESHOTS TWO OF THEM IN ONE GO?" She sputtered.

Grey stared at the dark figure in starry-eyed wonder.

"He has a rocket powered SWORD...!" He breathed, "That's the coolest thing EVER!"

"I know, right?" Model A said elatedly, "I SO want one now!"

"Model A, you don't even have hands."

"So? I'll bite it in my teeth! Grr!"

Ashe ignored this display of idiocy, instead trying to figure out just how the HELL the man had managed to simultaneously cleave two Demolishers horizontally AND vertically with a SINGLE strike.

The Commissar of the Iron Cross turned around, stowing his strange weapon upon his back once more.

"Come." He said coolly, striding past Ashe. "Marino has called a meeting."

* * *

Twenty minutes later, they were all in Ace's office again. One thing was obvious right away, however.

"Where's Ace?" Celtis asked, giving Marino a questioning look. The female thief sighed.

"Earlier, one of Legion's other departments tried to get Security put under internal investigation, due to his apparently 'inept handling' of the Black Thresher incident. Just another brown-noser, looking to sneak into Security so he could get ahold of Ace's secrets."

Omega raised one eyebrow at her response. "You make it sound like this is a regular thing."

She shrugged. "Asses are asses, the world over. Most of the time, it's either corrupt politicians, pompous aristocrats, or a jackass combination of the two. Ace is, after all, the head of Security here, which means that we're more or less completely incorruptible. And that means a lot of these idiots can't get away with a lot of illegal stuff. That, or they just want power and are out looking to make a name for themselves by ousting a famous name like him, to take over the whole section for themselves. All in all, I figure they try a power play at least once a month."

"So wait, where is he now, then?"

Marino sighed.

"Probably in the council chambers, no doubt attempting to murder the perpetrator responsible for this attempt. Again."

Omega gave her an interested look at that, but decided to let it slide just this once, as Queenbee was busy making herself comfortable in his lap again. The time spent following the Black Thresher battle had been more than enough time for Omega to confirm his suspicions that the ex-Pseudoroid was a DEFINITE masochist. It had a bit to do with the fact that calling her 'his treasure' or basically referring to her as his 'property' in any way, more or less turned her on so badly she could scarcely manage to even walk straight.

And to be honest, Omega winced, he hadn't exactly encouraged her to be otherwise...Then again, he admitted, what kind of man would turn down a babe like THAT?

Grinning evilly, he leaned back into his seat. Turning, he caught a glimpse of Ashe glaring at him. With a smirk, he winked teasingly over at her and turned away.

The female Chosen One snorted and looked away in a huff.

In the back of the room, the Colonel and Craft relaxed at one of the tables they had managed to extricate from the wreckage of the office.

"Care to wager on what happens this time?"

The Colonel simply gave a slight smirk.

"Not this time, old chap."

All in all the current group that had been assembled here consisted of: Omega, Queenbee, the Colonel, Craft, Ashe, Grey and Celtis. Aile was also listening, only via the Guardian Base's comms, rather than being there in person.

"So what's the deal?" Omega finally asked.

"Is it something to do with the recent incidents of berserk mechaniloids?" Celtis added, rubbing her sore shoulder. She too had gotten caught up in the mess, having had to do one or two contracts involving the mechaniloids.

There had also been reports of a lone figure dressed in a purple western-styled outfit wrecking dozens of the things out in the southeastern sector, so it went unspoken that the reclusive and dangerous 'True Maverick' had gotten caught up in it as well. However, as per his usual solitary tendencies, attempts to contact him had gone...MOSTLY unsuccessful.

There HAD been that one partial call where they had caught a glimpse of him and someone they thought was Pandora along with what was suspected to be a stove, before something exploded and they lost the signal.

Aile nodded solemnly.

"Yes, it is. Thanks to some of the info Ashe and Grey managed to gather in their earlier fights, Marino and I think we've figured out the problem."

"Or at least where the problem lies, anyway." Ace's second in command added.

"Wait..what does THAT mean?" Ashe demanded.

"Well..." Marino began. "As you've no doubt realized by now, the enemies we've been having to deal with are all normal Mechaniloids. It seems that something is simply causing them to go berserk. They then turn that destructive nature on the surroundings, which results in the destruction we've all encountered."

"But we never could figure out what was causing it. There were no patterns behind the outbreaks, or any kind of clue as to why it was happening. That is, until Grey here managed to pick up a hint while in Model H mode." Aile continued, indicating the younger boy.

"Hey, I saw it too!" Ashe interrupted indignantly.

"Yes, but you thought it was just an error message and started smacking the side of your head to get rid of it." Grey pointed out.

"Geh...ah, shaddap..."The ponytailed Hunter grumbled, folding her arms.

"Anyway, the point is that he was able to give us what we needed." Marino continued, pausing for a moment.

"All of those Mechaniloids had their core processors attacked by a hack of some kind. Once their defenses were down, someone basically just hit them with a whole crapton of viruses and malware. Hence the craziness."

"Dandy." Omega grunted. "Now, what's this clue you were talking about?"

"Easy. Once we figured out WHAT the cause was, all we needed to know was HOW they were doing it. The answer..." Aile hesitated.

"They're attacking from Cyberspace."

Omega's eyes snapped open, and he stiffened.

"Come again?"

"It's true." Marino nodded. " All of the access records for the Mechaniloids show traces leading INTO Cyberspace. So the only answer we have, is that somehow, somebody hacked them using a Spatial Dive, or some variant of it."

"Wait wait wait...WHAT?"

"It sounds too sci-fi to be believed," Aile admitted, "But it's true. It means what we're dealing with here is something called a Limited Zone."

Ashe stared at her, one eye twitching.

"Oh X almighty, not another one of these psychos..."

Omega raised an eyebrow.

"Explain."

"A Limited Zone is essentially a technology that changes everything within a certain range into Cyberspace. It basically displaces reality itself, transporting you from the real world into the world behind the world, which we call Cyberspace. On that side, you can see everything going on in reality, however at the same time, many things which would not have a physical presence in reality will have a considerable presence over there."

"Like what?" Celtis asked.

"For example, you'll be able to physically enter computers and other such pieces of technology. Let me put it this way: Out here, the Legion mainframe looks like just a room full of servers and black boxes, but seen from Cyberspace, it instead becomes a huge-ass fortress, with turrets, cannon-proof walls, and Cyber-Elf crewed gun turrets. It's basically like what happened to Saber's mind when he and Kitara did that Spatial Dive."

"In a way, a Limited Zone is kinda like doing a Spatial Dive on reality itself!" Aile interjected helpfully.

Celtis blinked.

"Okay, that answers THAT question..."She said finally, "So what you're saying is you can physically access the Mechaniloids from there?"

"Yes. Especially for a skilled Zone technician. They are the ones who create these zones, and once inside, can go anywhere through Cyberspace, and their weapons are their mind given form. There's no way a regular Mechaniloid's programming defenses could stand up to an attack like that. It's like taking this guy-" She pointed to Omega, "And LITERALLY having him walk up to the programming block to hit it with an Excalibur. It's all of your physical power from reality, transferred across to Cyberspace, plus the power of your own mind to create all kinds of other crazy stuff to fight with."

There was a pause.

"So...in theory, if I'm in one of these Zones..." Ashe said thoughtfully, "I could, maybe...do that neat Gate of Babylon move Saber has?"

Marino and Aile both gave her a slightly nervous look.

"Scary as that thought is...um...yes...sort of."

Silence.

"THESE SWORDS ARE FUCKING _PATENTED_, MONGRELS!"

When Omega's outburst had finally subsided, the two tacticians went on.

"So essentially, the Limited Zone is an ability that lets the user Dive into Cyberspace anywhere, anytime, and wreak havoc on things over on that side. We've dealt with a few of them before, but they've never been easy to handle. For one thing, unless you're there when the technician opens the Zone, you'll never get in and even then, only if you're lucky. Most of the time, only the technician themselves will be affected. It's flat-out IMPOSSIBLE for a technician to get into another's Zone, however, unless specifically allowed in."

"It's often common practice among technicians to duel one another, kind of like gladiatorial fights to the death. The collateral damage wreaks havoc on the infrastructure of Legion, with the last one blacking out over a quarter of the City."

"All of this is just fine and dandy." Omega snapped, still clearly miffed about the fact that his totally sweet Gate stood the risk of getting copied. "But none of it explains why WE'RE here!"

"To the contrary!" Aile held up one finger. "There is a reason, and YOU'RE a big part of it!"

Omega's eyes narrowed.

"Really..."

"To summarize: The culprit behind all of this is a Zone technician. Zone technicians operate in Cyberspace, and unless we're specifically allowed in, there's no way to chase them there. SO the only way to catch the bastards is..."

"...To already be waiting for them in Cyberspace." Marino finished smugly.

"Wait, what? What do you mean 'already be waiting for them'? In CYBERSPACE?" Ashe sputtered. "How the hell do you plan to do THAT?"

"Well, at the moment we happen to have come across someone who, it seems, has a natural affinity for ripping holes into Cyberspace..."

Marino turned and gave Omega meaningful look.

The God of Destruction simply groaned and pressed a free hand to his face.

"Ugh...I just KNEW that shit I pulled against Thresher would come back to bite me in the ass..."

"Oh, I get it!" Celtis started. "You want to use his weird portal ability to get into Cyberspace!"

"Basically, yes." Aile admitted. "I don't know how you do it, Saber, but you seem to be capable of tearing a gateway into Cyberspace, and then ripping a new one open at your destination to enter back into the real world. That's the trick behind your teleporting, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess..." Omega muttered. "I'm not exactly well-versed on the details, but that sounds about right. It only works over short ranges, though, and only when there's some kind of technological medium for me to move along, like a fiber optic cable or something, I dunno..."

He gave them a suspicious look.

"But if you know so much about these 'Limited Zones' and their technicians, why don't you do something about it yourselves? You know enough about the technology at least."

"Haven't you been listening?" Marino gave an aggravated sigh. "It's already difficult enough to find these things, let alone enforce them. Thus far, Vent and Ace are the only ones who've had any luck putting down Zone Technicians."

"What?" Ashe raised an eyebrow. "Vent's involved in this too? And how come only he and Vent have been successful?"

"You...need to have a certain 'mindset' for these imagination based duels." Aile winced.

There was a brief moment while everyone considered the two maniacs in question.

"Yyyyeah, I can see why those two'd pull it off..." Ashe muttered eventually, looking around at the messy office. "I for one would rather NOT see the kind of stuff lurking in Ace's brain..."

"Anyhow, to summarize again, we can't track these things, we can't get into them, and we therefore can't enforce them. SO the only way to deal with this cyber-terrorist punk is to get INTO Cyberspace, and then track them from there. With Saber here, we can chase them wherever they try to run, be it the real world OR Cyberspace!"

"...also, he's about as crazy as Ace and Vent so it means we can actually stand a chance of winning when we DO find the guy." Aile muttered.

"That too." Marino admitted.

"So then, what's the plan?"

The plan, as it turned out, wasn't as cut and dried as Marino had made it sound.

"So lemme get this straight...your great 'plan' so far, is basically to go into CYBERSPACE, and then WANDER AROUND until we, you know, HAPPEN to FIND SOMETHING?"

Needless to say, Ashe was less than thrilled.

"Oh hush, you." Aile scolded, "Besides, you're not even going in there."

"Oh great, I'm not-wait, what do you mean I'm not going?"

"Well, we have no idea how well the rest of this plan works, so the length of time we'd need to wait in there could be as long as a month! And, well, humans can't really take that kind of exposure."

"So only Reploids like me will be going!" Grey said proudly, sticking his chest out.

Ashe looked down at him, and then back up at Marino.

"So instead of me, you're sending Grey out. Alone. Onto the physical representation of the INTERNET."

Aile raised her hands defensively.

"Hey don't look at me, I was against this part!"

Marino brushed off the accusing stare easily.

"Oh get over it, will you? Besides, he's not going to be alone. Saber'll be with him and probably Queenbee too."

There was a definite pause this time, as everybody, even the normally cool Colonel, turned to give Marino an incredulous look.

"I revise my previous statement." Ashe amended, "You're sending GREY, out onto the INTERNET, not alone, but instead, accompanied by a shamelessly successful ladies' man, and his masochistic Pseudoroid sex-slave, neither of whom have any concept of morals and, in Queenbee's case, no inhibitions either. Oh yes, I can CERTAINLY see how this could be a good idea..."

She paused.

"No offense, Queenbee."

"Oh no, I don't mind it at all...!" Queenbee blushed, pressing herself up against her Master. "I actually consider that a compliment..."

"O...okaaayyyy..." Ashe raised an eyebrow, deciding that once more, she really, REEEEALLY didn't want to know. "Where was I...? Ah, yes, of course...ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND?"

"E-er, well..." Marino felt a bead of sweat slide down her neck. "Okay, when you put it THAT way...yeah, it does sound like a pretty dumb idea, huh."

"Lady, I'm a psychotic, amoral dude with a penchant for blowing shit up, scoring with hot girls and then blowing more shit up, and even _I_ know that teaming me up with an innocent kid like that is fucking RETARDED!" Omega said, disbelief on his face. "Oh yeah, no offense, kid."

Grey rolled his eyes and sighed.

"I'm used to people calling me a kid. Don't worry about it."

"Fine, FINE. God. Anyway, the plan is for us to keep a few Reploid agents active on the other side for when the next attack occurs. Everybody else will stay on this side and continue investigation. Between these two groups, we should be able to corner this dude the next time he appears."

"So for now, the teams stand at Saber, Queenbee, Craft and Grey for the Cyberspace side, and on this side we'll keep Celtis, Ashe, Lt. Disaster and the Colonel, plus Vent if we can find wherever he's hidden himself."

"Yeah, I was wondering where he went..." Celtis frowned.

Omega rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"You know, for all the noise you guys are making, would it occur to you to maybe just shut down all of the currently available Mechaniloids in town?"

Marino sighed. "We considered that, except it looks as though simply being shut down isn't enough to deter a Limited Zone. The enemy simply forges a boot-up command and wakes the system up to hack it."

Grey, meanwhile, wasn't paying attention to any of this.

"Sweet! I finally get to see Cyberspace!" Grey crowed. "Model A's always telling me about the place, but I never actually thought it was possible to get in there!"

Omega stared at the boy for a moment, before turning to give Craft a direct look that clearly said, _'The kid is YOUR problem, dude.'_

* * *

**Some time later...**

Celtis leaned back in her chair and sighed. At the moment, she was currently seated at a table out on the terrace of one of Legion's riverside restaurants. The view was nice, she admitted, but her thoughts were elsewhere.

The Cyberspace group had already left, Omega tearing another gateway into the world of green darkness. Now all they had to do was wait for another rampage. While Omega and company dealt with the perpetrator on the Cyberspace side, Ashe, Celtis, and the others would handle the real world effects, i.e. the Mechaniloids themselves.

At the moment, though, Celtis was looking more at herself than at any of the others.

For the weeks since the battle against Thresher, and in the lesser fights that had followed, she had begun to become a bit more aware of her own power and had actually begun to commune with the berserk Biometal inside her. She had learned several things in that short time, many of which revolved around Model O's personality itself.

For one thing, the little bastard was stark raving insane.

Carnage and destruction were more or less its' answers to life, the universe and everything. Depending on the situation or mood though, the amount of destruction caused might vary. In general, once Celtis was involved in a fight or anything along those lines, Model O would be all too happy to jump right in, actually working alongside her like a partner, albeit with a penchant for pushing her into ever more increasingly crazy shit. The rest of the time, though, it was about as contrary as a cantankerous wild stallion.

And of course, nothing got it more irritated than the occasions where it had to actually save Celtis. It had no choice in the matter, and had no reservations on making that irritation known.

Although for some reason, any time Celtis thanked it, or said something relatively decent, the Biometal would sputter incoherently for a few moments, and then fall silent, retreating to a deeper part of her mind...

"Excuse me, but do you mind if I sit here?"

Startled out of her reverie, Celtis looked up to find another man standing there.

He was a regular height, of slim build, and dressed casually with a pair of worn blue jeans and a buttoned sportcoat.

"Um...no, it's fine, I guess." Celtis managed, looking around. "But aren't there a lot of other seats free?"

"Ah, thank you." He said, pulling out a chair. "Yes, but this was the only table with a young lady as interesting as yourself."

Celtis raised an eyebrow.

"Sorry, I've got a bit of an aversion to flirting at the moment, so if that's all..."

The man jerked back slightly, brown eyes widening behind his glasses as he hastily waved his hands in denial.

"No no no, that's not it at all!" He said quickly. "All I meant was that you were the only one here who looked like they had something heavy weighing on their mind, that's all."

"So what, you wanted to come over to play confessional?"

"Er, nothing so good-natured, I'm afraid..." The man laughed sheepishly, scratching at his straw-colored hair. "You see, I was simply curious and wanted to know what it was."

Celtis gave him a quizzical look.

"...'Just curious'? Wow, you've got an odd interest..."

"Ha ha!" The man laughed, waving it off. "It's a bit of a failing of mine. If I see someone with a problem, I just have to step in and get mixed up in it!"

He held out one hand.

"I am called Davion. Davion Simmons. And you?"

Celtis gave him a wary look, but shook his hand anyway.

"I'm Celtis. Celtis Arcana, and DON'T ask about any middle names."

Davion raised an eyebrow at that, but said nothing.

"So...IS something troubling you?" He asked bemusedly.

"No...not in particular." Celtis answered, "Although to be honest, it'd feel a bit weird just telling a complete stranger if I did."

Davion winced. "Ouch...Touche, madame."

Celtis couldn't help but laugh a bit at his look of mock injury.

"Well, what can I say?" She grinned. "Do you always walk up to random worried people and ask them for their troubles?"

"Sadly, yes I do." Davion replied. "It's an unfortunate character flaw that has gotten me into trouble on more than one occasion. But, alas, I'm a slave to my curiosity, and to my problem-solving nature!"

"Really?" Celtis looked interested, despite herself. "So you actually DO just walk up to people and ask them what's bothering them?"

"Yes indeed." Davion nodded. "A fool's errand, to be sure, but one that keeps me occupied!"

He signaled a passing waiter for drinks, and leaned back onto the table.

"So then...if our lack of acquaintance is the problem, then shall we spend the evening rectifying that problem?"

Celtis couldn't help but smile at that. Audacious and eccentric the guy might be, but he seemed decent enough. Then again, considering her current standards to go by were Omega, Vent and Ace, that probably didn't mean much...

* * *

The God of Destruction smirked as he stepped through into the luminous darkness of Cyberspace.

"Ahh..." He breathed, "Home sweet home..."

Omega was never quite sure why, but he'd always felt a strange affinity for the strange reality that was the world behind the world. Life in here was brisk, often chaotic, with a touch of the melancholy, a result of the ghosts still lingering in this place. Maybe that sort of the thing was the reason for his attachment to Cyberspace, the reason his existence, and his existence alone could sunder the barrier between the worlds.

"Amazing...!" Grey exclaimed behind him, looking around in awe. The God of Destruction simply sighed and turned around.

"Yes yes, Cyberspace is awesome, now-GAH!"

He recoiled slightly as he found himself face to face with Grey who was currently standing perfectly parallel to the ground. The Chosen One jumped up and down slightly, feet anchored perfectly to the pathway he had landed on.

"Hey, I can walk sideways now! Neat!"

"Uuuuugh..." Omega groaned. "And now I remember what I used to hate about this place..."

"What was that, Master?"

Omega turned once more, following the sound of Queenbee's voice. He then stopped to admire the view, his Ex-Pseudoroid servant standing upside down before him, her feet anchored to the ceiling by another weird patch of gravity. He tilted his head sideways, grinning as he stared at the fact that her already short miniskirt was apparently still affected by regular gravity.

"I hereby retract my previous statements." He added, "Especially since you're wearing that black lace set."

Queenbee blushed.

"Ah, Master...I thought you'd like it...!"

"Sorry to interrupt your exhibitionism session..." A new voice added dryly from behind them, Craft's massive hand landing roughly on Grey's head, covering the protesting Reploid's eyes as he yanked him back onto the normal gravity path.

"But would you two mind getting back down to business? Besides..." He jerked a thumb across at Model A. "Any more of a show and the paperweight is liable to pass out from blood loss."

"It's Cyberspace." Model A replied, happily orbiting Queenbee, whose skirt was STILL falling the wrong way, "I have INFINITE blood!"

"Well said, comrade!" Omega flashed it a thumbs up. "Now-"

WHAM-O!

"Quit ogling MY servant!" He yelled, the unfortunate Zweihander serving once more as an EXCELLENT baseball bat.

_"So much for being a weapon of honor..."_ Saber muttered woefully.

"And as for you..." Chains leapt from the air and ensnared Queenbee tightly. Trying to ignore the whimper of delight from his servant as the chains tightened around her, Omega yanked her off of the ceiling, depositing her back on the ground next to him.

"The show was excellent, but...we'll continue this later." He added, dismissing the chains, much to Queenbee's disappointment.

"Ah...Master...I wouldn't mind if you left the chains..."

Omega pressed a hand to his face in despair, pointedly ignoring his nosebleed.

"Tell you what, I'll tighten those belts of yours and we'll call it even for now, okay?"

One mind-blowing kiss later, with lots of tongue involved, Omega staggered back a step, grinning.

"Woo...I'll take that as a yes then, shall I?"

Fifteen minutes later, with Craft very pointedly covering Grey's ears to block out the moans of delight from Queenbee, Omega smacking Model A for another homerun, and Queenbee finally coming out of her aroused daze long enough to remember how her legs worked, they were FINALLY ready to set off.

"So..." Omega said, rubbing his hands together as he stared out at the infinite green void, "Where to first?"

Craft pointed with one finger.

"I assume following Grey is a viable choice for now."

"Yea, I gue-wait, what?" Omega spun around, in time to see Grey running off, following a path that seemed to view gravity as more of a suggestion, rather than an actual law.

"Son of a...Get BACK here, ya brat! I'M in charge of this job, dammit! If you die, I won't get to score with that sexy Ashe chick!"

Craft watched them for a while, and then sighed, rubbing a hand across his face. After a moment of silence, he snapped his fingers, a virtual version of his Dullahan appearing next to him.

Mounting the massive bike, he roared off after them, leading to another round of shocked swearing from Omega as the commando easily passed him..

"DUDE! NO FAIR!"

* * *

Ashe felt a bead of sweat slide down her neck as she watched them disappear into Cyberspace.

"Are you sure it's safe to leave them alone in there? Saber doesn't exactly strike me as the...'responsible' type..."

Marino waved her concern off easily.

"Maybe, but Craft's with them and he's responsible enough for all four of them combined." She paused. "Except when it comes to coffee."

"On the subject of responsibility, any idea where either of those two nutcases have ended up?"

Marino sighed.

"Well, I'm fairly sure I know where Ace is..." She tapped a button, calling up an operator screen. "Dial the office of Senator Goodman, please."

The operator nodded, and moment's later, the screen flickered to a new view, showing an empty desk, with a huge window behind it. Ashe raised an eyebrow.

"And just what am I supposed to be looking at here?"

Marino held up one finger.

"Wait for it. It might take him a couple minutes to notice the line's open."

"What? Why?"

Moments later, she got her answer. Nothing changed on the screen, but she heard voices.

"Found anything?"

"Geh, other than the usual underworld ties, nothing we didn't already have..."

"Wait, what underworld ties? We didn't know anything about those!"

"Eh, knock yourself out. It's just the petty stuff in any case."

A folder of papers sailed across the screen.

"Oh, nice throw, dumbass, I think you managed to keep at least ONE page inside by the time it got to me."

"Ah shaddap. If it wasn't for us Guardians, you'd never have gotten a warrant for this place!"

"Po-tay-to, poh-tah-to. I'd've just stomped in and threatened him with one of the Colonel-Commissar's special 'audits'."

"Yeesh! Ace, you are an evil, EVIL man."

The Scarlet Phoenix stomped onto the screen, grinning maniacally.

"Oh I know, Vent, I know. After all, what better way to crush evil than to fight it with its own tricks?" He stopped, finally noticing the open line.

"Oh. Hey Marino, what's up?"

"Why am I not surprised Vent is there too?" His aide groaned.

The Guardian Commander strolled on the screen, chuckling.

"Heh heh...that's actually a funny story...AWESOME, but still funny."

"Heh, you got that right!" Ace laughed, before turning back to the screen. "Okay, check this out: There's me, kicking down the door to storm in and put the fear of Phoenix into this politicking slimeball for DARING to mess with my operations. After about ten minutes of him posturing and preening, I was more or less ready to flatten the bastard, and legality be damned! And then, ha ha! Oh man, you won't believe this!"

"Enter the Vent!" Vent grinned, striking a pose. " Aile and I'd had our eyes on this guy for a while. I swear, any more of a stereotypical corrupt bureaucrat, and he'd have been a caricature! So anyway, there I was, rappelling down from the roof and then swinging in as Model ZX, kicking out the glass like a badass and sending broken shards everywhere!"

He punched the air with both hands.

"It was friggin' AWESOME! I even got to borrow one of the Colonel's lines!" He cleared his throat and, in a passable imitation of the Colonel-Commissar's voice, said "**I AM THE SWORD THAT PUNISHES THE GUILTY!**"

Model Z floated into view, clearly grinning despite having no visible mouth.

"Never let it be said that Model Z doesn't know how to make a BITCHING dramatic entrance!"

Ace smirked.

"Yeah, okay fine. Just this once I'll give you the win for that one, dude." He paused. "EXCEPT FOR THE PART WHERE SAID EPIC ENTRANCE CULMINATED WITH YOU KICKING ME IN THE FACE!"

Vent affected a look of mock insult.

"What are you, kidding me? That was half of the epic-ness right there!"

Ashe raised an eyebrow.

"Let me guess... He didn't know you were there, so his epic swing-kick ended up decking you in the face."

"Got it in one..." Ace muttered darkly, rubbing his jaw. "A hundred pounds of Megamerged jackass, STRAIGHT across the jaw."

"Eh, well, it wasn't all bad." Vent shrugged. " I DID give you the intel you needed to actually arrest the jerk, remember?"

"Which intel?" Ace challenged, "The stuff you told me about afterwards, or the stuff that was in the concealed safe your follow-through kick broke open by accident?"

"Little from Column A, little from Column B." Vent shrugged.

"Yeah, great, so when're you getting back here again?" Ashe demanded. "Things are a little crazy with this Zone Technician business, and it might kind of be a good idea to have everybody available!"

Ace's face fell.

"I'd love to be back there NOW, but unfortunately there's still a lot of cleaning up to be done. Apparently, this douche's been sniffing around the edges of A.C.E itself, not enough to know just what it is we have going on, but just enough that he knows, or at least suspects, that there's something else inside of Legion's power structure."

"You know, you're lucky you filled me and Ashe in on your crazy-ass secret laboratory schtick already." Vent commented dryly, "Otherwise you'd have just blown your cover totally."

Ace smacked a palm against his forehead.

"Oh wow, SILLY ME." He said sarcastically, "What a BRILLIANT observation there, Vent! Care to make another?"

"Yeah." Vent said bluntly, "You're an ass, Phoenix."

"And ANOTHER stroke of genius from our prodigy-wait, what'd you call me?"

CRASH! WHAM! PAIN!

Ashe and Marino sighed as they stared at the screen, violence breaking out again.

"Just out of curiosity, how the HELL do we ever get anything done around here?" Ashe demanded.

"Right now, I'm wondering that same question myself..." Marino groaned despondently.

* * *

"So, how much does your problem solving gig pay?" Celtis asked.

"Oh, it depends on what I need at the time I suppose." Davion said easily. "For me, the prize is in the job itself!"

The two of them were currently digging into their respective meals, a waiter having finally arrived at their table.

"Well, I guess that could work for you..." she replied dubiously. "Me on the other hand, I prefer money. I mean, liking your job is one thing, but you can't keep yourself fed with job satisfaction, right?"

Davion gestured slightly to the surroundings.

"And yet, madame, here we both are, eating in the same restaurant." He said lightly. "Thus, your argument is invalid. Also, from what you've already told me, despite your paying jobs, you tend to end up in distress anyway."

"Ouch." Celtis winced. "Touche, Simmons, touche..."

All in all, Celtis had to admit, this was actually kind of...nice. Her life had all but gone to hell from the moment she had set foot into Area N, a whirlwind of psychopaths like Omega, loose cannons like Ace and monsters like the one now hiding within her mind. Actually being able to sit down and have a normal conversation like this was a simple pleasure she'd taken for granted. Hell, she'd almost forgotten what it was like at all!

Plus...well...

She had to admit, Davion seemed to be pretty nice and, if she could bring herself to say it, he was...attractive, in a harmless sort of way. She WAS still a woman, after all, and despite her fixation with money and the derailment of her life with Omega's arrival, she did have her own tastes in eye candy.

Her girlish train of thought was then disrupted by the sound of Model O retching. Blushing self-consciously, she threw a few choice profanities in the general direction of the disgusted Biometal and hid her embarrassment behind a hasty mouthful of food.

"Something wrong?" Davion raised an eyebrow.

"N-no, nothing's wrong, ha ha..." Celtis waved hastily. "Just uh...choked on something, that's all!"

"I see..." The other man looked unconvinced, before shaking his head and returning to normal.

"I have to say though, it's moments like this that make me glad I do things like this. Just being able to sit down and have a nice conversation with another person is a luxury in today's world, isn't it?" He smiled, looking across at her. "What with the threat of Mavericks always looming over us, and people more intent on the material world, it's very rarely any of them simply take the time to sit back and enjoy a moment of peace."

At this point Celtis really did choke on her food. Mentally, her "Potential Suitors Checklist", having long since fallen into disuse, sprang to life, marking off another item in Davion's favor.

Point 1: He was a fairly normal guy.

Point 2: He was a fairly normal guy, who ALSO happened to like normal things, like personal conversations, taking time to relax and other such activities.

And Point 3: Though she was rather hesitant to admit it, he...was actually rather good-looking.

_'Oh God, I'm turning into Vix now...'_ She groaned mentally.

Recovering some measure of her composure, she turned her attention back to him.

"Well, to be honest, I'm kind of on a job at the moment." She gave a slight chuckle. "I'm just taking a bit of a break right now."

And then her communicator went off.

WARNING! WARNING!

* * *

Aile spat out her drink and spun the commander's chair around, the Guardian Base's command center dyed red by blaring alarms.

"Damn...!" She slammed one fist down on the panel on her throne's armrest. "Operators, report!"

"Reports of berserk Mechaniloids are coming in from all over the sector! Sensors detect a rift forming in Cyberspace..."

"Formation pattern is identical! Zone Technician signature detected as well!"

"All markings correlate with previous attacks!" One of the operators spun to face Aile, eyes hard behind her visor.

"No mistake about it...it's the handiwork of the same technician!"

"In other words, our boy's struck again..." Aile growled. "All right! Contact the real world team and then see if you can get a line to Saber and the Cyberspace crew! I want this guy, and I want him shut down NOW!"

The bridge crew sprang to life, screens flickering online one after another, the process identical to the one occurring in another operations room.

* * *

"Get me a line to Craft, now!" Marino thundered. "I want eyes in Cyberspace sometime today, and for GOD'S SAKE get in touch with the walking Disaster before he starts rearranging the landscape with a Mechaniloid's face!"

A new screen popped up, revealing Fefnir grinning widely.

"Too late, doll-face! DAI YON HADOOOOOOOOOOU!"

And in a fury of fire and raging heat, the camera disappeared into static.

"Why do I even bother...?" Marino moaned, and banged her head on the console.

* * *

"Well, I can safely say THIS is a new one, even for me." Craft remarked.

"Oh shut up and keep shooting!" Omega snapped, the Gate of Babylon already up at full power and hammering away.

True to form, the warning from A.C.E had come just a few seconds too late to be of any help whatsoever. One minute, they'd been charging along and then the next, all hell had broken loose. Brilliant light had flashed through the green void, and Craft's virtual Dullahan had exploded, a beam of energy breaking it in two and hurling it away.

Riderless, of course, as Hadrian Craft had been in enough wars to know when he was about to get shot at.

This still didn't stop him from giving a slight wince at the destruction of his beloved bike, even if it WAS just a virtual copy.

The commando had hit the ground and rolled, _Neige_ swinging up as he came to a stop. Nearby, Omega and Grey had also come under similar attacks, the Chosen One dodging it with Hedgeshock's smaller form and Omega simply ignoring the hole it tore through his shoulder, using the recoil to launch off his other arm's gauntlet with a yell of "ROOOOCKET...**PAAAAAANCH!**"

The target? A massive floating sphere of energy, three rings of free-floating hexagonal data bits orbiting it. Even as Omega's Rocket Punch glanced off of the thing, Craft had already ID-ed it.

A Cyberspace defense system. A security program powerful enough that it was capable of using Cyber-Elves on its own and was only used to defend the most important and dangerous data. The last one of these things that the commando had known of had been built into Weil's Ragnarok, used as an obstacle to barricade the entire spaceborne fortress from any and all incoming transfer signals.

At any rate, a monstrous defense like this could mean only one thing to Craft.

Whoever the person behind this was, they were someone with FAR more firepower than they had previously estimated.

Which explained why, right now, Craft, Omega, Queenbee and Grey were currently involved in a fight for their very lives.

With a series of modem-like sounds, the system launched one of its orbits of data outwards, the hex panels scattering in every direction around them.

"Oh, shit, not this crap again!" Omega swore. "AREN'T MINIBOSSES SUPPOSED TO HAVE _MORE_ THAN ONE ATTACK?"

As the cloud of data fragments enveloped the three of them, each hexagon suddenly flashed into life.

"Grey, look out!"

Alerted by Model A's cry, the younger Chosen One leapt off of his platform, just missing the seven beams of energy that blew it to shreds a moment later. All around them, every fragment of the dispersed orbit did the same, a veritable storm of lasers blazing to life as hundreds of bolts sought to destroy the three fighters.

Omega gave an angry snarl, the mighty Zweihander swinging again and again as it repelled wave after wave of enemy attacks. Several still got through, piercing his frame with spears of light. Ignoring the damage, he continued to deflect as many attacks as he could, intent only on punching the reflected shots through the defense system's protection. Queenbee stood behind him, her back pressed to his as she alternated between throwing up defense screens of her own, and deploying her swarm for attack, whether by her signature spines or by an entire Attack Swarm.

"FOR FUCK'S SAKE, ENOUGH WITH THE BEAM SPAM ALREADY!" The God of Destruction yelled angrily, "This is the FIFTH time we're doing this, dudes, and this damn coat of mine isn't exactly cheap to repair either, so I'd appreciate it if SOMEBODY here could maybe figure out a way to deal with this shit!"

"Hey, we're a little busy ourselves, ya big lug!" Model A shot back. "If you're such a hotshot, why don't YOU think of a way out of this mess!"

Omega gave the Biometal an incredulous look.

"What are you, kidding me? Most of the time I don't even have a plan A, and you want me to come up with a plan _B_?"

"Ouch..." Grey winced, another Charge Beam ricocheting through the cloud as he chimed in. "You have to admit, he's got you there, A."

"Dammit, you're right." Model A grumbled.

"Master never plans anything."Queenbee added coolly, "He is far too great to worry about things like that!"

"...Have I ever told you just how god-damned SEXY you are when you back up my bragging?"

Queenbee blushed, absent-mindedly swatting aside an array of lasers with a shaped Bastion Wall and breaking two more of the blasting hex plates around them with a pair of well-thrown spines as she basked in Omega's flattery.

"Ah, no, Master, but I love it when you say that...!"

Inside Omega's mind, Saber felt a vein pulsing on her forehead. She was beginning to have _serious_ issues with ever calling Omega by the title 'master' again...

Unnoticed by all of them, Craft had continued fighting, his mind ticking away at the beginnings of a plan. Omega's statement, while as self-centered and arrogant as always, had given him an idea...

Then, as the system glowed again, triggering the second of the customary three waves of beam attacks, the A.C.E commando leapt into action, his one cybernetic eye flashing once in response.

"All of you, get behind me! Now!"

Omega started as Craft's massive figure appeared, interposed between himself and the glowing system.

"Hey, what gives?"

The commando wasted one second to glance back at him and reply.

"You wanted a plan, didn't you?"

And as the second wave of attacks streaked towards them, Craft reared up and thundered.

"BUSTER...SHIELD!"

Instantly, violet-tinged light flashed, and the A.C.E commando's heavy mantle appeared, armored shoulders slamming down around his frame. Reaching back as the navy-blue cape flared out behind him, Craft seized a fistful of it and pulled it around to block himself and the others behind him. Just in time, as mere milliseconds later the full force of the defense system's attack swept over them.

Incredibly, Craft's maneuver worked. Beam after beam struck the dark cape and was stopped cold, the material drinking the energy in greedily.

"The HELL?" Omega gaped. "Buddy, I have GOT to meet the guy who does your tailoring!"

Craft grinned, the lights of the laser storm casting harsh shadows across his face.

"Welcome to Cyberspace, where whatever you desire can be made manifest with the right mental image."

"HAH!" Omega laughed. "I knew you had a sense of humor behind that poker face of yours!"

Model A groaned.

"I am surrounded by idiots and crazy people."

"Um, Master, the boy is doing something!"

Both Craft and Omega turned in surprise, alerted by Queenbee's hasty warning.

Grey was GONE, a silver bullet streaking out of the cover of Craft's Buster Shield and back out into the maelstrom. Leaping over one blast, ducking under another, he glowed brightly, before assuming the guise of Model H.

"Mister Craft!" He yelled, "I have a plan! Follow my lead!"

"Roger that." Craft called, his professionalism displacing any surprise he might have felt at the abrupt move.

"Queenbee, cover the Solid Snake wannabe here, I'm going after the kid." Omega snapped, "If there's asskicking to be handed down, I want in on that!"

So saying, he lunged after Grey, opening a gap in the whirling hexagons with a few blasts of the Gate of Babylon. As he drew alongside Grey, he noted with surprised approval that the boy was manipulating Cyberspace to create short-lived platforms beneath his feet, allowing him to continually change his trajectory in mid-flight.

"Not bad." Omega admitted, ignoring another laser bolt that struck himself. "You're getting the hang of this pretty well!"

Grey materialized another platform and kicked off it, leaping sideways to dodge another beam, and then summoning another one to leap forward again.

"It wasn't that hard once I figured out what Mister Craft was saying" he replied, "But for now, I need you to help me!"

As Omega raised an eyebrow, Grey dodged another wave of lasers and hurriedly explained.

"I've been monitoring the defense system using Model H's sensors and I think I've found a way to stop its laser web!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yes!" Grey nodded. "All of its processing power right now is aimed at controlling the cloud of data fragments around us!" He indicated one of the thousands of hexagonal fragments whirling around them in a cloud still, all of them blasting away with lasers.

"So if we can hit it hard enough during this period, the shock should be enough to temporarily stun it! While it's still recalibrating..."

"Then we rush the sucker and beat him into the dirt!" Omega finished, whistling in surprise. He regarded the younger Chosen One with grudging respect. "As far as plans go, that's pretty good! Never expected you to come up with something like that, kid!"

Grey grinned.

"Well, despite my looks, I AM still a Reploid, remember? I have the brain of a computer!"

"...Plus, growing up around maniacs like Ace and psychos like Vent probably had something to do with it..." Model A grumbled.

"Dandy. So how exactly do you plan on us hitting that glowing green bastard?" Omega demanded. "In case you didn't notice, it ain't exactly raining snowflakes in here." Another beam of energy shot him through the left shoulder as if to back up his claim.

"Well, the problem is the screen around us, correct?" Grey shrugged. In a flash of light, he was back in Megamerged Model A form. Hefting both Busters, he flicked the triggers, multiple lock-on signals dancing across his vision.

Omega caught his meaning and a grin slowly spread across his face.

"Oh, I am liking you more and more, kid!" He exclaimed, skidding to a halt in midair.

"Oi, Craft!" He yelled back. "Hit it!"

And right on cue with his signal, all hell broke loose.

**[Cue Music: Homestuck- Dance of Thorns]**

Hadrian Craft dug his heels in and straightened up against the torrent of fire slamming into his defenses. With a determined roar, he leaned forward and, in a single powerful motion, whipped his cape outwards. All at once, the energy that had been absorbed into it was released, a single massive wave of energy that blasted outwards, reflecting any more oncoming beams on the way. Even as hundreds of the defense system's hexagonal fragments shattered around them, Grey followed up with his own attack, pulling the triggers on his A-Busters as fast as his Reploid reflexes would allow. Storm after storm of Lock-on Shots screamed outwards, a wall of streaking light and shattering data fragments as they hurtled into and through their targets.

"QUEENBEE!" Omega thundered. "HIT 'EM WITH EVERYTHING!"

"Yes, my Master!" Queenbee replied eagerly, and dropped down onto all fours. Closing her eyes, she visualized once more the hateful memories of her time under Gates. She ignored the trauma, instead searching for the weapon she knew still resided here, albeit only as an image now. It no longer existed in the real world, but here in Cyberspace, where the world was your imagination given form...

Her eyes snapped open, orange lenses flashing blue through her helmet.

"COME, ARMS CARRIER!"

The air above Queenbee blazed golden, a colossal shape materializing from the splintering sky. A titanic golden array, powerful booster rockets lining its back, and a vast number of hexagonal hatches across it's front, armored docking clamps snapped open underneath it. As the massive device descended, Queenbee's shoulder armor hissed open, links emerging to lock firmly with the docking clamps above. As the entire assembly clanked firmly into place on her shoulders, the ex-Pseudoroid fired six golden chains from her body into the ground, securing herself in place as the massive weapons-carrier crafted by Donovan Gates hummed to life, hex plate after hex plate snapping open.

"DEMOLITION..._**RAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIN!**_"

Even with the chains, the recoil was still almost too much for Queenbee, the Cyberspace behind her splintering and shattering as the thrusters of her Arms Carrier fought against the tremendous backlash. Hundreds of attacks melded into one, a single devastating beam of energy that swept across the cloud surrounding the four fighters, nothing but broken remnants and data fragments left in its wake.

Over ninety percent of it's available attackers destroyed in the space of three minutes, the glowing sphere of the defense system finally faltered, it's light flickering erratically as it struggled to recover from the crash of multiple sub-routines.

"My turn..." Omega hissed, bared fangs glinting white in a demonic smile. The world burned red behind him, a solid wall of crimson that almost completely encompassed the battlefield. And as this crimson world rippled with motion, thousands of weapons emerged, each shining in the murderous light. For here in this world behind the world, the limitation of Omega's terrifying Gate no longer applied. Three hundred weapons, duplicated as many times as he saw fit, all of them as powerful as the original and now numbering in the thousands.

"GATE OF..." The God of Destruction smiled, evil radiating from his eyes.

"_**BABYLON!**_"

The red tide of death surged forward, a cresting wave of death that broke over the defense program's shields. A solid wall of metallic murder, the Gate of Babylon could not be stopped, a force that only now, without it's limits, could truly become the supreme incarnation of overwhelming superiority. For every steel sword that ricocheted off of the glowing sphere, four more would take it's place.

Grey winced, and raised a hand to shield his eyes, shying away from the clash between the two, deflected weaponry raining down around him.

"Man, when Saber goes all out, he REALLY goes all-out, huh?"

"What was your first clue?" Model A retorted, before ducking under a madly spinning battleaxe that whirled crazily overhead. "The only problem with this plan is he tends to go a little TOO all-out!"

"Yes, he does have a habit of forgetting to distinguish between friend and foe." Craaft said dryly, lifting his cape to block another wayward spear.

"Master is magnificent...!" Queenbee breathed, eyes dancing as she beheld him, the man with dominion over her very heart and soul.

"KAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Omega laughed madly. "COME ON, COME ON, COME ON! BECOME BROKEN INTO DUST BY MY POWER, INSECT!"

He stepped forward, the Gate of Babylon's assault actually increasing. Red eyes danced with maniacal glee as he watched the virtual construct stagger and collapse backwards.

"Whether it be this world or the real one, my power will always be absolute!" He thundered, finally drawing the colossal Zweihander. And as the Cyberspace defense system's shields finally cracked, a familiar, raging wind began to whip through the dead air of the virtual world.

The Crimson King drew it back, a flash of power radiating from the blade as he seized its' handle with a second hand.

"SABER!" He roared. "MAXIMUM POWER!"

On that golden field, silhouetted by the dawning sun, Saber's green eyes snapped open, glinting with a steely light.

_"Affirmative. Strike now, my wielder!"_

"STRIKE WITH SOUL AND SWORD!" Omega thundered. "_**EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEXXXX-**_"

The Zweihander's violet blade vanished into light, the perfect, shining steel of the released Caliburn radiating with the power of thunder incarnate.

_**"CALIBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!"**_

Blazing, golden light cleaved through the world, splitting the green void of Cyberspace in two as it raced forward. As the colossal beam of lightning reached out, touching the still-spasming shape of the Cyberspace defense system, there was a great flash and the horizon vanished. As the massive wave of destruction spread out, a perfect sphere of fire and ruin, Omega stood there, his sword stabbed into the platform he had conjured beneath himself.

Silhouetted by the radiant annihilation he had unleashed, for a brief instant, he and Saber were as one, the light of the rising sun behind the AI and the illumination of destruction behind the crimson god.

"Vanish..." Omega grinned.

"Into the light!" Saber finished, closing her eyes once more.

And the shockwave swept over them all.

* * *

"Um..." Celtis said nervously. "Sorry, but er...I think I have to go now."

Davion gave her a mild look.

"Not to worry." He said easily. "I expected as much."

"You...you did?"

He nodded. "I've had enough encounters with other Hunters on my journey to no longer be surprised by sudden departures. Particularly in the case of fetching young ladies such as yourself."

Celtis colored slightly.

"Er...thanks, I guess?" She said uncertainly. Then after a moment...

"If you don't mind me asking..."She added hesitantly. "Why exactly is that?"

"Well, if I had to say..." Davion hummed, "It's usually because they all had missions and such of their own to deal with. But along with that, well..."

He simply pointed at something behind her. Celtis turned around, only to see the back half of the restaurant explode, with the aptly named Lieutenant Disaster crashing into sight, _surfing_ _through the debris_ on what looked like the remains of another Demolition mechaniloid.

"HANG TEN, BITCHES!" Fefnir whooped, throwing his hands up in a surfer's salute. "WOO!

More destruction followed soon after as he continued on, demolishing the other wall of the restaurant and disappearing from sight.

Celtis simply sat there for a moment, uncaring of the dust that had settled on her, before letting out a groan and burying her face in her hands.

"So yes, there was a bit of a hint there." Davion finished mildly.

"Why...? WHH-Y-Y-Y, God damn it...!" Celtis wailed, banging one fist on the table. "I was THIS close to normalcy again...! THIS CLOSE, DAMN YOU!"

Model O simply snorted, as if to say she should have known better.

Wordlessly she slammed her hands down on the table, standing up suddenly.

"Madame Arcana?"

In response to Davion's query, she gave him a bright smile.

"I'm terribly sorry for the interruption!" She said, a vein pulsing in her forehead. "I rather enjoyed our conversation here! Would you maybe be interested in doing this again?"

"Er...why, yes, I don't see why not?" Davion replied, looking somewhat bemused. With good reason to boot, as only people who knew Celtis well would recognize her suddenly odd, stiff manner of speech as a warning sign that she was about to snap.

Needless to say, Model O was already doing stretches in her subconscious, getting warmed up for the fun. After all, carnage and mass murder is a serious business. It's always important to make sure you're properly warmed up first! After all, you might pull a muscle or something, and we wouldn't want that, now would we?

Insert sarcasm here.

Celtis reached across the table to grab Davion's hand in both of hers.

"Thank you! It's been SO nice to talk to someone normal for a change!" She said, practically tearing up with emotion.

"You're...welcome?"

And with that, Celtis turned around and stormed out of the restaurant, a murderous look on her face.

"FEFNIR DIZ ASTER, I AM GOING TO _KILL _YOU!"

It's amazing how sheer outrage and indignation can overshadow the supposedly difficult task of asking someone out on a date. Had Celtis not been a few shades away from flipping the fuck out at the moment, she probably might have noticed the irony.

Davion watched her go, before leaning back in his seat and giving a satisfied smile.

"Yes, indeed...Miss Celtis Gisborne-Wingates Arcana, you are every bit as interesting as I had hoped..."

* * *

Somewhere in Cyberspace, a shadowy figure whirled, his attention drawn from hacking yet another group of mechaniloids.

"My Defense program was destroyed?" It swore, and already it could feel the overwhelming presence hurtling past the ruins, drawing ever closer to his position.

"Interesting...I didn't think that Phoenix punk would have anything like this up his sleeve..."

The figure paused for a moment, space rippling around it.

"But no matter...here in Cyberspace, where the mind controls all, I am GOD!"

Laughing, the figure turned to face the direction of the oncoming threat, already preparing its defenses...

* * *

**A/N:** And there we go. Finally we're getting started on one of the story gimmicks that I've been dying to introduce. The hard part is going to be writing this the way I have it planned out, because, well, as you know by now, my plans tend to be a bit...vague.

But yeah, I'm going to have DAMNED fun with this Limited Zone!

Those of you familiar with my DeviantArt works should also be familiar with this particular gimmick, as it's appeared there before.

And I figured it was about time poor Celtis caught some kind of a break. I _have_ been tormenting her for the better part of thirty chapters after all. So yes, Celtis has finally had an opportunity to have a perfectly normal conversation, with an apparently perfectly normal guy for once, who actually seems fairly nice.

As for where that little sub-plot will be going, well, that's for me to know, and for you lot to wait and find out!

Other than that, let's face it, Ace and Vent are simultaneously the absolute BEST and utterly WORST team of all time. In a world where imagination fuels your power, I think you can imagine just WHY it is that these two would kick all kinds of ass in Cyberspace.

Hey, if you were as big an anime fan as Ace, what would YOU be creating if you had a chance to make your imagination real?

Also, Ashe is in some SERIOUS denial.

Plus, for once, I focused on Grey. Which let me tell you, was BLOODY hard. I have practically no experience in writing for child-like characters like him, so I essentially pulled most of that straight off the top of my head. So if he seems kind of OOC, that's because I have NO idea what I'm doing with him.

And as for the Colonel-Commissar...Yes, he's just THAT GODDAMN BADASS/EPIC/AWESOME. And you can expect a lot more where that's coming from.

Seriously, when listening to that theme song for his appearance in this chapter, it is STRONGLY RECOMMENDED that your speakers are on maximum. Because NOTHING says 'MOTHERFUCKING EPIC' like the theme song of Zengar freaking Zombolt!

Also, he has a freaking ROCKET POWERED CROSS/SWORD.

What the hell else do you want?

Finally, Omega and Saber...well, they're just awesome, once they get their act together.

The Defense Program here is based off of the same boss in Megaman Zero 4, you know, the asshat you had to fight to open a transerver path to Ragnarok. I couldn't remember a damn thing about that fight though, so I just did what I did best and improvised.

So shut up about that.

Anyway, that's all for now! See you in the next chapter!

DarkShift Out!


	34. Chapter 33: On the Real World side

**Chapter 33: On the Real World side...**

Disclaimer: Capcom owns...fuck it, you guys know the deal.

And we're off again! Enjoy!

* * *

Cyberspace.

A term that sounded innocent enough to the untrained listener. To others, it was simply a euphemism to describe the world of ones and zeroes that all computers and machines viewed reality as. To a few people, it was a bit more than that. To them, Cyberspace could truly be viewed as a world in its own right. For every Reploid, for any thinking machine that existed in the world today, Cyberspace was the world that existed inside of each of them, not in any visible tangible form, but existing as software and data within a Reploid's hardware, their databank and circuits.

Cyberspace. It was believed by some to be the realm of the dead, the place where all Reploids, where all data, ends up at the end of its life. The 'souls' for lack of a better word, of these Reploids, and in truth any sufficiently mechanized human as well, flitted through the emerald world as Cyber-Elves, with the more powerful ones actually managing to retain the forms of their original bodies.

There are many descriptions of Cyberspace, and just as many definitions again. In the end, no-one truly knows just what Cyberspace itself really is. All that is known is that the aptly named 'World Behind The World', the ever-green reality that always hovered just on the edges of perception did exist, and that in extremely rare cases, it was possible to actually enter that world.

This was the technique that became the basis of the Spatial Dive technology. This was the method used to enter the mindscape of a Reploid, in order to face any problems, diagnostic or otherwise, with a considerably greater freedom than if it was simply attempted using more classic technology.

However, as technology to help mankind advances, so too does the potential to turn that technology to more dastardly ends. And even here in the era of 23XX, human nature was still depressingly predictable.

After all, if you were capable of using something as incredible as a Spatial Dive system in the first place, why squander that talent on something as meager as diagnostic functions?

And thus arose the dangerous criminals referred to as 'Zone Technicians'.

Zone Technicians were for the most part, fairly uncommon. But when a Zone Technician DID appear, they were immediately marked down as a Priority One threat by Legion Security, with all available resources instantly redirected to attempts to bring down the Technician. The reason being that for all the flippancy they and their achievements were regarded with by the higher ups of Legion Security, the truth was that attitude was nothing more than a front to belie the true danger of the situation.

Zone Technicians were dangerous. In a MAJOR way.

They were nearly impossible to track, and even more so to actually corner them. All it took to escape from any pursuers was a moment to step across into Cyberspace, and that was it. They were as good as gone, with Legion possessing almost no technology capable of following them there, and with a less than ten percent chance to actually trace the culprit. Zone Technicians were practically immune to almost every kind of defense that could be mustered against them as there was little or nothing in Legion's current arsenals that could match such an enemy. A Zone Technician could probably walk right through you while still in Cyberspace and you wouldn't even blink.

As a result, Zone Technicians were considered to be the absolute pinnacle of the criminal elite, the enemies against which Legion Security itself was all but defenseless.

However, though it sounds bleak, there was both good and bad news about Zone Technicians. The good news was that there were two kinds of Zone Technician. The first kind was the more commonly seen type, who were basically little more than scientists or researcher who had managed to craft their own way to breach the boundaries between the real world and the digital and then went mad with power. This was probably a bit of a generalization, as some Technicians weren't quite that simple, and were actually bloody dangerous with the professionalism and skill with which the put their talents to work.

The bad news was that there was rumored to be a _second_ type of Zone Technician. And the rare few who had earned the right to this ranking were considered by and large to simply be _things_, monsters which couldn't be comprehended by normal humans or Reploids. They were just THAT powerful. These nearly inhuman beings were the ones known by the title of 'Dead End' as each and every one of them was considered a walking dead end for the laws of physics. It was said that they possessed a method of using their Zones in ways that made normal Technicians look pathetic and weak, to the extent that they were no longer referred to as mere 'Zones' and instead called Reality Dysfunctions, areas where reality itself had been overwritten by the Dead End.

And normal Technicians were ones capable of causing breaches in Cyberspace so wide that they encompassed multiple city blocks and allowed their users to simultaneously attack, hack and take over complete control of any electronic devices within their Zone, all while staying safely hidden away within Cyberspace itself as they watched their machine army tear apart every real world construct that would fall within the range of their Zone.

Fortunately for all concerned, there were less than ten known Dead Ends in the world to date, and for the most part they kept to themselves, preferring to practice and hone their own skills, to perfect their art. As a result, they were only a threat if you actually managed to find one of them at all, and even then, only if you were stupid enough to piss them off.

In the two times Legion had found itself at odds against such a monstrous foe, the only ones capable of stopping them had been Ace Phoenix, Vent of the Guardians and the ominous specter of the Colonel-Commissar

At the moment, however, Legion Security was facing a big enough problem with a regular Zone Technician as it was. The nameless culprit had been striking with increasing frequency over the last three weeks, with each attack only growing in magnitude. The enemy had specifically targeted areas populated with either large numbers of Mechaniloids, or simply areas that happened to possess a few particularly destructive types of Mechaniloids, such as the demolition models Ashe and Grey had dispatched earlier. Not only did this Technician hack into multiple Mechaniloids at once, from the impenetrable safety of Cyberspace, but in addition to that, they had simultaneously attacked the databases of any businesses that had happened to be in the range of the Technician's Zone, which current estimates put at anywhere from two hundred to three hundred meters in diameter.

A single attack would cost the city MILLIONS in damage caused by the rampaging Mechaniloids, and to make matters worse, it would cost millions more in terms of the data and accounts stolen by the Technician, no doubt to greatly bolster his or her own finances.

This time, however, it appeared as though things had finally come to a head. The Zone Technician had made another attack, and judging by the distinct lack of monetary value in his choice of targets, this time he was doing it free of charge.

The Technician had abandoned all pretense of attacking for profit and had this time gone straight for the kill, Security scanners blaring alarms as the trademark signal of a Zone Technician appeared once more.

Right in the dead center of the most mechanized industrial sector in all of Legion.

In retrospect, Ace PROBABLY should have seen it coming, and thus would have taken appropriate steps to counter it. However, due both in part to the number of potential crimes he was already involved in shutting down, not to mention the latest attempt to circumvent his authority, plus of course the inevitable red tape of the bureaucracy, he'd never quite gotten around to it.

...Also, he'd finally managed to track down one of the few remaining databases in the world that still had a working copy of the Unlimited Blade Works movie.

At any rate, it didn't change the fact that there was now a Zone Technician active in one of the worst possible places imaginable. Within minutes of detection, almost two hundred Mechaniloids had gone out of control, with still more going berserk every minute. Worse still, the Technician had managed to take over not one, but TWO Mechaniloid production facilities in the process. So now, in addition to the already large numbers of insane Mechaniloids rampaging in the streets, the Technician now had the capability to continually produce still more of them at a moment's notice.

All of this served to explain why, less than twenty-four hours after narrowly escaping death at the hands of deranged demolition Mechaniloids, Ashe Sylvers, the Chosen One of Model A, was right back in the midst of fighting for her life against an army of out-of-control enemy Mechaniloids. With an angry curse, she ducked under the razor-sharp barrage of a rivet gun, one construction mech having decided to use that as its weapon of choice.

"I swear to GOD, whatever Ace is paying for this job, it's NOT enough!" Ashe growled, poking one hand out of cover long enough to fire an A-Buster shot that decapitated the offending machine before she ducked back down.

"'Simple plan' they said...One team to attack Cyberspace while another team fights them in the real world...Piece of cake, right?"

Another round of shells tore into the wrecked car she was using as a shield. Feeling the steel frame shudder and begin to disintegrate, Ashe gave an aggravated groan and hit her A-Trans.

Moments later, as the wreckage crumbled under the onslaught of Mechaniloid attacks, the entire thing creaked as it suddenly hurtled forward, crashing into their front ranks. Reeling from the sudden attack, the survivors looked up just in time to see one hundred and sixty eight pounds of A-Transed Model F rocketing towards them.

"Piece of cake my ASS!" Ashe roared, sending over a dozen Mechaniloids flying through the air as Model F's fist crashed into them with a shockwave of fire.

"I swear to GOD..." She grumbled, rising out of the impact crater. "When I find this Zone Technician geek I am going to-"

She paused and leaned back as a factory worker Mechaniloid swung at her head with a wrench the size of a small sword. Grabbing the arm as it swept past, she yanked on it, hard, and slammed her knee up into the machine's midsection hard enough to break most of its armor. Spotting another enemy coming up left, she swung the Mechaniloid she still held captive around and hit the newcomer so hard that it backflipped, it's skull hitting the ground with enough force that the entire machine bounced back up into the air. In an instant, Ashe had reversed her hold on the now deactivated Mechaniloid in her grasp and brought it screeching back around for a second shot at the prize.

Mechaniloid met Mechaniloid with a triumphant yell of "FOOOOOOOOORE!" and both went flying into a nearby building where they exploded with enough force to rip out the walls of two floors. She took a satisfied moment to admire her handiwork, before resuming her earlier comment.

"Like I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, this Technician geek had BETTER be worth it!"

And that was when something DAMN close to being a full-fledged reactor cannon blast punched a fifteen foot wide hole in a building next to her, fragging twenty Mechaniloids in the process. Swearing, Ashe staggered away from the smoldering trench it had melted in the floor and silently thanked her decision to remain in Model F form for a bit longer. Had she been in any other form, the mere RADIATION coming off of that beam would have given her one HELL of a sunburn.

"Son of a...Hey, hey, since when did we have Legion Mechaniloids equipped with artillery grade cannons?"

Her angry demand went unnoticed, as none other than Celtis Gisborne-Wingates Arcana stormed through the hole blasted by her Hades, the crimson handgun still smoking.

"Stupid, lousy, rassafrassin' Mechaniloids...!" She growled, her Demon's Eye auto targeting another enemy, Model O automatically aiming the Hades for Celtis to fire.

**BLAM!**

"First dose of normality I get in WEEKS, and then all of Legion goes nuts because of one-!"

**BLAM!**

"Stupid!"

**BLAM!**

"Hacker!"

**BLAM!**

"And then to make it worse..." she seethed, still ignoring the carnage she was dealing out as she continued to fulminate. "I actually meet a decent, SANE guy, who actually seemed pretty nice, had a lunch date with him, only for one of my my mission teammates to BLOW OUT HALF OF THE RESTAURANT BECAUSE HE DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO KILL SOMETHING WITHOUT SHREDDING EVERYTHING ELSE WITHIN FIFTY YARDS OF THE TARGET!"

As if to punctuate her outraged ranting, the Hades went on a killing spree, the crimson barrel firing so fast that the sound of its' shots blurred into a single ceaseless roar that spelled death for Mechaniloid after Mechaniloid, smashing armor, tearing circuitry and rending limbs, each bullet a fatal wound for every target. Ignored by Celtis, the environment around her slowly vanished, thunderous impacts sounding as bits of her surroundings disappeared into continually appearing craters. The Hades' lower barrel continued to spin with each impact, snarling as it continued to rip apart the surrounding matter to fuel its' blasts.

Ashe gave a yelp and fell sideways as the ground next to her vanished into one such crater.

"OW! Dammit, Arcana, watch what you're doing!"

The muzzle of the Hades jerked reflexively towards the sound of Ashe's voice, before halting. Celtis blinked in surprise.

"Oh, Ashe. Sorry, I didn't realize you were over here!" A distracted look crossed her face for a second. "What?...No, BAD! Bad Model O! No shooting friendlies!"

Inside Celtis' consciousness, Model O gave a growl of disgust and removed the lock on targets it had placed on various parts of Ashe's figure.

"...for some reason, I feel as though I just narrowly escaped a horrible death..." Ashe muttered under her breath.

"...Well, to be fair to Model O, it wouldn't actually be THAT horrible..." Celtis hedged, "Really, it'd probably be pretty quick..."

A pause.

"Dear God, his insanity is contagious." Celtis groaned, and pressed a hand to her face.

There was really no need to mention just WHOSE insanity she was talking about, either. Shaking the odd moment off, Ashe dusted herself down and got back to her feet.

"Well, you seem to be in a fine mood today."

A vein twitched in Celtis' forehead.

"Don't...even GO there..." She ground out. "I'd prefer not to have to put someone ELSE on my 'To be shot repeatedly until dead' list."

"Someone ELSE?" Ashe raised an eyebrow. "Man, you really ARE getting to be a lot more like him."

"Ugh, don't remind me." Celtis gave another aggrieved sigh. "Now...what are we supposed to be doing again?"

Ashe gave her an odd look.

"Come again?"

Catching Ashe's bewildered expression, Celtis hastily corrected herself. "No, no, I mean yes I know we're supposed to be fragging Mechaniloids and all, but besides that. I mean...what, do we just stand up here and shoot stuff until the Cyberspace side pulls through?"

"...you want to go after the Technician?"

"Yes! I mean, no! I mean..." Celtis seemed to struggle with her words for a moment, before she threw her hands up in aggravation. "Argh! I don't know WHAT I mean! We're just standing around trying to kill these things one at a time while a whole horde of them keeps wrecking the city! And all the while this creep just keeps churning out more mechs! It's like there isn't even a real plan or anything here!"

Ashe's expression cleared as she heard Celtis trying to explain herself. NOW she understood what the broken Chosen One's problem was.

"Ah, yeah, I get what you're saying. Huh. I guess you're not that different to me after all."

That stopped Celtis.

"Huh? What do you mean I'm not that different?"

"You're just like me. Battles like this one are matches of endurance. Our job is just to stall. To harass the enemy's advance and to break up their offense wherever we can find it. In other words, we're just here to hold the line. A stalling tactic to keep the Technician busy until Saber and company can curbstomp his ass." Ashe jerked a thumb at her chest. "People like you and me, we're Hunters. We don't follow military tactics or any playbook like that. We're called in to snag treasure, frag Mavericks, and pretty much any other criminal target with a price on its head. This sort of thing?"

The gray haired Chosen One waved a hand out at the surroundings.

"This isn't the kind of thing we're cut out for. People like us are the ones you call to get the job done, to take the fight to the other guys. Instead, we're stuck fighting for a stalemate, just smashing whatever enemy targets we can find." She sighed. "To be fair to Ace and the others, though, it's not like there was much other choice. This is an entire sector we're dealing with, capable of housing over a million people easily. There's no other way to ensure people's safety than to do this manually and to fight wherever we can find the enemy."

"So, basically...I'm just going stir-crazy?" Celtis tried.

"More or less." Ashe shrugged. "The mission back on the train a few months ago was more suited to Hunters than this hellhole. Plus, even if we did somehow manage to find the Technician, without a way to get into Cyberspace, there's not much we can do about it."

"...so we've got no choice, then." Celtis grumbled.

"I wouldn't say THAT..." Ashe mused. "Marino and Aile are currently running tactical support, so I suppose you COULD always just ask if they've gotten anything big on scanners. That ought to take care of that bloodlust of yours."

"B-Bloodlust?" Celtis stammered, "I-I'm not...I mean...I was only wondering why we weren't trying to do more!"

Ashe smirked.

"Relax, I'm just messin' with ya." She winked, "To tell you the truth? All of that stuff I told you just now? That's all just small fry. Those are all just secondary reasons why me and you are alike right now. Hell, that's not even the reason why the two of us can just stand around and chit-chat in the middle of this battlefield!"

Celtis gave the wielder of Model A a confused look.

"Wait...so if all of that stuff you just told me has nothing to do with it, then why ARE we being so casual about this?"

"You wanna know the real reason why this feels so...boring, for lack of a better word?" Ashe's eyebrow twitched with irritation. "It's because, no matter how active either of us are as Hunters, no matter how crazy awesome our Biometal powers are...it's all completely useless as long as SOMEBODY else is busy stealing all the kills and throwing everything into a humongous clusterfuck of an operation!"

Celtis stared at her for a long moment.

"...for some strange reason, suddenly I feel as though we've just reached a common ground."

Ashe nodded grimly.

"I figured as much. From the time you said you had an idiot who couldn't help but frag everything within fifty kilometers, I figured you'd met him too."

And as if the universe had just decided to mock the two mutually annoyed women, the subject of their wrath chose that moment to arrive on the scene all of his customary flamboyancy and explosions.

"LAAAAAAAAAAAAAND CRAAAASHAAAAAAAAAA!"

**[Cue Music: Super Robot Wars- Land Crasher!]**

Right on cue, an entire department store came crashing down, falling outwards as it came apart at the seams. And from out of the falling debris, an unmistakable figure exploded into the light of day.

"GAHAHAHAHAAAA! WHAT, IS THAT ALL YOU SISSIES GOT?" Fefnir Diz Aster, formerly Fighting Fefnir, one of the four great generals of the ancient city of Neo Arcadia laughed madly, smashing his way through an obstructing steel beam with nothing more than a brute force headbutt. In response, what looked like half of a demolition Mechaniloid lunged towards him in mid-air, still driven by its insane programming to destroy whatever was in front of it.

Which was when Fefnir punched it so hard that it's head flew off and split another falling Mechaniloid clean in half.

As explosions lit up the sky, Fefnir whooped with elation once more. Not even bothering to check his landing, he crashed down on his back, bouncing and rolling for a good two feet, before somehow turning it into a perfect recovery. He came up grinning, on hand extended, glowing with a familiar orange hue.

"...you have GOT to be kidding me." Celtis deadpanned.

"ZA FOURTH WAVE!" Fefnir crowed triumphantly. "DAI YON...HADOOOOOOOOUUUU!"

It seemed as though Fefnir had been busy collecting thermal power during his running battle with the enemy, as the blast wave of destruction that crashed through the city took out at least four blocks, buildings, Mechaniloids and all.

As the dust settled, the Land Crasher's toughened frame became visible once more, his grinning features stained with ash and soot, and smoke still rising from his outstretched hand.

"BOOM!" He thrust one hand out to the side.

"BANG!" His other shot out as well.

"MOTHERFUCKERS!" He crowed to the sky, striking a dramatic pose as the building behind him randomly exploded for no other reason than sheer awesome. Or from a delayed detonation caused by damage sustained by his earlier attacks. Whichever one works for you.

"Ha ha...Ahhh, yeah, sometimes it just doesn't seem fair getting paid to do this stuff." Fefnir drawled drawing out another one of his customary cigarettes from an inside pocket.

"Anybody around here got a light?" He asked, looking around theatrically. "OH WAIT! Haha, silly me!" He clanked one hand against his head in mock realization. "I AM a light! Hah!"

Summoning one of his Knuckle Busters in a flash of orange, he raised it up and ignited the end of his cigarette with a single shot, which incidentally blew up half the street as it sailed past his cigarrete. The former general inhaled deeply, and then sighed amidst a cloud of smoke.

"...y'know, one of these days, I'm gonna remember to do that in a way that DOESN'T involve me lighting my eyebrows on fire."

Turning, he spotted Ashe and Celtis staring at him, one in exasperation and the other looking as though she was deciding whether she wanted to kill him outright or just damage him immensely.

There was a brief silence.

"Sup." Fefnir raised a hand in acknowledgement. "I miss anything?"

As if to further punctuate the incongruity of his apparent obliviousness, there was a crumble of falling masonry, and the remains of the building behind him, still smoking from the recent explosion gave up the ghost and disintegrated into a pathetic pile of rubble.

* * *

In the command center of A.C.E. Marino gave a groan and pressed a hand to her face.

"I KNEW there was a reason why I always refused to let Fefnir operate within the bounds of the city. He's been at it for half an hour and we've already had to double the repairs budget."

"Well, look on the bright side." Aile tried, her image popping up on the screen next to Marino. "At least he's effective at what he does, right?"

"Effective, yes. Efficient...No." Marino rubbed the bridge of her nose in exasperation. "Seriously, I don't know why Ace decided to team him up with the Colonel of all people. They're like polar opposites!"

"You have no idea." Nana deadpanned, her image appearing next to Aile's.

"Oh, Nana. I'd been wondering what happened to you."

"Yes, well, we ran into a spot of trouble over in Sector 4."

As she spoke, the screen around her suddenly jumped, shaking for a minute before settling back down. Marino raised an eyebrow.

"What was that?"

Nana paused for a moment to glance sheepishly at the rearview mirror to see the remains of another industrial Mechaniloid twitching in the road, the tire tracks of her Terra-Cruiser easily visibly on it's smashed armor. Turning the wheel slightly, she veered a little to the left to make sure it was hidden from the screen before continuing.

"Um...nothing...? Just a minor, er, speedbump, that's all, ha ha..."

"Ooookay...?" Marino gave her an odd look, but continued on anyway. "Anyhow, what's going on over there?"

The awkward moment past, Nana was all business again.

"We've got bad news. Remember those production facilities the Technician's taken over?"

"Yes, what about them?" On the screen next to Marino, Aile glanced sideways as a new printout was handed to her. From the low whistle the Guardian Commander gave, Nana was fairly certain it was the same information she was about to give Ace's second in command.

"Well...as it turns out, it appears as though the guy's figured out how to repurpose them towards more...dangerous lines of production."

Marino's eyes narrowed.

"Define 'more dangerous'."

Aile tossed the printout onto her desk and brought up a camera feed for the other two to see, a disgusted look on her face.

"The son of a bitch is making dreadnoughts."

The second-in-command of A.C.E caught her breath at the image on the screen. Standing thirty feet tall, the hulking figure of a Mechaniloid dreadnought lumbered forward through the city. Nothing more than walking weapon platforms, Mechaniloid dreadnoughts were outlawed, with barely a handful left in lockdown for emergency deployments. Bipedal, with monstrous reverse jointed legs that could crush anything caught under them, and a three hundred and sixty degree aiming range for the upper body, which was mounted on a fully rotatable midsection, Mechaniloid dreadnoughts were a feared fighting force on any battlefield.

And now this Zone Technician had not only succeeded in turning their own resident Mechaniloids against them, but he was building monstrously powerful ones of his OWN to boot?

Marino, being the trusted second in command of the infamous Scarlet Phoenix, and a strong commander in her own right, naturally responded to this in a perfectly controlled and reasonable manner.

"OH, SON OF A-"

* * *

Nana winced at the profanities emanating from Marino's screen, and spun the wheel once more, the massive armored carrier screeching around ninety degrees for the rear half to whip around and break every single structural support in the body of a particularly irritating griffin mech.

While the crunching noise WAS quite satisfying, Nana had to admit, as the damn thing had been harassing her for the last mile or so, it was also a bearer of ominous tidings. That griffin hadn't been one of the Mechaniloids in the city, or even produced after the factories had been taken over. That had been one of the wild Mechaniloids, those thrown away or discarded by their previous owners that had managed to survive on their own, and had in most cases gone Maverick.

Maverick...

Nana gritted her teeth. With the onslaught of this Technician throwing Legion into disarray, the Mavericks that were constantly prowling in the unmonitored sections of Legion's outer regions were beginning to move. If they didn't put this creep down, and FAST, they were going to have a much bigger problem than simply rampaging Mechaniloids.

"Ow...!" Nana winced as the Cruiser bucked again, crushing a squad of smaller Mechaniloids under its wheels. Grumbling, she straightened back up and pushed her glasses back into place, the impact having shaken them loose.

"Note to self...get that meathead Fefnir to fix whatever the hell it is he did to the suspension once this mess is over..." She muttered darkly, and promptly took out her frustrations on another squad of Mechaniloids in her path.

Bits of scrap metal pinging off of the windscreen, Nana boredly flicked the wipers on and typed in a complicated comms sequence on the control column to her left. She was so used to these conditions that she didn't even need to take her eyes off of the road ahead to know she'd put in the right sequence.

An image flashed up on the other side of the screen from Aile and the still fuming Marino, indicating an entirely separate line. There was little to be seen on this one save for a stark black figure, the scar on his left eye glowing faintly against his pale skin.

"Colonel, are you there?"

Cold steel flashed through the air, and another Mechaniloid fell before the iron cross of

judgment. Disregarding the remains altogether, the grim specter of Legion City's Colonel-Commissar stalked forward, not even flinching as the ruined mech exploded less than six feet away from him.

"Colonel responding."

"Oh good." Nana sighed. "I was worried you'd gone on another crusade."

The Colonel's lips tightened into a cold grimace barely reminiscent of a smile.

"If I commence another one of my so-called 'crusades', rest assured that you'll be the first to know, milady."

Pausing, he turned to look back. Further behind him, he could see the bustling figures of Legion's Security and emergency services, all hurrying to evacuate as many people as they possibly could in the time they were given. And the one who would determine how much time they would have...well...

The black specter of judgement turned to look in front of him once more. A grim smile of professional satisfaction ghosted across his features as he beheld the carnage, the shattered hulks of over a hundred Mechaniloid foes, interspersed with a few Mavericks here and there amongst the fallen.

He thought he was doing a rather good job of buying time for them, all things considered.

To be fair, it wasn't as though his enemy was particularly trying that hard. Only the Mavericks possessed any kind of of intelligence, with the mad Mechaniloids simply throwing themselves headlong onto the blade of Adjudicator. However, against any other foe, that might have worked. But against one such as the man formerly known as Colonel, they were nothing but cannon fodder.

Still, the Colonel-Commissar was just one man. He couldn't be everywhere at once. As a result, he was currently relying on Nana, and their Cruiser's RIDICULOUSLY hacked trans-server to immediately transfer him to any other evacuation points under attack. Thus far, it seemed to be working, with Colonel saving hundreds of lives even as his killcount continued to rise ever higher.

The Adjudicator swung through the air again, another explosion blowing harmlessly past the Colonel as he added another kill.

"Nana, what is the evacuation status for this area?"

A brief pause, and his operator was back with him, a faint metallic noise in the background as the Cruiser made short work of another hapless enemy.

"...Okay, and I think your area's almost done. Just a few more minutes of cover and they'll be finished with your sector. But Colonel, right now, I think we've got bigger problems!"

As if to underline her statement, the ground shook with the sounds of a rumbling impact. His eyes narrowing, the Colonel looked up as a colossal figure moved through the buildings in the distance. Even from here, he could tell what had worried Nana so much.

"Dreadnought..."

"Not just one, apparently." Nana said tersely. "We're fairly certain there may be at least one more of these things stomping around-"

A thunderous roar shook the air and the Colonel raised one hand reflexively as the dreadnought in the distance fired its cannons. A multi-storey apartment complex crumpled like matchwood.

"-doing that, basically." Nana finished. "We've lost contact with Ace and Vent as of twenty minutes ago, so until we figure out how to get in touch with them again, we're making this up as we go."

"Now there's a comforting thought." the Colonel muttered dryly.

"Currently, though, you're probably the only agent in the field with a clear line of sight on the dread. Marino and Aile can't get any cameras near enough for a detailed image, so right now, we're probably going to have to count on you for a visual."

The Colonel nodded, a faint whirring noise coming from his eyes even as he acknowledged Nana's statement.

Tilting his head up to get a better look at the silhouette, he brought up several optical filters, each one removing a new layer of the smoke and dust surrounding the target.

And when he finally got a clear look at the construction of the machine, even the Colonel Commissar of Legion had to give a wry grin at the audacity of their opponent.

Raising a hand to his earpiece again, he spoke.

"I know how the Technician is building them."

"Hm." Vent said pensively, looking down at his now-dead communicator.

"Indeed." Ace said next to him, staring down at the 'No Service' message displayed on his flipped open comm.

There was a brief silence.

"Well, this can't be good."The Scarlet Phoenix deadpanned.

"I'm starting to wonder if it was really all right to leave the girls to handle this while we dealt with this Goodman guy." A flicker of concern crossed his face.

Ace gave a non-committal grunt from where he was searching the filing cabinets on the wall, when suddenly he pulled out another drawer with considerably more force than necessary and a loud click rang out.

Then, with a faint rumble, an entire section of the wall slid open to reveal a colossal hidden safe.

"..."

"..."

Both men paused in what they were doing, and looked across at the newly revealed safe.

There was a brief silence, and then they looked at each other. Vent raised an eyebrow.

"First man in gets the files?"

Ace wordlessly raised a fusion cutter.

"Oh, it's on."

As the silence of the office suddenly degenerated into immense amounts of violence being perpetrated against an unwitting safe, Ace made one final remark.

"Besides, Marino and Aile can handle anything we can! So long as the enemy doesn't start doing anything crazy like deploying giant robots or anything, they'll be fine!"

* * *

"What do you mean 'They're making giant robots out of buildings'?"

"See for yourself." Nana said grimly, and brought up the feed from the Colonel.

"Magnify." She heard Aile say, as the Guardian Commander enlarged the video on her end. From the sudden tightening of the brunette's features, Marino knew she'd gotten it too.

From a distance, the dreadnought had looked exactly as one would have expected one to look, all crenellated edges and harsh lines, jagged with the spikes denoting weapon emplacements. However, with the Colonel being close enough to get a visual, it was immediately apparent that there was a lot more to it than that.

It was already a known fact that the enemy had taken over several mechaniloid production factories, each one equipped with a state-of-the-art assembly line. If one was to simply change the blueprints used by the mechanical brains of the assembly line, then it was therefore possible to change the product being made. And if one was to, say, replace the blueprints of a regular construction Mechaniloid with the blueprints for parts of a Mechaniloid dreadnought, well...the only thing left to do would be to figure out where to get enough raw material for the assembly lines to work with.

And their enemy, it seemed, had gotten around that problem all too easily.

Namely, by demolishing buildings.

The remnants of this demolition, in some cases entire walls worth of steel and metal, were simply put together, welded into place, and then buried with circuitry. For power and the flexibility of joints, the Technician had fallen back on another resource which he possessed in plentiful amounts.

That being, of course, Mechaniloids.

Destroyed ones that had been recovered and salvaged, others which had simply been produced in order to gain the necessary parts from them, and some others simply seized up and thrown to the mechanical arms of the assembly lines to make up for any minor shortage.

It was cold. It was brutal.

But worst of all, it was _efficient_.

Even in the time it had taken them to get this information, Marino's Security screens were already showing one, two, make that _three_ new dreadnoughts rising to their feet, with the skeletal frame of a fourth already coming together as she watched.

"Damn it..."she growled, "Everytime I think we've seen everything a Zone Technician can do, the go pull a stunt like this and make me hate them all over again!"

"Agreed." Aile said tersely. " I've already considered putting down some fire support from the Guardian Base, but apparently patched together anti-aircraft weaponry works just as well as the officially made stuff. They blew two cruise missiles out of the sky before one of their turrets jammed and blew itself up."

She indicated a black scorch mark on the lead dreadnought's left shoulder.

"At his current rate of consumption, it appears as though our opponent is burning through about nine buildings per dreadnought." Nana added, mentally running several calculations in her head, "As of the ones he has already produced, plus the one he has one of his factories in the midst of producing, which I'm afraid to say, appears to be several sizes BIGGER than the current ones, the enemy Technician has already cleared out an entire block in every direction around his factories."

She hesitated.

"Unfortunately, I'm faced with the conclusion that if we do not find a way to somehow deal with these dreadnoughts, or with the Technician himself, there is a 98% probability that he will have razed the entire eastern sector of Legion to the ground within three days, and command a dreadnought force of..." She swallowed, "Numbers ranging from the high sixties to low seventies."

There was a heavy silence following her words, during which the three female commanders bore witness to one of Legion's Praetor defense turrets managing to land a hit on the lead dreadnought...to have little effect other than to burn a small hole through the first layer of armor.

An army like that...that wouldn't just threaten Legion. A force of dreadnoughts with those numbers would be a threat to anywhere in the world!

"And two of our strongest fighters are stuck in Cyberspace..." Now Marino knew what she hadn't liked about their entire plan. Well, in that case, she had little choice but to cut loose with the forces she did have, and pray that it would buy the Cyberspace group enough time to shut the Technician down the hard way.

Bringing her hand down on the comms button, she opened a line to the four agents A.C.E still possessed in the field.

* * *

"You want us to WHAT?" Celtis demanded in disbelief.

"I need you lunkheads to engage the dreadnoughts! Our forces can handle the regular Mechaniloids, and considering you have the Lieutenant, they'll probably be able to handle them with a hell of a lot less collateral damage!"

"But those are freakin' DREADNOUGHTS!" Celtis wailed.

"Get over it! Even if you can't bring them down, I still need you to at least slow the damned things down long enough for the Cyberspace team to bring down the Technician! Otherwise you can kiss the entire east sector of Legion goodbye!"

"Ugh..."Celtis winced. Raising her head, she looked around at Ashe to find the Chosen One wearing a similar expression of distaste.

"I hate to admit this, but Marino's right." She said finally, and Celtis' shoulders slumped. "Normally I wouldn't have a problem with this, mind you, but these thing are WAY out of my size class. Even Albert's big three headed dragon throne form thingy was smaller than these things!"

"You'll just have to find a way." Marino said grimly. We'll give you what cover we can, but the rest of it is down to you guys."

"NO PROBLEM!"

Celtis didn't even have to look up to know who said that.

The legendary Fire General of Neo Arcadia, Fighting Fefnir Diz Aster, slammed one boot down on the remnants of a crushed Mechaniloid and incinerated his cigarette with a single inhalation. Grinning wildly, he exhaled a cloud of smoke and summoned not one, but both of his Knuckle Busters.

"OKAY, COME AT ME BRO!" With a thundering declaration, he charged off headlong into the battle, with nothing but devastation, destruction and ice in his wake.

But...

"THAT'S THE WRONG WAY, YOU IDIOT!" Celtis screamed. Rather than charging off towards the lead dreadnought, which was incidentally, less than a few blocks away from them and was now staring DIRECTLY AT THEM from the end of the street, Fefnir had taken off at a forty-five degree turn and was instead heading for the dreadnought further to the south, which was three times as far!

Then Celtis felt Ashe grab her shoulder tightly. Turning, she saw the Chosen One suddenly paling as she looked back the way they had come.

"No..." Ashe said nervously, "I think he went the RIGHT way."

Celtis turned to follow her gaze and blanched.

Ashe and Fefnir were right. This dreadnought was about to have much BIGGER problems of its own. Both women stared for a moment longer, and then shared a single glance.

"I think it's time to go find us another dreadnought, don't you?"

"Y-yeah...I think this one's taken."

And without another word, both fled, desperately trying to get out of the immediate vicinity as fast as possible.

* * *

Dreadnought Alpha's systems flickered as it beheld both of it's targets suddenly initiating evasive maneuvers. Just a moment ago it had gotten a lock on all three of them, when suddenly they all scattered. Had they detected it's lock-on signature?

As the massive machine turned to track the two escaping targets, priority alarms went off in it's mechanical brain. Knowing it could only mean one thing, the colossal weapon whipped it's head around, back to the position the Chosen Ones had formerly occupied. Finally seeing the figure advancing upon it, Dreadnought Alpha knew it's scanners had been correct.

Priority alarms: A warning to the brain of the mighty Mechaniloid that one of the opponents that had been designated as a maximum threat had entered sensor range.

**[Cue Music: Battle Moon Wars OST- Rust Sword]**

From out of the ruins, he came.

A black coat that whipped through the air.

A white scar glowing on the left side of his face

The mighty silver cross held out behind him, it's concealed engines roaring with blue-white flame.

The most feared of all Legion Security's enforcers.

The Colonel-Commissar of Legion City!

"HOWL, ADJUDICATOR!"

With a monstrous roar, the cross in his hands responded, it's engines doubling in power.

Without wasting another second, the towering form of Dreadnought Alpha opened up with everything it had. Dozens of turrets spat death, missile launchers flared with every discharge, and even it's main cannon thundered. A wall of death to all who approached, the Dreadnought knew how to destroy anything that dared approach it.

Unfortunately, that definition of 'anything' did not include the inhuman might of Legion City's most feared defender.

Never once did the black clad figure stop his forward advance. Jet boots roaring and the engines of the Crux Adjudicator emitting their high-pitched whine, he continued forward, skating from one side to another. And even then, once the Dreadnought began to compensate for his evasion, it still didn't matter.

A bolt from an energy turret struck him head on and...simply dispersed, splashing harmlessly off of his body. Then another, and another, with no effect whatsoever.

Looking back, Ashe couldn't help but swear.

"What the hell? Those are anti tank rounds and they're not even TOUCHING him!"

The HUD in the Colonel's mind would have answered her question, had she been able to see it.

BEAM COAT:

_**NO DAMAGE!**_

His eyes narrowing as he felt the enemy barrage redouble, the Colonel hurtled forward, into the heart of the storm.

**"I AM COLONEL!"**

A third and a fourth bolt struck him, and dispersed against his impregnable anti-energy defenses.

**"COLONEL COMMISSAR!"**

And then he was through, entering into the shadow of his massive opponent.

**"I AM THE SWORD..."**

He leapt, the great iron cross flashing through the air in a silvery arc.

**"THAT PUNISHES THE GUILTY!"**

Metal met steel in a monstrous impact, the dreadnought's hulking frame staggering as sparks flew from the Adjudicator's point of impact.

And yet, the colossal Mechaniloid still lived.

It's boosters still howling, the Adjudicator struggled onwards, eating through layer after layer of armor. But even such an inhuman power could only cut such a massive foe so quickly. The force of the Colonel's strike had indeed cleaved a fourteen meter deep gash into the midsection of the Dreadnought, but against an enemy like this, it still wasn't enough, even as the massive cross continued to bite deeper.

But even as Dreadnought Alpha's turrets turned inward to face him, the Colonel Commissar of Legion City did not yield. With a metallic noise, his shoulderblades erupted, two large conical turbines punching free. As the drill-shaped auxiliary engines screamed to life with hellish red flares of energy, the Colonel gave a roar, the blue-white rocket flares of the Adjudicator redoubling in response.

_**"CHEEEEEEEESTOOOOOOOOOO!"**_

A flash of light, and it was over.

The black-clad figure landed, the earth shattering beneath him as he swung the massive iron cross around.

"There is NOTHING..."

The mammoth form of the dreadnought came apart, cleaved in twain by the unstoppable might of the Colonel-Commissar.

**"THAT CAN ESCAPE MY JUSTICE!"**

* * *

As the light of a second sun lit up the streets of Legion City, Vent paused. He'd been gradually sawing through the wall of the safe in front of him with the aid of the ZX Saber, something which Model Z had been whimpering about every time it produced a particularly painful-sounding screech of metal, when the flash of light had caught his eye.

"...Oi, Ace." He tapped his companion on the shoulder. Ace looked up from where he'd been reduced to gnawing on the damned safe door in frustration.

"What gives?"

"Remember what you said about them being fine unless giant robots showed up?"

"Yeah?"

He turned to follow Vent's pointing finger, just in time to see another Mechaniloid dreadnought stomping past in the distance.

"Oh you have GOT to be kidding me!" He gave an outraged yell.

Vent gave him a calculating look.

"Now what?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, do we stay here, or do we get out there and help out?"

Ace stared out at the destruction for several moments, his lips tight as he considered their options.

Finally...

"No." He said at last. "We stay here. Goodman may have been a small fry, but he's gotten his hands on information that's much too close to home for me to feel comfortable. And even if we did get out there, we're dealing with dreadnoughts. There's no guarantee we'd be able to bring them down even if we did arrive to help out."

"...so we just stay here and go through paperwork while hoping this entire plan still manages to work out?" Vent raised an eyebrow. "That sounds...somewhat unlike you."

"Oh no, I wouldn't go THAT far." Ace grinned. He strode over to the desk and picked up the phone.

"Wait, I thought we were cut off from Legion Command!"

"We are." Ace replied, already hammering out a number on the desktop phone. "Fortunately, landlines still seem to be up, and anyway I'm not calling Command."

"...if landlines are still working, then why didn't we just use THAT to contact Aile and the others?" Vent demanded.

Ace shrugged. Vent stared at him for a moment longer, then groaned.

"I swear, sometimes your brain just REFUSES to work like normal peoples' own..." Then he blinked. "Hang on, if you're not calling Command, then who ARE you calling?"

The Security Commander grinned.

"If they want to bring in giant robots, then we'll just have to make things equal, now won't we."

Vent simply stared at him in disbelief.

* * *

Somewhere else in Legion City...a phone was ringing.

It rang once.

It rang twice.

It rang a third time.

It was then knocked clean off of the table by a flying wrench.

"Dammit, why is everything so noisy today? I can't concentrate!"

The phone rang again.

There was a sigh.

"Fine, fine, I'll get it." Another voice spoke up.

A click as the newcomer picked up the battered handset.

"Hello?"

Noise as the other person on the line spoke.

"Oh. So THAT'S what the commotion was about."

Another pause.

"Hang on a sec, I'll check with her." Pulling the phone away from her mouth, the woman turned to yell at her companion.

"OI! HE WANTS TO KNOW IF IT'S READY TO GO!"

There was silence, broken by a brief bout of cursing before the other person replied.

"I figure it's more or less as ready as it'll ever be! Now tell him if he doesn't find a way to cut down on all of the noise out there, I'm never taking a job for him ever again!"

"Actually, about that...apparently there's a Technician assembling dreadnoughts in the city, and one's heading right this way. That's what's making all of the noise."

And sure enough, there was another muted rumble in the distance, and this time it was close enough to make out the noise of buildings crumbling to pieces.

"...please tell me the next words out of your mouth are going to be that he wants us to launch this thing to deal with them."

The woman on the phone simply nodded.

_**"YESSSSSSS!"**_

* * *

Ace smiled grimly at the elated whooping coming from the other end of the line.

"Get launched and start wrecking anything that's not marked as friendly. I know this isn't exactly your area of expertise, but..."

"Don't worry." and Ace could practically HEAR the grin. "It might be our first time in THIS arena, but we can handle ourselves!"

"All right then. Good luck, and contact Marino as soon as you get out."

He dropped the receiver back into place with a pleased smirk on his face.

"There." He said smugly. "Let's see how the bastard likes it when there are mechs on the OTHER side of the field."

He turned to find Vent still staring at him in disbelief.

"...what?"

* * *

"Where are we going?" Ashe yelled, trying to keep up with Celtis even as she continued to pulverize any rogue Mechaniloids that got too close. Celtis, on the other hand, had the luxury of not needing to devote any thought processes to the combat around her, as the Hades, Demon's Eye software, and Model O were handling that like some kind of inhuman autopilot.

"We need to stop that dreadnought!" Celtis replied, pointing up at the figure that loomed above the buildings before them.

"We're going after THAT one?" Ashe demanded. "But that thing's headed right for the main Praetor batteries! The military can handle that once it gets in range!"

"Yeah, but I'm more worried about what's going to happen BEFORE it gets there!" Celtis gritted her teeth.

Just a few moments ago, she had recognized the area in the enemy machine's path. It was a familiar area, with a street layout she knew all too well.

In just a few moments, the dreadnought's path would take it directly through the machine shop belonging to her friend Kitara. And knowing Kitara, if she had been at work on any machine, vehicle or anything technological, there was no way in HELL that she would have paid any attention to an evacuation order.

All of this served to explain why Celtis had practically deserted the other battlefronts on her charge here, hoping that she could arrive in time to somehow disrupt the dreadnought's advance.

This actually wasn't too much of a problem, as the two other Legion agents she had left holding down the fort were a man who's name was feared by anything that was even remotely guilty of ANYTHING, and the other...well, the other was basically just a walking disaster zone. They could take care of it.

As for stopping the dreadnought...well, she'd think of something by the time she'd gotten there, right?

...right?

The snickering coming from Model O was NOT making her feel any better about this.

"Shut up, you..."She muttered angrily. Just because she was charging recklessly into a battle with something like, a hundred times her size with no plan whatsoever, other than a vague idea of making it up as she went along, didn't mean she was acting more like Omega and Model O, right?

...right?

Needless to say, she wasn't having much success with that particular argument.

"DUCK!"

Ashe's yell jerked Celtis out of her despairing reverie. Not thinking, just reacting, Celtis gave a yelp and threw herself into a forward roll, a colossal hammer slicing through the place her head had been moments before. Even before she had come out of the roll, her Hades wielding arm moved with a life of it's own, twisting her around in a smooth, flexible way that NO NORMAL REFLEXES EVER SHOULD HAVE to fire a single blast that tore the wrecker Mechaniloid's head off.

It was only when she finally stopped, upside down, looking back at the frozen Mechaniloid with one arm behind her back and her legs hanging down on either side of her that she saw the gaping hole blown in it's chest. It did not help that her new position meant that her Megamerged body's increased assets were bouncing in a way that made her feel distinctly embarrassed.

Ashe kept her A-Buster up, the muzzle still glowing from the blast that had shot the enemy machine through the core. She stared at Celtis with an unreadable look. Finally she tilted her head.

"That's an...interesting dodge, I'll give you that."

Celtis' eyebrow twitched.

"Don't...START with me. One of these days, I am REALLY going to have to have a little talk with Model O, and WHATEVER programming this Demon's Eye schtick has, with regards to ways that the human body is NOT MEANT TO BEND!"

In response, Model O simply snickered and held up an image of her in her current pose.

"...Delete that. Now." Celtis deadpanned.

More or less unnoticed by our two heroines, the hapless Mechaniloid then fell over and exploded. This served no other purpose than to remind them that there were better things to do than worry about Model O's malicious tendency to make Celtis' evasive maneuvers look more like things you'd see from pole dancers.

"Dammit, the machine shop!" Accepting Ashe's proferred hand, Celtis struggled back to her feet. She turned around to face the direction of her best friend's home and workplace, mere minutes away from being crushed under the heels of one of the Technician's patchwork Dreadnoughts, and started to run...

And that's when Kitara's entire machine shop exploded as a gigantic machine smashed free from underground and punched the enemy mech in the face SO HARD that it flew nearly the entire length of the sector before finally crashing back to earth.

There was a sudden, long silence, broken only by the sounds of the dreadnought exploding somewhere in the distance, complete with its own mushroom cloud.

"...what." Celtis finally managed to get her vocal cords working again.

"...I'm just going out a limb here but...I'm just guessing that nobody else was expecting that either."

The newcomer reared up, it's form becoming more discernible now that it wasn't moving as quickly. It stood on four straight 'legs' of a sort which in reality were just long, joint-less pylons, with bladed tank treads running along the entire perimeter of each one. There were no knee or mid joints. They were just straight, black treads, all jutting out and down at approximately forty-five degrees from the main body. They all originated from the same point, namely a round, dome-shaped central section on the underside of the machine. As the treads on one of the chainsaw-looking legs revved impatiently, the dome rotated with it, the upper body turning freely on it's own to compensate for the new standing position. The upper body was a vaguely humanoid shape, with massive, armored shoulders that rose up on either side of it's head, bristling with the muzzles of four missile launchers apiece. And...Celtis wasn't sure, but from this range, she could SWEAR there were the colossal triple barrels of a mass driver gun jutting upwards from the top of each shoulder. Not to mention the long, murderous shapes of four Gatling cannons extending outward and down from the mech's back. From beneath the massive armor covering the shoulders and much of the robot's upper arms, it's fists came into view, each forearm blocky and with a five fingered hand on the end. Even as Celtis watched in disbelief, the giant robot opened and closed it's hands, flexing the fingers as a powered, straight edged energy blade shot out of a concealed recess on the back of both wrists, and then retracted, as if the machine was simply testing itself.

And it's head...

There was a brief silence as both genuine and broken Chosen One stared at the newcomer's face.

Finally, Ashe tilted her head to the side, a thoughtful look on her face.

"...Is that a Lamborghini?"

And Celtis was loath to admit it, but she was afraid Ashe was right. Yes, the giant robot that had just smashed out of the ground beneath her best friend's machine shop and then punched an entire Mechaniloid dreadnought halfway across Legion City, did indeed have a sleek, sexy white Lamborghini parked in the space where it's head should have been.

...And no, it TOTALLY did not look AWESOME, or at least Celtis would never admit it, despite the admiring whistle coming from Model O in her head.

And as a final fuck you to reality and common sense, the entire thing was painted jet black, with a pattern of brilliant white hot rod flames on it's forearms, the ends of each leg and it's chest.

"...What." Celtis said again. "Just...WHAT?"

"I've given up on asking that question in this city for the last four years." Ashe said despondently. "Let's just find out who's piloting the damn thing, what they did with your friend, and then if they're on our side, we leave the dreadnoughts to them, find a nice open spot crawling with Mavericks, far away from insanity like this, and then kill everything that we can possibly get paid for."

"..." Celtis stared at the other female Chosen One for several moments.

"...What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"...you are my new hero." The green haired Hunter said finally. "At long last, SOMEBODY around here with a sensible outlook on life!"

Ashe raised an eyebrow.

"Girl, you have REALLY got to stop hanging around with that guy if this is what counts as a sensible outlook."

"I have been telling myself that every day since the moment I met him." Celtis deadpanned.

* * *

Vent stared out at the cityscape.

"A giant robot."

"Mm-hm."

"You built a GIANT ROBOT."

"Yep."

"...WHY?"

Ace wordlessly gestured to the skeletal figures of more Dreadnoughts rising from the city, near to the clouds of dust that marked the Zone Technician's territory.

"...you blew countless hundreds of thousands of MILLIONS of Legion dollars to secretly build a GIANT ROBOT underground, JUST on the OFF CHANCE that Legion might someday be attacked by OTHER GIANT ROBOTS. Am I getting this right?"

"Basically."

Vent stared at the Legion Security Commander from the other side of the concealed safe.

"You are either the EPITOME of Crazy Prepared or you're just plain CRAZY, period." He gave a muffled grunt as he struggled with his side of the vault. "I'm not sure which yet."

"...this from the guy who summoned me through space and time, from my nice, comfy spot in Aile's breast pocket (innuendo INTENDED! Ha! You see what I did there?), just so you could try and use my sword as a crowbar." Model Z growled inside the Chosen One's head.

"...Oi. Less comments about my sister's cup size, more cutting!"

Ace poked his head up from where he was trying to jury rig a plasma lance using a combination of his pocket fusion cutter, the building's own electrical wiring and a captured desk lamp.

"WHAT'S this about your sister's chest?"

"Not a damn thing if you know what's good for you." Vent warned.

"Oooookay...?" He raised an eyebrow. "But to answer your earlier dilemma..."

Ace gave a smug grin.

"It's not about being crazy prepared, or crazy at all." He held up the now thoroughly unsafe looking contraption he'd put together with what looked like several rolls of duct tape, string and cable ties.

And with a flick of a switch, he carved a two inch wide swath through the reinforced armor of the safe with an arc of unleashed plasma. His grin widened.

"It's about being crazy AWESOME!"

Vent stared blankly at the scar left by Ace's new plasma lance.

"You have got to be KIDDING me."

* * *

These words were, unknown to Vent, being perfectly repeated several blocks away, atop a ruined building by Celtis, as she discovered just who the hell it was piloting the newcomer mech.

Ashe stared up at the mech, and her eye twitched involuntarily.

"Remember what I said about you needing to stop hanging around with that guy? I take it back. You need to stop hanging around with ALL of your current friends."

High, high above them, in the cockpit...er, front seat of the mech's head, Vix merely sighed and pressed a hand against her forehead.

"I TOLD you she wouldn't take it well."

Next to her, in the driver's seat, Kitara gave a manic giggle, her hands flying over the complicated dashboard in a blur as she finished her systems checks.

"Ahh, she worries too much! So what if we're piloting an awesome giant robot? What's the worst that could happen?"

And that was when Kitara's greedily roving hands pressed a button that they probably shouldn't have.

With a warning beep, the front of the mech's chest slid open and a large, blunt cannon extended from the cavity, the sides of the thick muzzle expanding until the end of the cannon took on a distinctly hammerhead shape. And in the center of this hammerhead, the circular barrel began to glow with an ominous orange light.

Hundreds of meters away, Aile winced as she became aware of a high pitched whining noise, building in intensity.

"...the heck is that sound?"

"Ma'am!" One of her operators suddenly yelled in alarm. "It seems to be coming from a strange mech that just arrived on the battlefield!"

"Strange new MECH?" Aile sat forward. On the line, she heard Marino swear and knew the ex-thief had come to the same conclusion.

Wherever you found giant robots, you could bet your ASS that Ace Phoenix had something to do with it. And when ACE had ANYTHING to do with ANYTHING...well, it just never tended to end well.

At that moment, Marino too received an unexpected surprise, interrupting her not undeserved glee in mercilessly crushing the Mechaniloid renegades in the north.

After all, one didn't become the second in command of Legion Security without picking up a few tricks along the way...plus it was the only way she could ensure that she spotted all of the potentially debilitating flaws in Ace's crazy-ass plans. (Again, see Operation: Turn-Legion-HQ-Into-A-Giant-Laser-Cannon-To-Wreck-That-Damn-Orbital-Toaster.)

Her console lit up, indicating a massive transfer of data. And as it completed, a new screen coming up, she stared at it in disbelief.

"These are...schematics?" She looked up, and immediately matched them to the monochrome titan now standing amidst the Legion skyline.

"'U.L.T.R.A.S AXL'?" She looked down at the ID information and then back up at the screen. "...the hell kind of name is that?"

Aile, on the other hand, as HER cameras found it, and the monstrous cannon sticking out of it's chest, came to the unfortunate realization that said cannon looked remarkably familiar.

She thought back to one of those many, many gaming sessions, in which Vent and Ace had attempted to kick the crap out of each other online. She knew for a fact that she had seen that cannon in one such session, but which one?

It took her almost five minutes before she finally got it, and that was because she realized her previous assumption that it was merely a cannon alone was entirely wrong.

"Is that..._the entire front of a Starcraft battlecruiser?_"

* * *

**FIRING YAMATO CANNON.**

The hammerhead-shaped muzzle sank back on it's shock absorbers as a storm of destructive orange red energy surged forth, so bright that it almost hurt to look at directly.

The beam lanced out, tearing a forty foot wide hole straight through the heart of a second Dreadnought and continuing onwards as if it had been made of wet cardboard. The Yamato Cannon's blast rocketed over the rooftops of Legion City, clipping the top of the towering perimeter wall that surrounded the mighty city state with enough force to melt a twenty foot-wide semicircle out of the top of it, and disappearing into the horizon.

"...uh-oh." Vix murmured.

And then the sun was eclipsed by a second, brilliantly blazing red one as a colossal dome-shaped explosion of raw devastation blossomed on the horizon, swelling up and punching through the clouds above. Stark shadows flashed across Legion as the shockwave and sound of the explosion washed over the city, the angry red light illuminating the world.

In the deafening silence that followed, broken only by the sounds of crumbling masonry, knocked loose by the blast, and bits of the dreadnought falling to the ground as it sagged and came apart at the seams, the towering shape of the ULTRAS AXL stood entirely unfazed, the Yamato Cannon retracting coolly.

"...Huh." Kitara said finally, blinking the afterimage of the fiery blast out of her eyes.

"...You know, I wondered what happened to that thermonuclear blasting array." Vix coughed, tugging at the front of her top and noting that she now had some rather nice tanlines. "Remind me to fine-tune the UV-shielding when we get back."

"Well, on the bright side, at least now we know what that button does." Kitara said sheepishly. "On the downside, we just accidentally killed the only remaining dreadnought, so I think we just inadvertently completed our own mission before we even started."

"So much for charging by the hour..." Vix groused.

* * *

Somewhere in Cyberspace, however, someone else had other ideas.

"WHAT THE HELL?"

...Or at least, they would, once they got over the fact that Legion Security had just apparently deployed a stupidly powerful GIANT ROBOT to stop their advance.

Suffice it to say, even for someone with the crazy capabilities of a Zone Technician, this kind of thing was still a little hard to get over.

"This guy's even crazier than I thought! I didn't think the bastard would ACTUALLY have a freaking defense against a dreadnought attack!"

A new screen opened up as a second voice added it's smug tones into the mix.

"Heh, I TOLD you so. Believe me, I can PERSONALLY attest to the crazy prepared nature of Legion Security!"

The Zone Technician grumbled a half-hearted retort under his breath, but the newcomer ignored him.

"See, this is why I said to listen to me. And would you look at that, it seems like that's the only reason you haven't been utterly trounced right now!"

"Yeah, well...ugh, shaddap."

"So, it's time to switch to plan B! And as promised, that means you start paying me the big bucks!"

"What? Wait, not yet! I can still handle this!"

"Kid, you hired me just in the case of a situation like this arriving. Then, you stuck me on the FUCKING BENCH, while you flexed your nerdy muscles. Now, YOUR troops have just finished getting their asses kicked and Legion Security is holding your hacked mechaniloids, if not at a standstill, close enough that it doesn't matter. Now as per the terms of my contract, that means that you switch over to full background support, and you leave the fighting to me, someone who ACTUALLY KNOWS HOW TO CONTROL A FUCKING ARMY."

The screen doubled in size, looming over the Zone Technician as the figure on the screen glared down at him.

"So you can back the FUCK off, sit your ASS back down, and get the hell out of my way so I can do my job, settle my scores with Legion Security and that asshole Saber, regardless of how much of a price tag I run up, and you will NOT MAKE A SINGLE BITCH ABOUT IT. ARE WE CLEAR?"

The Zone Technician's eyes narrowed behind his visor.

"How DARE you...I hired you, and I can damn well fire you if I want to!"

The figure laughed mirthlessly.

"No you bloody well can't. Because right now, I'm your only hope for getting out of this. You might be one of those hotshot 'Zone Technicians, but your sorry ass doesn't have a chance of fighting your way out in both Cyberspace AND the real world."

"Tch..." The Technician gritted his teeth. "Well I can still hack that prized 'army' of yours!"

"Sure, but it'll take you at least two hours." The screen sneered. "I took precautions the minute I found out my mysterious employer was a Zone Technician."

The Technician bit back a retort. He knew full well that this battle had been all but his until Security had deployed monsters like that black Colonel and something as outrageous as the machine that had effortlessly torn apart one of his other dreadnoughts with a single blast. His once immaculate plan, which should have had him hailed as a towering colossus of invading might had at best done little more than inconvenience Legion's defenses, and destroy a few dozen blocks of the city, plus half of an entire industrial district. This was not how it was supposed to have gone at all!

And now there were enemies approaching from Cyberspace itself, a feat which should have been IMPOSSIBLE, even if Security had somehow managed to co-opt Technicians of their own, and the main towers of his supposedly ingenious assault had just been fragged. Even though he still had his factories constructing more of them, not to mention his trump card Giga Dreadnought almost complete, his erstwhile ally was right, he didn't have enough time. Without his already active dreads pushing the Security forces back, they'd be on his factories with cruise missiles and long range strikes long before he could finish construction.

His only hope now lay in facing and crushing these digital invaders personally while turning his barely-controllable ally and his forces loose on the city to continue where his dreadnoughts and rampaging Mechaniloids had left off, at least long enough that his factories could continue producing enough dreadnoughts to once again turn the tide in his favor. It was the only option left that made any strategic sense.

"Ngrrrrrr..."The Technician turned as he felt the impudent trespassers smash their way through another of his defenses. How were they DOING that-?

"FINE!" He snapped ill-temperedly, "I don't give a damn anymore! Do whatever the hell you want, raze the Sector for all I care! Just make sure I get my money's worth out of the absurd cost I'm paying for your ass!"

The screen smiled coldly.

"Not to worry..."it sneered, as throughout Cyberspace, the Technician felt dozens of new mechanical minds appearing. "You wanted an army? You'll get your army."

* * *

Marino stared at the screens displaying the status of the battle-torn city Sector. The battle was not quite over yet, but it appeared at long last that they had FINALLY brought the rampaging Mavericks under control. Their advance had been stopped at last, and now all that was left was the long and bloody job of tracking down and smashing what little pockets of resistance remained, before staging an assault on the Technician's homeground itself.

At least, assuming that the little rat bastard hadn't scarpered by now. After all, it's what SHE would have done, had she realized that there was a monstrous shark like Saber swimming in the same digital ocean as her.

She sighed and dropped back in her chair. Dammit, but she HATED having to take up command duties like this. She was a THIEF, dammit, not some decorated war general! Massed troop movements were FAR from her specialty, and yet, she inevitably kept finding herself in this position every time Ace absconded to pursue his duties as CEO of A.C.E.

It wasn't that she was particularly bad at it or anything,it was just that she simply HATED it. Wholesale death, mass destruction and for what? A few squares of real estate. Where was the skill? Where was the cunning? The finesse? Or the challenge of running rings around the opponent yourself? Or the truly valuable prize at the end of it?

All of these things were the pride of a skilled thief, and Marino was an EXCEPTIONALLY good thief. This...not so much. At the very least, though, her years of experience had taught her the best ways to corner and run to ground any possible escape routes for the enemy, as those were the first thing she always looked for in any potentially dangerous situation. An epic theft was all well and good, but it meant nothing if you were dead. She was also an unmatched commander in the arenas of stealth and subterfuge, two factors that were entirely useless in their current situation.

Stifling a groan, she massaged her forehead with one hand. It was moments like this that she couldn't help but wonder how Ace did it, and yet still managed to remain unchanged by the death and destruction that came with the responsibility of the Security Commander's title.

And it was precisely at that moment, when the surprisingly underwhelming Zone Technician's assault seemed all but defeated, that the true battle began.

Alarms blared a deafening panic, cries of alarm from the operators of both the A.C.E Command and Control, and the Guardian Base's tactical command.

"What the hell...what's going on?" Marino thundered.

"Miss Marino!" One of the operators turned to her in a panic, "The main transfer servers...they're suddenly showing a huge spike in activity!"

"What?" Aile demanded, "Who the blazes authorized that?"

"No-one, miss Marino! Someone's hacked Central Control! The main trans-server controls are out of our control!"

"Wh-what? But that's impossible! Legion's Cyberspace defenses are-" The words froze in Marino's throat.

"-they're all routed towards locking down the Technician's Zone!" Aile whispered, her eyes wide.

"They snuck up on us!" Marino snarled. "With those transfer systems disabled, they're free to open up transfer gates anywhere within a quarter mile of that Sector!"

"In other words, they just got the keys to free reinforcements." Aile growled.

Even as they spoke, the two Commanders saw the dreary fulfillment of their thoughts.

The sky rippled, dozens of new enemies dropping from opening transfer portals to land with countless crashes upon the battered Sector below, all Mechaniloids, except THESE Mechaniloids were fully equipped and geared for war. There would be no more uncontrolled rampaging, but from here on out the battle would be twice as bloody.

And that was BEFORE an entirely NEW wave of dreadnoughts began descending, all glittering armor and pristine steel, a far cry from the ramshackle constructions of the Technician. These were true dreadnoughts, Mechaniloid beasts designed and built for the sole purpose of waging war across the world.

"Son of a..." Marino swore silently.

Aile gritted her teeth, feeling the shock of each Dreadnought's impact as they finally touched down.

"This isn't any ordinary attack," she growled, "and those are no normal battlemechs. These things are all custom-built, and made for REAL combat, not just mindless rampaging beasts. And they're all too well controlled! NO Zone Technician can have this kind of multi-tasking capability! Either they control them from Cyberspace, or they fight in Cyberspace, and even then, they still shouldn't be able to co-ordinate a force of this size spread out over such a wide area!"

It was Marino who figured it out first. A slow dread suddenly stealing over her, she turned to glance back at Aile's image.

"No ZONE TECHNICIAN is capable of commanding such an army..."She swallowed. "But there is SOMEBODY who can control this many Mechaniloids."

A look of horror crossed Aile's face.

"Please don't tell me you're implying what I think you are..."

Marino chewed on her thumbnail nervously.

"The one assumption we've been going on all this time is that this is all the work of a single opponent. But that still doesn't make sense! We've been getting hits across the sector from Mechaniloids that were never even in the city to begin with, not just our own mechs going berserk! So the only result left is that there've been two of them the whole time: The Zone Technician, and the supplier of the Mechaniloids for his attack!"

* * *

Ashe leapt out of the way as an entire Crushpactor dropped out of it's transfer, nearly crushing her with its landing.

"A Crushpactor...what the hell?" She swore. "These are real Maverick Mechaniloids! Where the hell are they coming from?"

She skidded to a halt as she realized that Celtis was no longer with her.

"Oi!" She spun around, finding the broken Chosen One still standing in the same spot. "Come on!"

Then she realized the girl was shaking.

"Wh...what the hell...IS this?" Celtis stammered, her panic-filled eyes fixed on something past Ashe.

Turning quickly, Ashe felt her own eyes go wide as she beheld the sight that had terrified the other Chosen One, a shadow falling over them both.

For there, in the sky, floated dozens of unmistakable, bulky shapes, heavy with armor, their engines belching black, cancerous smoke into the sky as still more of them materialized.

"Those are...Doru Ghoras?" She gasped. "But...it CAN'T be!"

Indeed, Ashe had seen this terrible phenomenon once before. Celtis had not been conscious at the time, so this was her first time seeing such an incredible sight. For Ashe though, it was all too familiar.

"Oh, but I assure you, IT MOST CERTAINLY _CAN_!"

A new voice roared over the communications line as a new transfer gate opened, bigger than it's predecessors and glowing with power.

"Dammit!" Ashe gritted her teeth. "It IS you!"

**[Cue Music: Chie to Yuuki da! -Medarot OST]**

The voice laughed.

"So nice of you to remember me! But then again, who could forget the name..."

The transfer gate shattered, a dark form becoming visible as it hurtled down towards Ashe, it's bulk casting a dark shadow over the two women, an unmistakable voice roaring with dark glee.

_**"**_Of **GEEEARHEEEEEEEEAAAD**_**...GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANZ!"**_

* * *

A/N: At this point, I'd like you all to take a moment to fill out the questionnaire below. Don't worry, it's just one question.

Current Real Status of the Omega Chronicles:

[ ] Kinda Real

[ ] Real

[ ] SHIT JUST GOT REAL!

AND YOU WERE _WONDERING _WHY THIS WHOLE BATTLE SEEMED TO BE GOING SO SMOOTHLY! False sense of security, and then BAM! GEARHEAD MOTHER F*CKING GRANZ MAKES A COMEBACK! BECAUSE THE BEST BOSSES ARE THE ONES THAT NEVER STAY DEAD!

OH YEAH, AWESOME STUFF HAPPENS NEXT CHAPTER!

Also, I wanted to try writing a combat chapter that wasn't QUITE as intense as my normal ones, so you could get some talking and stuff in as well. So this is a bit different in a way.

Let me know if it worked, or if I need to change anything!

DarkShift Out!


	35. Chapter 34: Back From The Deadsort of

**Chapter 34: Back from the Dead...not really.**

Disclaimer: See all previous chapters. Again.

And I am now pleased to announce a return to your regularly written Omega Chronicles, with none of the experimental oddness of previous chapters!

Kind of.

Maybe.

...I hope.

...there is a SHIT-TON OF BADASSERY, THOUGH!

* * *

"It can't be..." Celtis gasped.

Her companion, however, was not quite as alarmed as she was at the appearance of the new foe before them.

"YOU!" Ashe roared with anger.

From within the towering plumes of destruction surrounding him, their enemy's voice crackled mockingly from speakers.

"Yes...ME! GEARHEAD GRANZ, THE IRON TYRANT!"

From his sealed command center thousands of miles away in a location unknown even to Legion, Gearhead Granz, the single most feared Mechaniloid Commander in the world laughed madly as his screens flashed with torrents of data, information pouring in from the hundred of mechanical troops that he'd just transferred directly into Legion City.

"What...? But...how?" Celtis demanded. "I thought you were defeated during the battle on the train!"

"One of the many advantages of being _me_, I'm afraid." Granz sneered. "I have no need to risk my own neck out there on the battlefield like the rest of you barbaric hotheads. All I have to do is give the order and my mechanized legions will shred you as efficiently as they would were I actually there! Even if you destroy one of my machines, I'll simply switch to another! True, that nameless bastard may have defeated my Guard Orotic EX, but in the end, you of Legion HAD to know it was merely just a setback for me!"

Watching the image on the screen, Marino's hand clenched into a fist atop her desk.

"...of COURSE we knew, dammit...!" She gritted, confirming his gleeful taunts to the listening agents in the field. "But like always, we just hoped we'd have tracked down his lair before he rebuilt his forces enough to launch another strike!"

Aile crossed her legs, leaning back in her commander's chair with an unnaturally cold look in her eyes.

"Exactly...The Guardians too have a similar policy with regards to Granz. I hadn't expected him to have recovered from the staggering losses Saber inflicted on him the last time for at least another month..."

Her eyes narrowed.

"But if he were to begin working with a Zone Technician, it'd be all too easy to cut his manufacturing and production time in half..."

Marino chewed her thumbnail in aggravation.

"Dammit...no WONDER he managed to get a whole Doru Ghora armada up and running again. Blast...I was expecting there to be something else behind this Technician attack, but I never expected an enemy like GRANZ to reappear...!"

A new screen opened up, displaying Nana's grim face.

"Agreed. If it was a single enemy, like Gallidin or another S-Class Raider, or failing that just another Maverick incursion, which-" She cut off for a moment as the entire cruiser jerked with the sound of crunching metal, another Maverick meeting an unhappy end beneath the vehicle's armored wheels. "...which seems to be happening already, I might add, what with the hole punched in our defenses by the Technician to allow Granz to deploy, but a Granz Armada..." She shook her head. "I'm getting readings off of the new Dreads that are on a whole other level to the makeshift ones we've seen so far. And this isn't just a mob of crazy Mechaniloids anymore, this is an ARMY. With Granz commanding it..."

Nana's expression darkened.

"This isn't going to be good."

"Indeed it isn't!" Granz thundered. "Do you have any idea how much work that bastard Saber cost me last time? HOW MUCH MONEY JUST WENT UP IN SMOKE? Oh no, noooooo, I'm not leaving here until I've razed this entire Sector to the ground, or until I have his corpse LYING IN FIFTEEN DIFFERENT PIECES IN FRONT OF ME!"

He grinned maniacally and slammed his fist down on the keyboard of his command center.

"And I've brought just the thing to do it with! BEHOLD!"

The smoke suddenly tore apart around his mech's shadowy form, a deafening howl resonating through the air.

"My VERMILION VILE WARWOLF!"

The beast roared again and reared up. Unconsciously, Celtis felt herself take step back as she beheld the new enemy that faced them.

It stood almost twenty feet tall, tearing at the ground with a pair of powerful, mechanical legs, shaped like those of a wolf or a dog of some kind, pistons hissing with each motion. A narrow, disproportionately thin waist clicked as the segmented armor plates shifted with the machine's restless motions. A heavily armored, triangular torso gleamed in the light, harsh edges glinting as the beast straightened up. Five clawed fingers flexed on each hand, gauntlets made along the same strange, linear geometrical styles as the rest of the thing's body.

Finally, in the dead center of the Mechaniloid's torso and leaning forward, was the triangular, canine head of the beast, a wolf-headed design, again rendered in the precise, geometrical lines of the rest of the machine. It swung it's head this way and that, as if sniffing the air, before whipping around to stare directly at the two Chosen Ones, one green eye glowing on the right side of it's face as two red circular optics whirred menacingly in the thing's left eye socket, all the more visible against the dark purple armor that made up the beast's body.

And as twin red laser lights played out from the red optics, landing on Celtis' chest, Ashe swore, gave her a hard shove and dove in the opposite direction. With a brief whine, the Warwolf's left eyes flashed, before a super high-powered microwave blast atomized the air where Celtis had been standing and punched a two foot wide hole in a piece of masonry behind them.

"Son of a..." Ashe didn't even waste time swearing, instead putting her skills to work via several Buster rounds to the thing's face.

The Warwolf lifted a hand to block it effortlessly, her shells detonating harmlessly against it's carapace armor. As the smoke from the impacts billowed out, Granz's mech swept it aside with a single stroke of it's claws and brought it's head up again, the red lenses glowing. A flash of light and the ground erupted around the Chosen One's feet, knocking her off balance. Then, with a wild laugh from Granz, it was on her, armored muzzle slamming into Ashe's midsection and the machine barreling onwards with all the momentum and force of a freight train.

"Whoa!" Celtis recoiled, the Warwolf's mass and size so great that the mere wake of it's passage was enough to knock her back to the ground.

A thunderous crash, and another building suddenly tilted precariously, it's supports dislodged by a tremendous impact. The Warwolf took a step back and straightened up slowly, looking down at it's handiwork with a smugness that was all Granz.

"You didn't honestly expect this to be as easy as last time, did you?" He taunted.

"Guh...ah...!"A choked gasp was the only response.

Embedded within a crater of pulverized rock and steel, Ashe gritted her teeth, arms and legs buried in the crushing embrace of the material that had once formed the building Granz had rammed her into. She had no idea what was broken and what wasn't with agonizing pain screaming through every inch of her body.

Dammit...Granz hadn't been joking when he'd said he'd been busy upgrading...One hit from that thing and she'd been all but totaled...!

"Not to seem like a one trick pony or anything..." The Gearhead sneered, his Warwolf's left eyes glowing again, "But this optic beam is just SO convenient...!"

And then the world tilted sideways with a deafening ringing sound. The Warwolf actually took a step to the left, the devastating impact of a Hades round having hit it RIGHT on the temple.

"Get the HELL...!"

Granz gave an angry growl, and whirled, in time to see the soles of two crimson armored boots on a collision course for his cameras.

"AWAY FROM HER!"

It was a flawless flying double kick, both of Celtis' Model O-powered boots slamming into Granz's face with a bonecrushing impact that would have decapitated any other victim, the Vile Vermilion Warwolf actually taking another step as it staggered sideways.

But that was all.

Celtis barely had time to widen her eyes in shock, feeling the mechaniloid slowly straightening up again, before it whipped it's head sideways and catapulted her head first into another wall with a scream.

A smug grin on his face, Granz brought the Warwolf's hand up to scratch idly at the scuff marks her boots had left on his face.

"Really?"He said mockingly, "That's the power of this famous Biometal I've heard so much about? Funny, I was expecting..." His voice dropped, his tone deadly serious, "..._more_."

Celtis groaned and pushed aside a chunk of masonry that had been lying atop her, biting back a curse.

"Oh, I'll give you more!"

"Then come and get some!" He laughed, turning as the mech's chest cavity snapped open to release a swarm of missiles at Celtis.

"Oh COME ON!" She yelled in outrage before vanishing amidst a dozen explosions.

It didn't last long, however, Model O's skills serving her in good stead as she burst from the flames, twin O-Sabers drawn in a headlong charge forward-

-which was when Granz's other claw struck out and crashed into her midsection, all four of it's talons erupting from her spine in a spray of blood. Even as she spasmed in a soundless scream of agony, light flashed around his arm's joint, and in a blast of smoke the entire forearm shot off like a bullet, slamming Celtis back into the wall, her blood splashing out around her like a grisly aura.

Looking down the length of chain connecting his launched forearm and the rest of his limb, Granz gave a cold smile.

"That's what I thought...don't go thinking this will be as easy as the last time, Hunter insect." He growled. "The only reason I lost was because of that bastard Saber. You chumps are NOTHING against me. You may have Biometal, but my Warwolf has something better: The chassis of VELGUARDER!"

Even through the red haze dimming her senses, Celtis tensed in shock.

Velguarder...the legendary war-hound said to have been kept by none other than the most monstrous Maverick of them all, Sigma himself! It was said to have been a Mutos Reploid of unmatched size and power, an immensely dangerous foe that had taken X, _the_ X, blue Reploid of legend, to finally bring it down. If Granz had somehow managed to get his hands on THAT thing, to use it as the base upon which he built his Warwolf...

Celtis' train of thought faltered, her hands slipping on the blood soaked metal impaling her. Dammit, but this HURT...If she could just get it out of her, Model O could handle the rest with its regeneration capabilities...Materializing her O Saber again, she struggled to bring it to bear on the claws impaling her.

"...I don't think so." Granz said flatly, the Warwolf's red lenses charging again.

But before anything else could happen, somebody else roared.

"Well, I DON'T THINK SO EITHER!"

"WHAT?" Granz turned with a startled yell, the rubble beneath exploding as a colossal jaw broke the surface. Bifrost roared, it's monstrous maw gaping wide before an enraged Ashe slammed it shut on the off-balance Warwolf. But even as she did so, she knew that wouldn't be enough, Granz already bringing the deadly machine's massive strength to bear on prying her jaws open again.

So, she gave him a hand.

With a single motion, she whipped Bifrost's head to the side and released, Granz's yell of outrage fading as he hurtled into the distance, interrupted by about two different buildings on the way.

Celtis dropped to the ground, the Warwolf's claw having been jerked free by the sudden throw. Briefly, she was glad they hadn't been barbed, or she might have been picking up some rather important bits of her insides off of the ground. This, however, did not stop her from gagging and spitting out several bloody chunks while Model O muttered profanities and set about reconstructing her insides.

Ashe stomped over to her, in human form once more and rubbing her jaw where she had strained it trying to keep Granz pinned.

"...you okay? That looked pretty bad."

Celtis groaned and wiped her mouth.

"It sure as hell FELT pretty bad...wait you got rammed into a building by that thing! I should be asking YOU that!"

Ashe shrugged.

The conversation however, was interrupted by a loud crashing noise and a rumble as a shadow fell over them.

"...You didn't HONESTLY think it was over, did you?" Granz sneered, looking down at them from the cameras of a Dreadnought he'd diverted. It would take some time before his Warwolf to reach back, considering how far Ashe had thrown the damn thing, but luckily for him, he had plenty of ways to keep the assault up until then.

"Oh COME ON!" Ashe snapped. "That's just CHEATING!"

"All's fair in love and war!" Granz laughed. "And since it's CLEARLY not Valentine's Day around these parts, that just leaves-"

He stopped.

"Is that a...car engine?"

Celtis and Ashe paused. Then they too heard it, the throaty roar of a Lamborghini engine howling out across the city.

And getting louder.

They looked at each other and both went pale.

"FFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUU-!" And threw themselves into cover, just as two thousand tons of kickass awesome in a Lamborghini-headed monochrome tower of steel clotheslined Granz's Dreadnought on it's way past.

**[Cue Music: Megas XLR theme- CHICKS DIG GIANT ROBOTS!]**

"WHAAAAT THEEEEEEE HEEEEEEEEELLLL?" Granz yelled, his entire control screen cartwheeling around him.

"Sorry, pal..." Kitara grinned, the upper half of ULTRAS spinning around as she cranked the wheel.

"But your Dreads are a bit BUSY at the moment!" Vix crowed, and brought her hands down on the fire controls.

ULTRAS ATX roared and brought it's left hand up, concealed muzzles in each fingertip spitting death at the still-stunned Dreadnought.

Granz barely had time to react before five warship-class beam cannons tore through his Dread like wet cardboard, the ruined hulk exploding minutes later. Cursing, he called up the controls on his armada and pulled off fully HALF of his Dreads from the main attack, redirecting them towards the new enemy that had appeared, and bringing his Doru Ghoras up to fill the space.

"ALL RIGHT, FINE!" He snarled, "If you AMATEURS want to play at being mech pilots, then let a PRO show you how it's done!"

Two Dreads fired their engines, charging in headfirst, melee weapons already sliding into place as four more of their brethren laid down a blistering hail of cover fire.

"COME GET SOME!" Kitara whooped, and slammed the gas pedal to the floor. The ATX howled once more, it's four chainsaw-like legs screaming as they shredded the ground, catapulting the mech back into the battle.

She weaved left.

She dodged right!

Then hitting the brakes and jerking the wheel, she brought ATX in low, the mech dropping down and spinning around in a motion that severed both Dreadnought's legs at the knee, a single blow from the ULTRAS' screaming treads just as effective as a real chainsaw. Then, as both machines stumbled and fell, Kitara's hands danced over the controls, yanking back on a joystick as her other hand slammed another throttle to the stops.

ULTRAS ATX's 'eyes' flashed, and it came screaming up from the ground, both fists raised in twin uppercuts that smashed straight into the midsection of each Dreadnought, the ATX's powered blades punching free of their backs a second later.

Twin explosions lit up the streets of Legion, before the ULTRAS tore it apart and barreled onwards, heedless of the ordinance exploding around it.

"Goddammit, Kitara!" Vix swore, another near-miss rattling their seats, "You can't just charge those idiots like that!"

"Aw, come on, ATX can take this kind of punishment for DAYS!"

"Yes, but do you have any idea how much it costs to REPAINT?"

"...good point. Okay, hang on!"

The machine's treads spun, twisting forty-five degrees to the left and sending ATX racing up a stretch of buildings in a feat that basically flipped off gravity and the laws of physics in general, its upper half still pointed directly at the enemy forces, even as the Dreadnoughts' cannons continued to track them.

"As if I'd let you get away!" Granz thundered, correcting his machines' aim and putting four artillery shells into the building directly in front of the charging monochrome titan.

"As if we'd let that stop us!" Kitara shot back, and slammed the gearstick from third gear straight into **'GO TIME!'**

Panels on ATX'S back slammed open and twin racks of boost engines fired once, a shockwave that pulverized the rest of the wall beneath the ULTRAS and launching it back into the air with a burst of blue-white fire.

"FOOLS!" Granz sneered, "Getting you into the air was my plan the whole time! AA BATTERIES, _OPEN FIRE!_"

Dozens of hatches opened on the upper surfaces of the four leading mechaniloids, a storm of anti-air missiles screaming out towards the still-freefalling ULTRAS, with still more of the Dreadnought forces crouching down as the trademark long barrels of anti-aircraft cannons slid out, adding their thunderous blasts to the noise.

"Not a chance!" Kitara snarled, ATX bitch-slapping two incoming shells out of the way with a single blow.

"You've got balls, Granz, I'll give you that..." Vix grinned, another firing control lighting up in response to her commands. "BUT OUR BOY HERE HAS BALLS OF TITANIUM!"

She smashed her fist down on the controls.

"DO IT, ATX! _**CLAAAAAYYYYMOOOOOOOORES!**_"

ULTRAS ATX roared again, crossing it's arms and then throwing them out to the sides as it's chest compartments slammed open to unleash a storm of titanium spheres. Dozens of them fired in a never ending stream of flashing metal and blasting impacts, high explosive shells in a hard casing of titanium that smashed through any obstacle with the force of a shotgun round and then detonating with the force of a land mine.

Sufficiently scaled up to super-robot size of course.

Granz's wave of incoming missiles was shredded in an instant, dozens of explosions ripping apart the sky as several claymores still survived, escaping to crash into his Dreads. Not enough to damage, but more than enough to disorient.

Which was precisely what Kitara and Vix had been aiming for, actually.

The clouds of smoke blew apart to reveal ATX, it's massive shoulders tilted forward and pointing directly at Granz's forces, three points of light glowing at the peak of each of the colossal shoulder guards.

"TRIPLE MASER CANNON...!" Kitara gritted her teeth, maxing out the ATX's propulsion drives.

**"DOUBLE BARRAGE!"** Vix roared, and twisted the control lever.

The world vanished, a solid wall of destructive orange energy erupting from the monochrome mech, the blasts from each shoulder combining into a colossal torrent of destruction that vaporized two of the Dreadnoughts instantly and reducing two more to half melted piles of slag. Over a dozen more were lifted off of their feet and blown backwards by the force, their shields sparking and dying as they overloaded and blew out.

The ULTRAS itself remained in the air, it's headlong charge having been instantaneously halted by the ridiculous recoil from the maser barrage. Even with all six of it's core engines running almost into the red, it was still only BARELY able to maintain it's position without being pushed back.

There was a reason Kitara had built the damn things only to be fired on the ground...

And then their threat indicator went off again.

"Kitara! From above!" Vix swore, adjusting the power.

"I'm on it!"

Without ceasing it's attack for a moment, Kitara yanked the throttles backwards. The ATX jerked back, bringing it's still firing cannons up in an arc of energy that sliced three oncoming Doru Ghora clean in two, before the recoil finally pushed the ATX back down to earth.

As Vix finally killed the power to the Masers, both girls slumped back in their seats, panting.

"Haa...you weren't kidding when you said installing two Masers was an insane amount of overkill..." Kitara coughed, weakly pushing her goggles back up.

"And YOU weren't kidding when you said this thing had a stupidly high amount of horsepower..." Vix fanned herself. "I AM quite proud of the Claymore launchers, though. Pity it costs so much to buy them in bulk."

Kitara gave her a wild grin.

"Who cares? Mister Ace said he'd cover all of the expenses, so we can run up as much of a bill as we want!" She pulled her goggles down again and snapped them into place. "Now come on, this Granz guy's troops aren't just gonna wreck themselves!"

Not for the first time, Vix stared at her longtime friend with not a small amount of bewilderment. She'd always know Kitara to be a little screw-loose where machines were concerned, but still...

What Vix DIDN'T know, however, was that for users of the Spatial Dive system, there was a slightly inconvenient side effect. Cyberspace is, after all, a very poorly understood phenomenon, with the knowledge that it is somehow a physical representation of the codes and software of reality itself being the most anyone has ever deciphered. Thus, it is not a place that can be comprehended by most living beings, or indeed, is not even safe for most beings to even try to figure it out, as it may very well send you insane in the process. Spatial Dives are such a rarely used technique for exactly this reason. Only a select few people in the world have the particular kind of mindset necessary to not only...'understand' Cyberspace, to make sense of the infinite programming that forms the backbone of the universe, but to actually shape it, making it work FOR them.

There are varying degrees of this affinity, ranging from the most low-leveled kind found commonly among mechanics and other such people who work with machines a lot, to the mid-ranges that spawn most Zone Technicians, and finally all the way to the highest, a class of which only a handful of beings exist, the terrifyingly powerful Dead Ends, who are actually capable of manipulating Cyberspace on par with the monstrous Baby Elves of old.

Kitara's talent for handling Cyberspace fell somewhere in the middle of this range, with almost NO ability to manipulate it herself, but with a STUPIDLY high ability to decipher and understand Cyberspace. In other words, while she was capable of entering Cyberspace through her Spatial Dive system, and as such was one of the rare few who could immerse herself in it with losing her sanity, she had no ability to manipulate it, to create constructs and the like of what the mind behind the Gilgamesh Factor was capable of.

But that was beside the point. The fact of the matter is that for Cyberspace-related specialists, particularly those bordering more on Cyberspace 'comprehension', like Kitara, rather than Cyberspace 'manipulation', like the Zone Technician they were currently fighting, Spatial Dives had a minor side effect. Whenever a specialist like Kitara, often called a Diver, used a Spatial Dive on a client with a particularly strong personality, some of that personality would bleed into the Diver's and merge with their personality in turn. The effect was usually temporary, lasting less than a week before the slight 'contamination' faded and they returned to their normal selves. It was not a serious side effect, as the changes were always fairly minimal, like suddenly liking a different kind of movie, or preferring a different flavor drink, or the occasional out-of-character act.

The current issue was one of the 'out-of-character' sort. Omega was, after all, practically the very PINNACLE of a strong sense of self, with an ego and arrogance so overwhelming that simply exerting that sense of overwhelming confidence was enough to bring a rampaging horde of Mavericks to a screeching halt. Suffice to say, there was INDEED a significant amount of mental contamination resulting from Kitara's Dive. Which is why, for a period of three days afterwards, the feline mechanic had been exhibiting dangerously Omega-like personality quirks. Fortunately, it seemed to have been limited to her levels of self-confidence and her normally more quiet self. Which is why Vix had spent three days stopping Kitara from randomly climbing atop tables and the like to make loud, hammy declarations of awesomeness, and in general, from being TOO much like, well...you can guess who.

Suffice to say, insanity really is contagious when you're dealing with Omega.

By all rights however, that personality change should have worn off after a few days, perhaps a week, considering just how strong Omega's personality was. And yet, here they were now, with Kitara showing no sign at all of reverting.

The explanation? Simple.

During the days following her Dive on Omega, the diminutive mechanic had gotten her first look at the world without her more reserved nature limiting her. Nothing was off-limits if you were as blisteringly overconfident as Omega, and to Kitara, who had previously only experienced this with relation to her mechanical works...

In other words, Kitara had tried being crazy awesome for a few days and found that she _liked_ it.

And so here she was, weeks later, with several of the God of Destruction's quirks still very much in attendance, albeit in reduced forms.

All of which serves to explain why Vix was wincing as Kitara launched the ATX forward, grabbing a nearby Dreadnought in a headlock and then proceeded to punch the living tar out of it.

"WAHAHAHAHAAAA! I HAVE A GIANT ROBOT, YOUR ARGUMENT IS INVALID! HAHAHAHAHAAA!"

...or it could just be her latent mech fangirl tendencies kicking in. With a vengeance.

Because as everybody knows:

_**YOU!**_

DIG!

GIANT ROBOTS!

_**I!**_

DIG!

GIANT ROBOTS!

_**WE!**_

DIG!

GIANT ROBOTS!

_**CHICKS!**_

DIG!

GIANT ROBOTS!

"Nice!" Ace grinned, watching the carnage from afar.

Insert epic guitar riff here, followed by Kitara ripping the hapless Dreadnought in half and beating one of it's compatriots over the head with it as explosions went off in the background. Even the mighty Granz had to stop his multitasking for a brief moment just to stare at the spectacle, and winced.

"That...that is both INSANELY cool, and...painful...at the same time," he cringed, "But alas, all good things must come to an end. Armada, OPEN FIRE!"

The ATX stumbled, it's four legs tearing at the ground as Granz's airborne battle platforms opened fire, cannon shells detonating on and around it. Dropping the remnants of the unfortunate Dreadnought, Kitara winced and gave a curse, banging one fist on the steering wheel in a childish gesture of exasperation.

"Aww, dammit!" She whined, "I KNEW I should have rigged this with some of the Anti-Air gear before we left! NOW how the heck do I get those guys?"

Vix rolled her eyes.

"Well, while we're at it, why not just shoot the floor with our main cannons and ride the inevitable thermonuclear explosion up to them?"

There was a brief silence, broken only by the thunder of Granz's cannons hammering down around them.

Kitara stared at Vix, her eyes sparkling like a pyromaniac with a fresh tank of gas in his flamethrower.

"NO."

"Aw, COME ON!" Kitara threw her hands up in annoyance, "You never let me have any fun! Besides, it was YOUR idea!"

"It's called SARCASM, you idiot."

"Whatever, it's still a totally valid idea!"

"Kitara, for the last time, YOU ARE NOT GOING TO ROCKET-JUMP US INTO AN AIRBORNE BATTLEFLEET!"

"But ULTRAS could totally take them!"

As if to agree with the diminutive mechanic, the engine kicked up a few revs. Vix shot a pointed look at the dashboard.

"You stay out of this." She growled and turned to Kitara again, her mouth open to launch another retort...before she closed it and sank her head into her hands with a groan of disbelief.

"Aaaaaand now I'm talking to a Lamborghini-headed giant robot. That's it, I quit."

And then the ULTRAS' motion trackers went off, identifying a friendly unit approaching.

A heavy voice resounded over the communication speakers.

"Civilian Operators Vix Vexen Vixene and Kitara Nekonomicon, fall back and focus on handling the land-based Dreadnoughts."

"What? Hey!" Vix banged on the response button, "Who the heck is this, and where are your brains at? In case you hadn't noticed, there's a bloody fleet of Doru Ghoras parked overhead waiting to blast us the minute we turn our backs! And who gave you permission to use my full name anyway?"

And then the screen switched from voice only to full display and Vix tried very hard not to flee head over heels into the backseat at the sight of the black specter glowering down at her.

The Colonel-Commissar of Legion City gave a thin, mirthless smile.

"Leave them to me."

* * *

Listening to the conversation and Vix's shaky response, Nana sighed.

"Colonel...I know this is important and all, but...do you HAVE to scare the pants off of everyone under your command?"

Standing atop a pile of ruined enemy corpses, the Colonel blinked.

"...It matters not how they see me, so long as they can get the mission done."

"Yes, but...well, that can't be good for morale..." She protested.

"Do I scare you?" The Colonel's question caught her off guard.

"Wh-what? N...No!" Nana stammered, "Why-"

"Then to hell with the rest of them." He said evenly, and cut the connection, leaving a bewildered Nana to suddenly wonder why it was suddenly so warm in here...

"Oi, Top-Heavy!"

...a moment which was rudely interrupted by the loud tones of Fefnir Diz Aster, using his favorite nickname for her. Nana's eye twitched, already feeling a migraine coming on as she reached for the controls.

"For the LAST time, Fefnir...THEY'RE NOT THAT BIG, DAMMIT!"

"What are you, KIDDING ME? HOW many bras have you busted so far, again?"

Nana went a brilliant shade of red, equal parts embarrassment and outrage.

"Y...y-y-y-**YOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUU-!**"

"But yeah, we can talk about your SPECTACULAR endowments later. Right now I need you to link me up with a real-time feed for the dreadnoughts to the south!"

Nana was jolted out of her seething feminine outrage by his suddenly business-like tone.

"Wait, you want what?"

Unfazed, Fefnir went on.

"Yeah, Kitty girl and the sex bomb are handling them all right in the east, but there's still a squad of dreads coming up from further south of that position."

"All right, hang on..."All business again, Nana's fingers danced over the keyboards in front of her, tapping into the network of observation drones she'd previously launched as Fefnir continued.

"From the looks of things, they're likely to pass through one of the evacuation routes long before they get in range of Legion defenses. And since there's no way a guy like me can't just stand around idle and let a bunch of cheap-ass invaders get away with that kind of crap in MY CITY..." He trailed off and left Nana to finish the thought. She sighed, knowing what he was asking.

"All right, you're cleared to go. I'll support you where I can, but don't expect too much in the way of backup unless the Colonel wraps up things on his end. There's way too much fighting up here on this side for us to get any troops free for support."

"Oh, I know." Fefnir grinned, incinerating the last of his cigarette with a single inhalation. "But really, you know I'm at my best when I don't have to worry about friendly fire!"

"Right..." Nana rubbed the bridge of her nose for a minute, pushing up her glasses. "...look, I know you prefer to save lives rather than reconstruction costs, but this time can you at least TRY to cut back on the amount of real estate you blow up?"

"Hey!" Fefnir replied indignantly. "Either I fight at my best, or I waste too much time worrying about civvies to do anything at all. I rely on Ace and his boys to make sure there's nobody left to worry about, and they rely on me to put the enemy down. So who CARES if I wreck some buildings in the process! I take the bastards down as fast as possible and as HARD as possible, so they can't put anyone else in danger! And last time I checked, buildings and real estate were expendable. Our civilians weren't."

"...Yes, but that still doesn't excuse you from picking up enemy Mechaniloids and breaking the entire ground floor of a building with their face. Or that one time you broke off the top of that tower, grabbed it by the spire on the roof and then beat that giant jellyfish Mechaniloid to death with it."

"...okay, so MAYBE I take a little artistic license here and there..." Fefnir admitted guiltily, "But come on, I'm a legendary hero from the Neo Arcadian era, and I've got a fully legit license to kick the crap out of Mavericks and Raiders, no questions asked. I think I'm entitled to a few hobbies here and there, right? Right?"

"...I give up." Nana groaned. "Just do whatever you want and hope I can get the Colonel in to bail you out when it all inevitably goes horribly wrong."

"Oh, ye of little faith and the huge rack..." Fefnir grinned mockingly, and cut the connection off before Nana could finish swearing at him.

"Lousy, irresponsible, pyromaniacal LECH...!" She fumed in outrage. "One of these days, I SWEAR...!"

Silence fell on the cabin.

"..." Nana looked around guiltily for a moment, then brought her hands up to support her chest.

"...Th...they're not THAT big, right...?

* * *

Granz gave an annoyed growl, righting his chair again. In retrospect, it had been a bloody STUPID idea to install a force-feedback add-on to this thing.

" 'Adds a new level of realism to your gaming' they said...geh, that'll teach me to pimp out my command throne according to gaming specifications..."

Still muttering curses, he dropped back down into his chair, bringing up the overview of his Mechaniloid Armada...and groaned again. His Warwolf was currently standing around scratching and waiting for it's next set of commands. Having completed it's previous tasks, namely for it to dig itself back out of the dirt and advance to the next point on the map, it had auto-attacked every enemy in it's way, doing an admirable job of annihilating them, might he add, but now, having reached said objective and not having any obvious enemies to target, it's AI had simply gone into standby, waiting for his next command. A quick check of his other forces soon revealed a similar problem with any of his troops that had reached the last points he had sent them towards. Having wiped out their opponents en route, more than a dozen squads were now just standing around doing nothing.

Granz sighed, and dropped his head onto the desk.

"Note to self: Starcraft control scheme doesn't work either... Goddammit, is it TOO much to ask for a workable automatic control system? Ugh..."Shaking his head he reactivated the controls.

"Well, if you want something done right...!"

The six keyboards before him glowed to life.

"...then do it yourself!"

His hands slammed down on the keys, and all across Legion City, random Mechaniloid squadrons that had, up to moments ago, fallen into a more defensive state now charged forward once more. The bipedal hulk of the Vermilion Vile Warwolf was no exception, baying aloud as it fired it's thrusters and rocketed across the ground, once more in pursuit of Celtis' last known location.

"All right, let's see you ladies handle THAT! Now..." Turning his attention to other matters, Granz brought one outlying wing of his encroaching armada around to flank a particularly resistant Security holdout. Even as he sent the command, his mind was already elsewhere, advancing other troops, retreating, flanking and maneuvering over a dozen different squads simultaneously. His machines' basic AIs were capable of handling the majority of the actual combat actions, save for those special occasions that required a more...'personal' touch, but much of the infamous Gearhead's feared military might was still handled manually. To this date he had yet to find an automatic system capable of controlling them even half as effectively as he could, but as yet no candidates had arisen. And so the implacable calculating might of the Gearhead himself continued to be the driving force behind his armadas in what was, in his personal opinion, the single best way to wage wars.

It was one reason he'd always hated Zone Technicians. Too busy relying on their Zones, their ability to control Cyberspace itself within a limited range, it was like they were getting away free, whereas professionals like Granz EARNED their reputations, their rankings in the hierarchy of the underworld.

"Cheap-ass, spamming god-moders..." he grumbled, coldly bringing down a Praetor emplacement with a shot from one of his Dreadnoughts. The only reason he'd even deigned to work with one of those sissies was for a shot at Legion, and the crimson-clad bastard who'd kicked his ass all over the battlefield during the Gearhead's last operation to seize the Biometal.

However, since said red bastard was nowhere in sight at the moment, he figured fragging that damned annoying Hunter Chosen One who had given him so much trouble in the last fight was still a good option.

Oh yeah, and that funny-haired chick who hung out with the red bastard. Cultis...Meltis...Feltis...ah, right, Celtis!

Might as well squish her too.

And that was when one of his Doru Ghoras just went dead.

"What the hell...?" Granz spun his chair around to face the next screen, suddenly wary. Normally, a Doru Ghora going down wouldn't be any big news, but this one...This one had simply just...died! With no prior indications of being under attack! Whatever had happened to the Mechaniloid, had been powerful enough to just ONESHOT the damned thing! And Doru Ghoras were boss-class Mechaniloids, with battleship-rated armor!

The only time he'd ever seen one go down in a single hit before had been...

Granz felt a dangerous smile cross his face, a red coat blowing through the winds of his memory.

The Gearhead never forgives.

The Gearhead never forgets.

"So, you're finally here...WAR DEVIL!"

Instantly, he had transferred his connection directly into the sense of the leading Doru Ghora, burning with the eagerness to face his red-clad enemy once more, and this time to smash him utterly!

...but instead of the red coat, it's edges tattered as it whipped in the wind, he found black.

**[Cue Music: Super Robot Wars 3- THE SWORD THAT CLEAVES EVIL!]**

Sinking the long arm of the feared Crux Adjudicator into the downed corpse of Granz's missing Mechaniloid, the Colonel-Commissar of Legion City raised his head, the white scar on the left of his face glinting ominously in the fires of the ruined district around him.

"...I trust I have your attention now, Gearhead Granz."

To his credit, the Gearhead had one _hell_ of a poker face. Which was why the only thing that gave away the sheer panic in his mind was the eloquent response of:

"...Oh, _balls_."

"Gearhead Granz: Rank S Raider commander. Current whereabouts, unknown at the moment. Current appearance, unknown at the moment. Known acquaintances, none. Current line of work, mercenary, services made available to the highest bidder. And at the moment..." The Colonel's eyes narrowed. "Wanted for aiding and abetting war crimes in every sector of the globe, and currently being pursued for the capital offence of aiding a renegade Zone Technician."

"Oh, BALLS." Granz said again. _**WHAT THE FUCK WAS THE COLONEL COMMISSAR DOING BACK IN TOWN?**_

He had known that his current employer had been getting his troops wiped out left right and center, but son of a BITCH, he hadn't thought the Technician was enough of a COMPLETE FUCKING MENTAL CASE to attack Legion City while the _SINGLE MOST TERRIFYING INDIVIDUAL ON THE FACE OF THE PLANET WAS GUARDING IT!_

Not for the first time in his life, did Granz suddenly find himself silently declaring that whatever he'd been paid for this job, it was NOWHERE NEAR ENOUGH FOR THIS. There were many reasons why he considered his long distance controlled armada was the best way to fight wars, but chief among them was the simple fact that it meant he'd never have to come face-to-face with an honest-to-God MONSTER like the one standing in front of him.

The red bastard? Yeah he was a monster too, but at least he was a monster you could UNDERSTAND. This guy?

Granz had seen this black specter break entire BATTLESHIPS with but a single blow of that...abomination of physics he called a weapon. Seriously, there was NO WAY IN HELL anybody could swing something SO DAMN BIG, SO FREAKING FAST.

"Well shit." Granz said flatly. "Time for Plan B: THROW EVERYTHING AT THE GUY!"

And with a wave of his hand, he launched over half of the Doru Ghora Armada to the attack. Make no mistake, Granz had no expectations of winning a battle against the Colonel-Commissar. Rather, his single hope was that if he bogged him down with sheer weight of numbers, he could keep the black specter occupied long enough for his forces to overwhelm the rest of the defenses.

...and besides, he could afford the loss of his Doru Ghoras, since they were a DAMN sight cheaper than the bloody Dreadnoughts...

The Colonel's iron cross flashed once as he drew it from the ground, and in a blur of movement, cleaved the leading Ghora in two. But as the two halves parted, his eyes widened slightly at the sight the mech had been hiding. Floating high above the ground at a safe altitude, namely, one WELL out of range of the Colonel, the rest of Granz's airborne machines opened fire, over three dozen Doru Ghoras all equipped with whatever nasty add-ons and extra weaponry Granz had seen fit to modify them with.

The effects were devastating, as everything within a hundred and fifty meters of the Colonel vanished in a holocaust of flames and destruction, his black figure vanishing amidst the red-hot fires of Granz's attack. An aerial bombardment could not have done a better job...which is not to say that this affected the outcome in the slightest, of course.

Granz wasted a brief second moving his first and third Mechaniloid platoons up and around to press the attack on two other Security holdouts, before alarms went off and the black coat reappeared once more amidst the destruction.

"Shit...!" Cursing, Granz redoubled his assault, not even wasting a moment on the incredulity of the Colonel's survival.

He knew better than that.

In response, the Colonel raised one arm to block his face, another beam attack splashing harmlessly off of his enhanced coat. And in his other...

The cross turned, the handle set into the dead center of the Crux Adjudicator rotating ninety degrees, leaving the Colonel holding the cross with the long arm pointing directly back along his arm, with one of the short arms pointing forward, and the other two out at the sides. And as one of Granz's artillery cannons roared, sending a four hundred pound shell of destruction hurtling towards him, the Colonel acted. Taking a single step to the side, he whirled, bringing his arm up and pointing one of the short side arms of the cross directly at the offending Doru Ghora, the rectangular arm splitting down the center. There was a thunderous blast, a burst of smoke, and a long, silvery blur shot forth, lancing through the smoke to crash into the oncoming shell. Still ignoring the energy attacks dispersing themselves on his dark frame, the Colonel gave a roar and turned, the cross howling in his wake as he completed a three hundred and sixty degree spin. And trailing from the left arm of the cross, the long, deadly looking steel chain pulled taut, it's other end embedded deeply in the cannon shell he had fired it at. Completing his turn, the steel chain whipping in his wake, the hapless shell being pulled along, the Colonel brought it swinging around back the way it had come and smashed it straight through the face of the Mechaniloid that had fired it, the resulting detonation tearing the Doru Ghora apart in a cloud of shrapnel and fire.

Then, with a single pull, the Colonel ripped the chain free of the wreck, revealing a long, deadly looking nail on the end of it and leapt into the sky.

"Damn it, what are you DOING?" Granz snarled, hammering his controls in frustration, _"SHOOT HIM!"_

In response, the Doru Ghoras' sensors beeped, calculating the Colonel Commissar's trajectory, gun barrels lining up to fire the moment he arrived at the predicted point-

Only for him to vanish in a blur of motion, guns firing at empty air as another Mechaniloid died.

A second nail buried in it's core processor, fired from the opposite arm of the cross, the Doru Ghora staggered sideways and began to fall out of the air, the chain yanking the Colonel forward again. Following through with the motion, the Colonel let himself be thrown forward, freeing the nail with a practiced tug on the chain. Rocketing through the air, he brought the perpendicular arm of the cross' other side up again, the previous chain having been reeled back in by powerful motors within the weapon. The arm split horizontally again, parting to reveal the blunt muzzle and the wickedly gleaming spike of the nail nestled within it, the whine of a charging accelerator the only difference between this and the previous shots. A crack, a burst of smoke, and the Colonel's frame rocked back with the recoil, the brutal nail blasting out and trailing a length of chain behind it.

Swearing, Granz jerked the targeted Doru Ghora out of the way, only for the superaccelerated projectile to stab through the machine's left shoulder.

"The HELL...?" Granz uttered in disbelief, already switching to another Ghora's cameras, "He's got railgun accelerated mods for those grapplers too?"

As the recoil from his first shell jarred him back, incidentally pushing out of the way of another barrage of fire, the Colonel turned that into smooth, a spinning turn, the chain looping out behind him as he spun, bringing the OTHER horizontal arm of the cross up, the second grappling nail glinting in it's launcher as it pointed directly at the first Ghora. Without even waiting to finish his turn, the Colonel fired without looking, another silver flash slicing through the air to stake itself through the stricken Ghora's right chestpiece.

"The same mech...?"Granz's eyes narrowed, "What the hell is he-"

His unfinished question died as the Colonel answered it for him. Both lengths of chain embedded firmly in the enemy mech, the silver lengths suddenly snapped taut, the reels pulling on them and catapulting the Colonel forward. Sparks screeching from the chains as they were retracted at full speed, their spiked ends still embedded in the hapless Mechaniloid, the Colonel twisted his grip on the now horizontal handle, the third short arm of the cross projecting directly forward over his knuckles. And in a flash of light, an edge slid out from both sides of it, transforming it into a shorter version of his normal blade, namely the one that was the longest arm of the cross.

"I am Colonel..."

The accelerated black blur blew through the damaged Mechaniloid like it wasn't even there, the short blade pointing directly ahead of him and ramming straight through the Doru Ghora's reinforced armor like the point of a spear and shredding the machine's midsection completely in two.

**"COLONEL COMMISSAR!"**

Even as the cleaved machine detonated behind him, his chains slamming back into their sockets, the Colonel didn't stop for an instant. Landing atop a surprised Dreadnought, the grip of the mighty cross rotated once more, the feared blade of the Adjudicator reappearing in the Colonel's grip. Skating across the hull of the dreadnought, his boots sparking on the metal surface, he turned his momentum into a full swing, the monstrous iron cross flashing once-

And not one, not two, not even THREE, but FOUR of the infamous Gearhead's Doru Ghoras died, cleaved in twain by the might of Legion City's most terrifying enforcer.

The flames of their deaths silhouetting him, the scar over his left eye burning white even on his shadowed face, Colonel's voice thundered over the battlefield.

**"I AM THE SWORD THAT PUNISHES THE GUILTY!"**

"D...DAAAAAAAAAAMMMNN YOOOOOOOOOOOUUUU!" Granz screamed, another Doru Ghora blasting through the smoke, hurtling straight towards the black-clad monster.

Cold eyes burning brightly beneath the shadow of his military cap, the Colonel charged to meet it, drawing his arm back, the great cross rotating once more to bring the short end to project over his knuckles once more.

"No matter how thick your armor is...!"

The Doru Ghora's fist, fully twice the size of the Colonel, filled the air-

-and missed, glancing across his chest as the black specter twisted, bringing the short arm of the cross rocketing forward in a devastating punch. At that instant, that arm, the last of the Crux Adjudicator's unrevealed sections, snapped open, and Granz saw the deadly glint of another nail deep within.

"No...not a nail...!" The Gearhead cursed, as he realized the truth.

The end of the cross slammed into the Doru Ghora's midsection, pulverizing the armor with the force.

"...I have but to pierce it!" The Colonel finished, and with a roar-

"STRIKE, FASTER THAN HE! REVOLVIIIIING..._**STAAAAAAAAAAKE!**_"

The nail, not really a nail, twice the thickness of it's predecessors, heavy, and with no capability to launch at all, fired. A piledriver sharpened to a murderous degree, into a lethal, heavy stake of solid steel, the deadly weapon slammed home, burying the point deep in the Doru Ghora's armor. And within the Crux Adjudicator, a revolver barrel turned, chambering another cartridge and firing again.

And again.

And again!

The stake slammed into the machine again and again, driven ever deeper with each blast, smashing armor, crushing internals, and piercing through every layer of armor, the consecutive impacts lifting the machine into the air, mounted on the end off the cross. Finally, with one final blast, the Mechaniloid's spine ruptured, the gleaming tip of the stake punching clear through it and back into the sky. Tearing the cross free with a single motion, the Colonel turned his back to the dead machine, the cross snapping back into it's normal configuration, the terrible stake retracting.

**"There is NOTHING that can escape my justice!"**

And the Mechaniloid exploded in a deafening blast of flames and broken metal.

Granz stared at the scene, aghast. Not for the first time, he reaffirmed his opinion of the monster ahead of him. Staying to fight something like this would just harm his own plans, as he would be too busy trying to kill this.._.thing_, if he could even kill a monster like this at all, to successfully manage the rest of his forces.

Gritting his teeth, he committed the rest of his Doru Ghora Armada to the attack, realizing now that nothing less would be enough to even slow the bastard down.

"Dammit, I don't have time for this...!" Turning his attention away from the sacrifice of most of his flying fortresses to distract the Colonel, he swore as he saw how much the battle-lines had changed. His forces were still advancing, true, but nowhere near as fast as they had been. And in the south...

Granz did a double take.

"WHERE THE HELL ARE HALF OF THE DREADNOUGHTS I SENT THERE?"

* * *

The answer to THAT question was all too easy. Six Dreadnoughts still stood, surrounded by the burning wreckage of their compatriots. Cannons roared, missiles screaming through the air, they planted their armored legs more firmly on the ground and increased power to their forward batteries.

Their target? A single abandoned tower, it's top half shredded by enemy fire...partly. The rest of the missing floors were currently embedded in the face of one of the downed Dreads.

And the cause of all this destruction, an enemy great enough to warrant the concentrated fire of six Dreadnoughts, stood atop the ruined tower, arms folded, one armored boot planted firmly atop the shattered battlements, a savage grin on his face, one eye burning brightly.

It was then, in that moment, that the legend called Fighting Fefnir Diz Aster truly came to life. With a wild yell, he leapt out into space, ignoring the shells hammering down on his position.

**[Cue Music: Mazinkaiser OST- FIRE WARS!]**

_ **DON'T WANNA KNOW WHY, EVERYBODY READY GET IT ON!**_

"O-KAY!" He laughed. "Rise And SHINE, ladies!"

Data spiraled into life around his right and left arms, Fefnir's trump cards arriving at the sound of his voice. These were the cards he had stopped himself from playing in his duel with Omega, his pride demanding that he face his nemesis with his original weapons. His new and improved Knuckle Busters, forged from twin Cyber Elves...

_**The outstretched fist means "DON'T GIVE UP!"  
Filled to the brim with unwavering power, you're the mightiest SOLDIER!**_

"SODOM!" A glowing yellow Cyber Elf materialized on his left. Tall, with a pair of glowing wireframe wings, it was clearly a female, with two massive golden gauntlets covering her fists and forearms, and equally oversized boots on her legs. A draconic mask materialized, hiding her features as a mane of hair burst to life, blazing like magma. To complete the image, a powerful reptilian tail whipped out behind her, no armor necessary. The Salamander-Combat type Cyber Elf reared back with a savage roar, tail thrashing angrily.

_ **The hoisted flag says "EXTREME DANGER!"  
For those who fear not even the gods, it's the most splendid violence!**_

"And GOMORRAH!" A sleek, flaming dancer materialized on his right, another female, this one sleek and streamlined where Sodom was bulky and armored. Again this one possessed no wings, but rather a long fiery scarf, arcing out behind her in two long flaming trails.

"Cyber Elf Gomorrah reporting for duty, General Fefnir!" She called, snapping off a quick salute. "Knuckle Buster directional controls at peak efficiency!"  
**  
**_**Banish the darkness, and to the grieving voices of the people,  
Hold out that arm!**_

"Then LEEEEEET'S..._**GO!**_"

_**IN THE FIRE! BREAK IT DOWN!  
Hear the bells of ruin toll!**_

_** It's an endless, eternal WARGAME!**_

Charging headfirst down the tower's sides, the burning General opened fire, the recoil from his monstrous weapons shattering glass and masonry in his wake. On his right, Gomorrah's eyes flashed, Buster shells that should never have hit their targets executing impossible trajectory corrections in mid-flight to smash into the enemy Dreads.

"Just like we thought, ranged attacks alone won't be enough!" The Cyber Elf snapped, her keen eyes already spotting the Dreads' recovery from the barrage, the way they adjusted their position to better withstand the impacts.

"NO PROBLEM!" Fefnir laughed madly. "Come on, SODOM!"

_ **IN THE FIRE! CRUSH ON CRUSH!**_

_** The age of foolishness is ending; c'mon, let's sound the alert!  
DON'T WANNA KNOW WHY, EVERYBODY READY GET IT ON!**_

Punching the building beneath him, the Neo Arcadian catapulted himself through the air, the tower blown in half by the recoil of his leap. Flipping wildly, he drew his legs in, timing it perfectly to crash feet-first into the front of the leading Dread, cratering the impeccable armor. As it staggered back into its' fellows, Fefnir gave a wild yell and drew both Knuckle Buster's back, so far that his elbows met again behind his back.

_**The gong of anger sounds a big WARNING!  
The mightiest SOLDIER awakens on the blood-smeared surface!**_

An insane light flashing in his one visible eye, he gave a demonic roar and brought them both crashing down on the enemy beneath him, the bestial form of Sodom screaming with rage and hate for the unjust enemies in her sight. For an instant, anyone watching would have sworn they saw a glimpse of the specialized Cyber Elf, manifesting as a colossal red shadow behind her master, her armored talons plunged into the same targets as the demonic red Knuckle Busters.

_**The door of dimensions is an EXTREME DANGER!  
The wicked ones are on the attack! LET'S VIBRATION!**_

And then the moment vanished, a monstrous shockwave blasting free of Fefnir's twin impact points, the Dread's limbs blowing apart from the inside out. And then another. And another. And still another!

_**The sky burns! The wind cries! The earth howls!  
The whole world is calling out!**_

"_GOOOOOOOODD...__**BREEEAAAKAAAAAAAAAAAAHH**_**!**"

The massive Mechaniloid...shattered, the sheer pressure of the Knuckle Busters Zero-Distance attacks tearing the hardened armor apart, a volcanic storm erupting from the machine's core as all of the energy Fefnir had just hammered home surpassed the breaking point.

_**IN THE FIRE! BREAK IT DOWN!  
Across the visible horizon,**_

_** Paint the future, DREAMER of steel!**_

As the detonation tore apart the Dreadnought in a fury of flames that consumed two more of it's brothers, Fefnir turned to see another one charging towards him.

"All right, then, COME AT ME!"

Landing with a deafening crash that shattered the asphalt around him, the one man calmity dug his heels in and reared his whole body back, Knuckle Busters held out at his sides.

_**IN THE FIRE! CRUSH ON CRUSH!**_

And with a wild laugh, he brought his forehead screaming forward to smash straight into the front plating of the charging machine. Even though a section of armor over four feet wide was smashed in by the impact, the multi-story Dread still didn't stop, driven by it's momentum, and single-minded stubborness to destroy the enemy before it. Ignoring all of this, Fighting Fefnir Diz Aster still grinned, sparks flying from where his skull grated against the onrushing might of the Dreadnought. Even as his boots tore tracks through the streets beneath him, the famous general snapped both Busters out to his sides, and pulled the triggers.

"TAKE IT, GOMORRAH!"

_**In the maze of this maddened era, c'mon, let's sound the alert!  
DON'T WANNA KNOW WHY, EVERYBODY READY GET IT ON!**_

"Aye, sir!" The lithe Cyber Elf's eyes flashed, Fefnir's cannons spitting a neverceasing barrage of bolts. And as the wild blasts careened out into space, impossibly, they turned, following precise, arrowing tracks that sent them darting in and around the defenses of the remaining two Dreadnoughts before smashing home in a devastating volley. And at this range, it was MORE than enough to drop them both, smoke pouring from their armor.

_**Banish the darkness, and to the grieving voices of the people,  
Hold out that arm!**_**  
**

"It's all you, sir!" Gomorrah whooped, her eyes dancing with the thrill of battle.

As the Dreadnought smashed through another building, brilliant orange light flashed from the front of it.

"AYE!"

And the massive machine grated to a halt, it's armored legs screeching ineffectually at the ground.

_**IN THE FIRE! BREAK IT DOWN!  
Hear the bells of ruin toll!**_

Blazing orange power tearing through the world around him, his one bronze-colored eye as bright as the sun, Fefnir roared, the muscled, scarred body beneath the battered aviator jacket tensing. Glass shattering, rock breaking, and steel warping around the enemy before it, alarms went off in the Dreadnought's processors as the world tilted crazily around it.

_**"UWWOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"**_

The wordess howl tore free of the mighty General's throat as, with a single colossal exertion, he hauled the massive enemy mech clean off of it's feet and hurled it clear across the city block, buildings snapping and disintegrating like toothpicks in it's path.

And at that moment, before it had even touched the ground again, Fefnir brought his right hand smashing down into the earth at his feet.

"ZA THIRD WAVE!"

**_It's an endless, eternal WARGAME!  
IN THE FIRE! CRUSH ON CRUSH!_**

The air itself tearing apart under the inhuman cold, a massive glacier smashed through the city after the falling Dreadnought, a frozen line crashing across the landscape and freezing everything in it's way. The Dread barley had time to comprehend what was happening before a wall of cold blasted into and through it, locking it away in the midst of the humongous ice bank.

"Oi, oi, General..." Gomorrah raised an eyebrow, "I hope you've got something to finish that off, otherwise we're about to take a huge dive on the next damage assessment!"

Next to her Sodom nodded vigorously, adding her own nonverbal two cents to the mix.

"Relaaaaaaax, I've got this in the bag!" Fefnir grinned, and in a flash of light, both Knuckle Busters vanished, reappearing on his back in special mounts, just like they'd used to back in the days of Neo Arcadia.

"ZA SECOND WAVE!" He howled, rearing back, orange light blasting from his forehead.

And with a vicious, cracking noise, the twin golden horns that had marked him as the Flame General of Neo Arcadia burst free, energy blazing around them as Fefnir dropped back down, digging his feet in and leaning forward.

"AFTER ALL!" He grinned, a truly demonic smile on his face.

_**The age of foolishness is ending; c'mon, let's sound the alert!**  
**DON'T WANNA KNOW WHY, EVERYBODY READY GET IT ON!** _

The Knuckle Busters on his back snapped up and opened, their muzzles pointing back behind him, a murderous glow in their depths. With a force that would rival the most devastating of volcanic eruptions, a cascading storm-surge of power exploded from them, rocketing the single most physically overpowered of all of the ancient Neo Arcadian legends forward at speeds surpassing the godlike.

And it was there, the brilliant orange blaze of power emanating from the burning golden horns on his forehead, that Fefnir howled the rest of his statement in triumph.

"I'VE GOT THESE HORNS FOR A REASOOOOOON!"

The glacier disintegrated, it's creator crashing straight through it like a bullet fired from one end to another. With it went every single thing that had been ciaught in the surge of ice, steel, stone and earth alike shattering away into fragments of ash and rubble as the blazing meteor tore through them.

Including the Dreadnought.

And Gearhead Granz, staring blankly through the lenses of a nearby Doru Ghora, took one look at the disaster before making a single statement.

"Fuuuuu-UUUUUUCK that."

And promptly withdrew his personal attention from the area and left the rest of his troops there on automatic control. Because, really, he'd just come from dealing with the Colonel-Commissar of Legion City, and that was ENTIRELY enough batshit insanity to last him the rest of his life, thank you very much.

Unaware of any of this, the blazing figure of the one called the walking disaster picked himself out of the burning wreckage of another building he'd crashed into and dusted himself off.

Staring out at the wreckage of an entire squadron of Dreadnoughts, Fefnir spread his arms wide and basked in the moment.

"I am made of explosions and WIN!"

"See?" Gomorrah appeared, fuming, "When you've got us backing you up, there's no way you could lose! So why didn't you take us when you went to fight that Saber guy?"

"Neo Arcadian Code of Honor, kiddo." He smiled, and patted her on the head with one finger, his hand easily bigger than she was. "Sorry 'bout that."

"Honor, shmonor!" She huffed, folding her arms and turning away with a childish pout. "I STILL say you should have taken us along!"

The feral figure of Sodom looked at her still-sore older sister, then turned to Fefnir with a sheepish shrug, a gesture which looked both humorous and yet still impressive on her armored frame.

Only Fenir knew that, even though the ludicrous power of his Cyber-Elf enhanced Knuckle Busters, a personal gift from Ace, would have been a considerable advantage in the fight against the God of Destruction, he owed it to himself, and his pride as Neo Arcadia's General, to fight the man one-on-one, just like it had been back then.

And more importantly, gung-ho and eager his two 'girls' might be...Fefnir didn't think either of them would be quite ready to face something like the monster called the God of Destruction for a long time still...

_Although on the other hand..._he mused, staring out at the ruins of the area which he'd used to destroy the Dreadnoughts, _as far as Destruction goes, I'm not doing so bad myself._

He considered this for a minute.

"Irony, you CRUEL bitch." Fefnir groaned.

* * *

Celtis gave an angry yell and put another fully charged O-Buster shot into the head of a pursuing Crushpactor, killing it instantly.

"God..frigging...dammit...!" She wheezed, diving over another wall as retaliatory fire chewed up the ground behind her.

"Ashe! Any time now would be nice, thanks!"

"Way ahead of you!"

From high above, the figure of Queenbee...well, Queenbee before she became a sexy concubine to a certain crimson maniac and was just still a regular Pseudoroid...flashed with light, a huge, hulking, and above all, REALLY GODDAMN HEAVY figure appeared, plummeting downwards at a speed that left no doubts to what was about to happen.

"Here's a new move I just THOUGHT UP!" Ashe grinned maniacally. "BIFROOOOOST...AVALAAAAANCHE!"

And then several hundred tons of giant crocodile Pseudoroid landed on top of the mechaniloid battalion with enough force to drop everything within fifty feet into a colossal crater, and turning the unfortunate battalion into a fine metal powder.

"Yeep!" Celtis squawked in alarm as the shockwave picked her up off of her feet and threw her headfirst through the front window of a nearby shop.

"Erk!" Ashe transformed once more, back to normal, and hurried over to the broken window. "Erm, sorry 'bout that...you in one piece?"

A groan answered her.

"Just peachy, except for the part where my head is stuck in a desk...hang on..."

Their was a painful crunching sound, followed by a moment of silence, and then a squeal of panic and Celtis reappeared, throwing herself headfirst back out of the window like all the hounds of hell were after her. Ashe raised an eyebrow.

"Ooookay...don't see that every day. What's gotten into you?"

"Th-that-th-th-that's..." Celtis had gone a brilliant shade of red and had apparently lost her ability to speak coherently. Ashe followed her shaking finger up to the sign above the window. Most of it had been destroyed, but the part of it that still said 'XXX' was still visible.

"...Huh." She said finally. "Yeah, that might explain it. Man, your Biometal must REALLY be screwing with your luck today."

Model O sniggered uncontrollably, while Celtis tried very, very hard to forget the...merchandise she'd been thrown into, and wordlessly praying that she never found out how any of them were supposed to be used.

Shaking her head several times in an attempt to dislodge the traumatic recollection, she rounded on Ashe.

"Yeah, but why the heck did you take so long?"

Ashe winced, and looked away awkwardly.

"Well, y'see...there were some slight...difficulties getting into position..." She hedged. Celtis was not impressed.

"You have A-Trans forms that can _fly_. HOW HARD CAN IT BE TO GET TO THE TOP OF A BUILDING?"

And that was when half a building sailed overhead, to smash javelin-like into the front of a Dreadnought stomping into sight at the end of the street. Celtis wordlessly remained staring up at the space the impromptu projectile had sailed through.

"...I hereby rescind my previous statement."

"Yeah, I kinda figured you'd say that." Ashe said, extending a hand and helping the other girl up. "...also, is there any chance you could maybe...I don't know, um...get some supports or something...?"

Celtis followed Ashe's gaze down to her chest and sighed.

"I've already tried closing the damn jacket, but Model O deconstructed the zip...and I think it may have screwed with my, um..." She paused, searching for a less embarrassing way to explain it, before she finally gave up and settled for: "Look, let's just say I'm not sure if there's anything on under this suit and leave it at that."

"Noted." Ashe winced, and they were suddenly brought back to reality by the sound of the stunned Dreadnought stumbling sideways into a building.

"So...care to explain the flying architecture?"

"...Collateral from those crazy friends of yours and their giant robot." Ashe muttered. "Also, there looks like some kind of firestorm raging over in that direction," She pointed off to the side, where Celtis could just make out an ominous orange glow from behind some distant buildings, "...so I'm pretty sure that's where Diz Aster ended up. In other words, crap is just flying EVERYWHERE in this damn city right now."

"...You know, it's FUNNY you should say that..." Another voice grated suddenly, and with a deafening crash, an all too familiar figure dropped to earth with a devastating crash.

"Oh, BLAST." Ashe growled, already recognizing the newcomer. "You just don't know when to DIE, do you?"

And as the hulking form of the Vermilion Vile Warwolf rose from the crater, three lenses burning through the smoke, Gearhead Granz glowered murderously back at them.

"No._** I don't.**_"

* * *

A/N: GODDAMMIT COLONEL, WHY DO YOU HAVE TO BE SO AWESOME.

YOU TOO FEFNIR.

STOP STEALING ALL OF THE SCREENTIME, DAMMIT.

STOP IT.

ARGH.

...

...but yeah, aside from that, antics everywhere in this chapter. And you get to see the mayhem going on in the real world, as opposed to Omega and his Cyberspace crew.

Not to mention, as stated above, SO MUCH COLONEL AND FEFNIR BADASSITY.

AND DON'T GET ME STARTED ON THE ULTRAS ATX!

HOW THE HELL DID I EVEN DO THAT

I looked back at the first few appearances of Vix and Kitara, and then I look at the mayhem they're doing now, and I realize I have not a goddamn clue how they suddenly became so crazy awesome.

The moral of the story: MEGAS XLR references make EVERYTHING BETTER. NO EXCEPTIONS.

There will be explanations about Fefnir's new sidekicks in the next exposition chapter, but by now you should have at least figured out their individual jobs.

Also, all theme songs mentioned in this chapter, ESPECIALLY THE ONE FOR VIX AND KITARA'S DEBUT BATTLE, are to be played AS LOUD AS YOU CAN MANAGE. Because seriously, the Megas theme just adds THAT MUCH MORE BADASS TO IT. And Fefnir's Mazinkaiser theme...well, A) It's named FIRE Wars, and B) IT'S GODDAMN MAZINKAISER.

...Man. It's the first time I've actually put in the lyrics for a battle since Omega's first epic entrance for the train battle, the fight which really kicked the Chronicles into a league of its own!

You also got to see a little more of what Granz's side of things looks like, and what it's actually like to have to manage such a massive armada himself, not to mention getting your first look at his current command unit for this assault, namely the Warwolf. And yes, I am aware that Velguarder probably isn't as epic as I've made it sound, but screw it, I have artistic license, and I'm not afraid to use it! I mean, come on, it was SIGMA'S pet wolf! That's GOTTA count for some reputation points for the Velguarder! And at any rate, this is GRANZ we're talking about here. If that monster of a Guard Orotic in his last fight should have told you anything, it's the fact that he can mod the CRAP out of even supposedly lame bosses until they're like, whole orders of magnitude above their canon counterparts. Besides, let's face it, the gameplay mechanics kind of limited what those bosses could do anyway. MY mechanics on the other hand...well, you'll have to wait for the next chapter!

...which if I play my cards right, should be the grand finale of this fight, with Omega and the others coming face to face with the elusive Technician, the decisive battle between Ashe, Celtis and the Warwolf, and the truth of just what the HELL the Hades handgun can do with the Virus Core it devoured.

Look forward to it!

DarkShift Out!


	36. Chapter 35: The Heart That Burns Forever

**Chapter 35: The Heart That Burns Forever**

**Disclaimer:** Official stuff belongs to official people. The rest? ALL BETS OFF!

Yeah, remember how I said everything was supposed to go Grade-A crazy this chapter?

...better make that the next two chapters AFTER this.

And you can blame me suddenly getting into Touhou for that.

GODDAMNIT REIUJI WHY ARE YOU SO AWESOME.

As a result, CONGRATULATIONS! NOW UPDATED ON INTERNATIONAL CIRNO DAY! HAPPY NINEBALL DAY, EVERYBODY!

* * *

"Get me the casualty reports for Sector D-5! I need to know if we've got ANYBODY in command over there, or if they're all dead by now!"

"This is Guardian platoon 7! We're pinned down in G-6! Got two Golems and a Crushpactor advancing from the north! Requesting fire support!"

"Argh, dammit! They've broken through! E-4, E-4! Two Dreadnoughts and an-AAAAGH!"

"This is Security squad thirteen! Be advised, the enemy is deploying electronic countermeasures, recommend switching to manual targeting and encrypted Security channels! Uncertain whether it's the Technician or the Gearhead!"

The tinny voices of Legion Security and Guardian forces alike continued to sound in Ace's ear, the Scarlet Commander's expression uncharacteristically grim as he and Vent tore apart the former office of the latest Legion official to try and sink his power-hungry fangs into the Security Division. They had been in the midst of this lengthy task when the Zone Technician all of Legion had been after for two weeks finally struck with a vengeance, inundating the city with dozens of berserk mechaniloids and hijacking the processes of several Mechaniloid production facilities. Turning them towards the task of bolstering his own forces the Technician had his forces tear apart the surrounding structures and use them to make patchwork Dreadnoughts, haphazard, junkyard versions of the deadly Mechaniloid weapon platforms feared across the world's battlefields. The battle against these scrap abominations and the wild mobs of Mechaniloids had been fierce, with both Legion Security and the Guardians joining forces to combat the incursion. By and large, the battle was largely fought by the heroic efforts of the soldiers of both sides, with the elite figures of Chosen One Ashe, the one man cataclysm known as Fefnir Diz Aster and the looming specter of the fearsome Colonel Commissar, with help from Ace's two newest recruits, the skilled mechanic (and apparent mech pilot) Kitara Nekonomicon, and weapons broker Vix Vexen Vixene, and their secret, Security funded project, the giant robot known as ULTRAS ATX.

...oh, and Celtis helped too. Sort of.

And then she got stabbed. But she got better, so pay no mind to that.

But the real threat began when the combined forces of Legion and the Guardians had finally driven the Technician's forces into a corner. In a desperate act of spite, the Technician disabled the anti-trans server defenses for the entire Eastern Sector of Legion, before retreating into Cyberspace to deal with the oncoming threat of the God of Destruction and his allies. In his place, he left a far more fearsome foe: Gearhead Granz, the unseen Commander of the single largest Mechaniloid army in the entire world.

And with all the transfer jammers now out of commission, it had been a matter of minutes to teleport that army in, this time with true Dreadnoughts, and the ruthless, organized efficiency of a true army.

Again, the elite units like Ashe and the Colonel continued to fight, crushing the enemy wherever they found them, buying time for their battered allies to regroup and fight back. But from the chatter Ace's special intercept was picking up, it would just be a matter of time before they were overrun.

And yet he still couldn't leave to take command of the forces himself. He had discovered certain pieces of evidence within the arrested Senator's office that no normal person should have, and found himself unable to shake the sensation that there was something much larger at work here.

Something which had begun to unearth the carefully hidden traces of A.C.E itself.

So he kept searching, tearing apart the office until they both found the Senator's hidden personal safe.

Vent too had stayed, not because he'd found anything concrete yet, but because he too had found disturbing traces, one of which had been a report related to a particularly disastrous Guardian mission.

It might have seemed irresponsible to anyone who didn't know them, simply abandoning their posts as commander, but those same people clearly wouldn't know just who it was the two of them had left in charge...

**[Cue Music: Super Robot Wars- Time Diver (Vocal)]**

"This is Guardian Base! Artillery strike incoming on target location! Cannons four through thirteen, open fire!"

"Roger that, Commander!"

Aile strode forward onto the commander's podium, staring up at the myriad of tactical screens above her, eyes cold and hard.

"Bring us about thirty degrees once firing sequence is completed! There's a wing of those blasted Ghoras closing on us from aft, and I want them where the deck guns can give them a proper welcome!"

"Aye, Commander! Preparing secondary firing solution!"

She turned, the Captain's mantle that Vent had insisted on getting her for their last birthday whirling out with the motion. (There was also the rather tasteful military cap that the Colonel-Commissar had seen fit to present her with when they'd had that joint mock-battle a few months ago. It was a bit of an outdated affectation, but she liked the style, and so wore it whenever she was on commander duty.)

"How are the shields holding up?"

From another screen, Fleuve, the wizened old mechanic who had been with the Guardian Base since the days of Prairie, nodded.

"So far so good, Aile, but I'll not be vouching for them if we take a direct hit from another of those Dreadnought's main guns!"

"I'll keep that in mind." Aile replied dryly, before a tremendous impact shook the ship.

Even as she straightened back up, readjusting the brim of her hat, one of the operators had a response waiting for her.

"It's the Doru Ghoras, Commander! They've banked to stay in our blind spots! The main cannons can't reach them!"

"Tch...Granz again..." She growled. She'd been hoping that the unseen general would have been dealing with his other forces long enough for her to take advantage of the Doru Ghoras' default intelligence.

"I've had about enough of this...Keep us moving! I want those bastards to keep trying for our blind spots. In the meantime, shunt power from starboard deflector three and port deflector five to reinforce the rear shielding. Cedre!"

The redheaded gunnery chief appeared onscreen, grinning.

"You called, boss?"

"Keep autoturrets five and twelve on them, see if you can't keep their heads down." She gave a dark smile, one visible eye glinting from the shadows cast by the visor of her military cap.

"I'm taking this topside."

Cedre actually laughed at that.

"Reading you loud and clear, boss lady!" She grinned. "I'll see if I can't put up a good overture for ya!"

As the image disappeared, Aile swept out of the room, cape billowing behind her.

"This is Aile. I need an elevator to the deck, and I need it five minutes ago."

Missing the cheerful reply, she concentrated on Vent, reaching out to him through their shared link with the Biometals.

_'Sorry Vent, but things are getting a little hectic up here. I'll be borrowing your ZX Plus for a bit.'_

Immediately the reply came back, traces of worry in her brother's voice.

_'Are you all right? I can be back in five minutes if you need me.'_

She shook her head, although she knew he wouldn't see it.

_'No, it's nothing major. Just some slightly smarter than average Doru Ghoras scratching the paint.'_

_ 'Ah. Gotcha.'_

And a minute later, Models X and Z were sitting in her hands like they'd been there the whole time, with X once again complaining about being jerked around without notice, and Z silently contemplating how to get back into one of Aile's more conveniently placed pockets.

"All right you bastards..." She growled, mantle flaring up as the elevator crashed to a halt in front of her. "You want to mess with the Guardians, I'll show you the reason nobody's stupid enough to try that!"

She slammed the Biometals together in front of her, and a blaze of light enveloped the ascending platform.

"ME...GA...MEEEEEEEEEEERGE!"

"OW!"

"MY FACE!"

"Ack! Um, sorry!" Aile stammered, X and Z giving matching yells of pain, "I got carried away!"

* * *

Elsewhere, Marino too was in the midst of the fight...in her own way.

"Bring the Third Battalion up and move them around to the left! Granz will think they're trying to flank him, and we can use that to hit him in the back with the Fifth Armored!"

"Roger that! Third Battalion, this is Control! Move your forces to the intersection of..."

The ex-thief didn't even wait to hear the rest of the order relayed, turning to another operator.

"You, get me another overhead sweep with our flyers! I need to know what's the status of our forces to the north!"

"Aye ma'am!"

"And you, I need an update on the condition of Granz's remaining Dreadnoughts!"

"Roger!"

Marino groaned and rubbed a hand over her face briefly. God, she HATED command...

"Miss Marino, there's a request for sir support coming in from the Ninth's command unit! They're in the midst of heavy shelling from the Gearhead's artillery equipped Doru Ghoras!"

"Tell 'em to get their heads down and wait a few minutes!" She snapped back. "I already launched cruise missiles at that artillery wing before they even got into position!"

The operator looked distracted for a minute, before her expression brightened.

"Ah, they're calling it in now! Four Doru Ghoras destroyed by our last long range salvo, and a fifth being brought down by Ninth's forces!" She paused, then blushed at something on the other end. "Um, the commander says...um...well, uh...look, he's really really pleased with you and I can't say the rest out loud!" She stammered.

Marino grinned.

"Tell him, sorry, I'm taken, but he can charge the first round of drinks to my tab!"

"Roger ma'am!"

"Heh, who SAYS thieves don't know how to play a battlefield..." Ace's second in command grinned smugly, her predicted movements for Granz's forces having once again paid off brilliantly. Having seen the way the Gearhead had been sneaking that wing of Doru Ghoras through a thoroughly unthreatening course on the outskirts of battle, she'd immediately realized where he was planning to put them to use, and as a result, there had been a whole flight of A.C.E-brand cruise missiles already locked onto them in mid-flight...and blasting them to pieces from the moment the Ghoras had finally reached their firing position.

Needless to say, that hadn't been the first offer for drinks and/or getting laid she'd gotten from exultant field commanders.

"...wait. Did I just say 'I'm taken'?"

Marino was then more or less incoherent save for a panicked squeak.

This then lasted right up until one of her operators called in a report of a single Dreadnought terrorizing a retreating infantry squad. Still in a panic and not really paying attention to anything outside of her own romantic confusion, the ex-thief stammered out a haphazard counterattack and launched it.

...which is why by the time the unfortunate Dreadnought had finally caught up to the retreating soldiers, it was then hit in the face by no less than TWELVE bunker busters.

To this day, the soldiers of the 22nd Infantry still speak of that moment in solemn awe, and an immense respect for the overkill tendencies of the Rose Hurricane of Security.

The aforementioned Rose Hurricane, to use Marino's unofficial title, on the other hand, refuses to admit that ever happened, and will put lots of sharp pointy things into anyone who says otherwise.

* * *

The green world of Cyberspace trembled, explosions crashing throughout the normally silent realm.

The culprit, of course, being-

"ROAR, BARRIER OF THE WIND KING!"

Omega, God of Destruction, laughed madly, the raging hurricane bursting forth from the sword in his hand obliterating another barrier.

"COME ON, YOU'RE NOT EVEN TRYING ANYMORE! COME ON COME ON! ORAORAAAAAAA!"

More explosions, manic laughter, and shattered fragments of Cyberspace constructs flew through the air.

Walking several feet behind the rampaging man in crimson, Craft, Grey and Queenbee moved at a more relaxed pace, just enough to keep Omega in sight.

"...now that's what I call job satisfaction." Model A muttered, watching Omega at work.

Grey, on the other hand, was staring after the master of carnage with a wide-eyed look of awe.

"Whoa...he's REALLY strong! Even stronger than I thought!" He breathed. "He's swinging that huge sword around with one hand and just wrecking EVERYTHING! I mean, I've seen some of these defense programs before, and they used to take a couple shots, even in my strongest forms, and he's just walking all over them!"

Craft couldn't help but feel a bit uneasy about a relative innocent like Grey picking the GOD OF DESTRUCTION as a role model...

"Hey, Model A! Do you think we could ask mister Saber if we could get his data for an A-Trans?"

And Craft spat out his coffee. Ignoring the squeak of dismay from Queenbee as she flailed about trying to get burning hot coffee of her dress' chest, he rounded on Model A.

"Erk..." The Biometal recoiled under the deadly serious glare from the commando, who Grey hadn't yet noticed. "W-well, I uh...er...n-nah, somehow, I don't think uh...I don't think Saber's a 'sharing' kind of guy...aheheh..."

"Oh." Grey's face fell. Then, as a hand descended on his shoulder, he looked up to see Craft next to him.

"I wouldn't worry about that if I were you." He smiled, "After all, with just the forms you have now, you were still strong enough to defeat even Albert and the completed Model W, weren't you?"

"Well...yeah, I guess." Grey said sheepishly. "But still, I mean, it'd be really cool if I could get even STRONGER A-Trans forms! Like Saber, or...Oooh!"

Craft did not like that 'Oooh!'

Grey looked up at him, eyes sparkling.

"Don't even think about it."

"Awww, man!" Grey whined, "But...but...you're really strong too! And you have an AWESOME cannon! And a CAPE!"

Craft resisted the urge to preen, albeit barely.

"...yes, she IS an exceptional beauty, isn't she?" He shifted his cloak to reveal the metallic sheen of Neige's barrel.

"...She?"

" Oh, er...I...that is..." The hesitation in his voice spoke volumes to Model A, who wisely decided to steer the conversation to a different topic before Grey's childish curiosity starting going places that Craft wouldn't be pleased with.

"...b-but I think I like the cape better!" It interjected hastily, doing a quick orbit around the commando, who shot it a grateful glance.

"Really?" Grey wondered. "How come?"

"DUDE." Model A dropped down to stare Grey in the eye. "First, it's a CAPE. Just having one makes you at LEAST twenty percent more awesome!"

Grey seemed to consider this for a moment.

"Good point..." he said thoughtfully.

"And second, it is a cape. That REFLECTS LASER BEAMS. WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT?!"

The Chosen One brightened.

"Wait, it can do that in the real world too? I thought that was just because we were in Cyberspace!"

"No, rest assured, it can do all that and more." Craft chuckled, briefly picturing the boy's face if he ever saw the commando's REAL cloak, which had enough tricks built into it to rival even Ace's Scarlet Skin.

"Sooo coooool!"

This went on for a few more moments before Grey, apparently realizing something else, asked:

"Hey, you think maybe I could get the A-Trans for the Colonel?"

...Craft was suddenly very glad he had finished his last cup of coffee. It would have been a shame to have wasted TWO cups of coffee on Grey's exceptionally dangerous naivete.

Fortunately, he was spared an answer by Omega finally coming up short.

"Whoa-ho...!" The God of Destruction's eyes narrowed as he looked up. "NOW we're getting somewhere..."

Queenbee followed his gaze up in awe.

"Incredible..."She breathed, "Master, what is it?"

A colossal, brilliant green wall rose before them, layer upon layer of Cyberspace itself compressed into a structure so dense that the lines tracing through it were almost indistinguishable from one another. Panning to the left and right, the wall extended endlessly in every direction. Risking a quick look down, the ex-Pseudoroid confirmed that it extended down as well. For all intents and purposes, it was as if they had suddenly come to the end of Cyberspace itself, an impossibility in and of itself.

"This is...This is insane!" Model A gasped, tilting back up to follow the massive edifice as far as possible. "Cyberspace is infinite...you can't just...I dunno, lock off a section of it like this!"

Omega's head turned sharply.

"Locked off?"

Grey gave him a surprised look.

"You mean you couldn't tell?"

"..." Omega gave him a speculative look, before turning away.

"...no." He coughed, almost in embarrassment. "Ahem...I...just knew it was a wall. I didn't expect him to be able to actually enclose an area..."

"...huh." Grey blinked. "Well, I don't suppose I blame you."

He tilted his head to look back up at the wall.

"Just being able to put up an actual wall in Cyberspace alone, much less one as colossal as this one is almost unheard of, much less making an actual enclosed zone with it. Heck, if it wasn't for Model A's capabilities, I probably wouldn't have been be able to sense it either. It's faint, but you can detect a _slight_ curve on the surface..."

"Er...I see." Omega said awkwardly.

"Heh..." The grizzled commando rested a hand on his hip, shifting his weight with a knowing smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"My, Reploid technology has certainly improved, hasn't it, Mr. King of Destroyers?"

A vein pulsed in Omega's forehead.

"Sh-shut it you caffeine-addicted Solid Snake wannabe!" He retorted and stomped off towards the wall in a huff.

Grey's head turned from one to the other, a bewildered look on his face.

"Um...what was all that about?"

"Oh, nothing." Craft chuckled. "Just an OLD joke."

"I HEARD THAT, YOU COFFEE FREAK!"

Craft simply snickered.

"Stupid, lousy rassafrassin merc...So what if tech's improved since the old days...I can still kick all their asses!"

Queenbee patted him on the back sympathetically.

"Don't lose hope Master...I'm sure they can get you a modern set of sensors too!"

"YOU'RE NOT HELPIIIII~IIING!"

As can be guessed, Queenbee had indeed been informed of her master's true status as the legendary God of Destruction, which explained why she knew of his minor problem. While most of his body was indeed advanced far beyond anything in the world today, the fact remained that much of it was still OLD. Thus, even though his most important components continued to update, there WERE still a few peripherals that hadn't been considered as necessary. One such victim had been his more specialized Cyberspace analyzers. To be fair, though, it didn't particularly matter all that much to him, since he could already just sort of...'feel' Cyberspace already, thanks to his affinity for the strange place.

...besides what did a difference of a few meters make when most of his attacks tended to annihilate by the acre?

Queenbee's reaction to her master's identity had been, of course, as expected.

...well, perhaps not what would have been expected of more..._sane_ people, but at least expected of Queenbee.

...to this day, Omega still marvelled at how far the flexibility of a female Reploid's frame had come since his time. Truly, despite his faults, Gates had been a BRILLIANT scientist. It had been many nights since Queenbee had pledged herself to him, and the God of Destruction was STILL finding delectable new surprises to enjoy.

But all of this was secondary. Right now, more than anything, the God of Destruction found that he really, REALLY wanted to break something. And as he stared up at the vast magnificence of the artfully constructed Cyberspace blockade, he discovered that he knew JUST the target for his ire...

* * *

Deep within the space hidden within the gigantic blockade, a lone figure growled in annoyance, his hands darting across the streams of data in front of him.

"Damn damn damn damn damn damn damn damn DAMN IT ALL!" The figure growled, voice warped by the armored helm covering its features. A black bodysuit, traced through with neon blue lines, and a featureless helmet with a single blue line for a visor, with two additional blue marks just above the cheekbones. As a final touch, a matching coat billowed out behind the Zone Technician, the edges of it tattered.

"HOW?! They just keep tearing through defense after defense! This is lightyears beyond anything Legion should have!"

With a gesture, the figure of the Zone Technician, threw down another line of defense, the walls of the Zone solidifying further. Risking a moment's distraction to look out, the masked figure quickly saw the Gearhead's progress, the Technician's teeth grinding together with the realization that the yes, the Gearhead was in fact living up to his boasts and then some, having already reclaimed most of the territory lost in Legion's counterattack.

"Blast it...how DARE he mock me like this...! I am a ZONE Technician! How can one glorified puppeteer be outdoing me like this?!"

"Here's a hint!" A new voice thundered. "DOUBLLLLE ROOOCKET... PAAAAAAAAAAAAAANCH!"

"What?!"

Spinning around in shock, the Technician barely had time to blink out of existence as the wall of the Zone shattered, twin rocket powered fists smashing through it like glass and punching through the space the Technician's head had occupied moments before.

"Who the DEVIL-?!"

"I'M NOT THROUGH WITH YOU YET! OOOPEN GATE!"

"Wha-" Red light flashed, and the Technician was forced to vanish again, darting in around the cascade of razor sharp weaponry that hurtled past.

"And now the finisher!"

The man in crimson charged through the breach, a demonic grin on his face.

"RIGHT OF 'M'!"

And then the next thing the Zone Technician knew was that the newcomer had grabbed ahold of a bronze figure following him and had thrown it straight at the startled Cyberspace manipulator.

"What the hel-AUGH GET OFF OF ME!"

Said figure resolved itself into the shape of Queenbee, who rammed the hapless Technician clear across the open space of the Zone and plowing across the floor in a cloud of fragmenting data.

"...aaaaand return!" A chain materializing in his hands, the legendary God of Destruction, (for of course it was he) yanked Queenbee back on it like a leash, choosing to ignore the squeak of delight from his distinctly masochistic servant. Flipping through the air, she landed next to him, the chain disappearing as he stared at the crash site of the Technician.

"...huh." He said finally. "I should get pissed off more often. I just squashed that guy in what, fifteen seconds?"

"I'll keep that in mind." Craft replied dryly, stepping through the colossal breach Omega had torn in the Technician's barrier.

"...by the way..." Grey added, following him. "What does the 'M' in that attack mean?"

Omega and Craft stared at him, then at each other and wordlessly decided that the young Reploid was in no way ready to have the phrase 'S&M' explained to him.

Although...

"Ask Ashe when you get back." Omega grinned.

"...be honest with me." Model A deadpanned, staring at Omega. "...Are you the devil?"

"...if I say yes, do I get Ashe's phone number?"

"WHAT THE HELL IS _WRONG_ WITH YOU PEOPLE?!"

As the air shook, an outraged voice ringing out, Omega turned again, an unimpressed look on his face.

"Huh, guess I should have thrown Queenbee harder..."

"W-we could always do it again, Master!"

"...er...I think we're good." Omega said nervously. Kinky she might be, but sometimes he REALLY wondered about his ex-Pseudoroid's thought processes...

The floor trembled, a massive green pillar of data smashing up from the Zone Technician's crash site. Standing atop it, the Technician himself straightened up, anger in his eyes.

"You...YOU'RE the ones who've been interfering with my plans?!" He spat, now identifiable CLEARLY as a male. "A bunch of lunatic, slack-jawed layabouts?!"

"Oi, speak for yourself, you faceless jerkwad!" Model A shot back indignantly. "I don't even HAVE a jaw!"

"Er, Model A, I don't think that was the point..." Grey said sheepishly.

Not for the first time, Craft resisted the urge to bang his head against the nearest flat surface.

"...so YOU'RE the chump they sent me in here to mop up?" Omega said skeptically, eyeing the form of his new enemy. "Funny, I didn't think somebody who could barely evade one of my pre-emptive ambushes would be worth that."

The Zone Technician gave him an incredulous look.

"YOU CALLED THE ATTACK NAME! HOW IS THAT AN AMBUSH?!"

Omega grinned.

"Because..."

WHAM! CRUNCH!

Both of Omega's rocket powered gauntlets slammed into the Technician, finally on their return trip to their master, striking one blow across the jaw, and another in the midsection.

Lifting his hands, Omega's grin widened as both gauntlets slid back into place with a pneumatic hiss and click.

"...fuck you, that's how."

"S...son of a...!" Amazingly the Technician managed to remain standing. "That attack...so it IS you!"

Omega's grin faded, eyes narrowing.

"And just what do you mean by that?"

"The newest dog of Legion...a man who strangely enough, doesn't exist, at least according to the official records!"

Omega's eyes widened, the Zone Technician disappearing faster than the eyes could follow. The ground beneath them shook, a pillar blasting upwards as the four Legion agents scattered.

"Appearing a little less than a year ago, he's a complete unknown! No-one knows where he came from or even what kind of Reploid he is!"

The sides of the pillar exploded, smaller versions of it shooting out in all different directions, skewering the walls and floor in a series of tremendous crashes.

"Damn!" Grey hissed, one of them clipping his shoulder on the way past. The ugly cracking noise told him that even just a graze like that had all but pulverized his shoulder. Hitting the ground in an ungainly roll, he recovered and ran past another, relying on Model A's own repair functions to recover.

"They say the only thing known about him is the name 'Saber'!" The Technician continued, still wreaking havoc on their surroundings from his unseen vantage point. "And yet for all these unknowns, in the short space of time he's been in the spotlight, that man has destroyed, or has been involved in the destruction of several of the most high-risk Raiders currently in operation!"

Skidding to halt, Craft, brought his cannon up, his cybernetic eye flashing.

"Got you." He muttered, firing at the faint shimmer that had to be the invisible technician.

Materializing, the blue-green visor flashed, and suddenly the beam of light..._twisted_.

Gritting his teeth, Craft shouldered the cannon again and ran, the beam tracing an impossibly complicated path through the air as it arced and turned, arrowing back towards him. Up, down, left, right and around it danced, before the commando finally lost it by diving behind another incoming pillar.

"Damn it..."

" Leos Darkclaw! Siger von Feuersturm! Defeating the ultimate mad science of Donovan Gates and subordinating his crowning achievement, the ex-Pseudoroid! Forcing Gallidin Voltzer into a retreat, and recruiting Syrene Nagato, even in a two on one battle! And even destroying the Black Thresher! Feats that should have required at LEAST a Chosen One with the power of Biometal!"

Each statement was punctuated by more tremors, still more pillars emerging and descending and exploding. The world was now a dynamic, shifting state of matter. Up was down, down was left, and right was backwards. And through this chaos, Omega charged, leaping from the top of one pillar, racing down the side of another, twisting aside as another shot past him. The violet flare of the Zweihander blazed, its owner finally forced to draw it as he split another oncoming pillar in two.

"Tch...all these useless parlor tricks...!'

"Incidentally..." Throwing a hand out to the side, the world behind him resolved into a single massive image, displaying the destruction of Legion, and the unmistakable forces of the Granz Armada. Grinning behind his helmet, the Technician added,

"Gearhead Granz sends his regards!"

"It can't be...!" Grey gasped.

"Th-that's the Granz Armada!" Model A yelled, "What the hell is HE doing here?!"

"...so THAT was your game the whole time..." Craft muttered, kicking off of one pillar, and using his combat knife to anchor himself to another.

"After all, have you forgotten he too was one of your victories? All it took was a mention of attacking Legion, and he was all too eager to join my cause!"

"And just what IS that cause of yours, that it involves my Master?!" A flash of gold, and the Technician vanished, twin spines slicing through the air at neck height as Queenbee landed on all fours in his previous spot.

"My cause? AHAHAHAHAHA!" The Technician's disembodied laughter rang out. "I am a Zone Technician! What more cause could I need to sow chaos and destruction within this peace-rotten world?!"

He reappeared behind Queenbee in an instant, one pillar twisting into a giant digital snake that crashed into her, it's coils lashing.

"Guh...! Wh...what is this?!"

The snake exploded into a cloud of crystalline shards, gashing Queenbee in numerous places as they blasted past her, reforming into a colossal lance of power that hurtled into the ground and detonated, annihilating the hiding spot Craft had been using moments ago.

"Blast...!" The commando swore, bringing _Neige_ up and firing another brilliant blue beam.

"Do you honestly think that's going to work?!" With a crystalline sound the Technician was shattered by the beam, broken apart into dozens of glass shards, which transformed into a cloud of bats which then swarmed Craft, their claws and fangs tearing at the cloak he raised to protect himself.

The Technician laughed from another side of the battlefield.

"Do you see now? We Zone Technicians are the gods of the new era! We possess the power to manipulate Cyberspace itself at will! Accessing the very programming of reality...what else could we be but the Chosen Ones of the world itself?!"

With another deranged laugh, he raised his hands, an entire World War era battlecruiser dropping from the skies to smash into the ground, throwing them in every direction.

"This world continues to function solely by our mercy! If we so wished it, we could end this petty civilization of yours in an instant! Rewrite the fabric of reality itself on a whim! So why should we need a reason to cause chaos? None of you can possibly stand against us, so what right do weaklings like you have to tell us what we can and can't do?!"

"Well, for one thing..." A pillar shattered into glowing green fragments, and a brilliant crimson flash blasted forth, the almighty God of Destruction surging through the breach.

"BECAUSE I WILL BEAT THE LIVING SHIT OUT OF YOU OTHERWISE!"

A white steel claw slammed shut over the Zone Technician's face, actually yanking him out of a teleport and breaking another pillar in two with his body. Spinning around again, Omega hurled him the length of the Zone, watching in satisfaction as the black figure crashed through dozens more of the wildly flying pillars.

"Ugh...!" The visor flickered for a moment, the Technician pulling himself free of the impact crater in the side of another pillar, which crumbled to dust moments later. "How did you-"

Seizing Queenbee, Omega drew her in.

"Ah, Master, wha-mmph!"

KISSING.

WITH TONGUE.

_**EXTREMELY R-RATED.**_

"Wh-what the hell?!" The Technician stopped, utterly bewildered by the oddly timed make out session.

"Hey, I can't see anything!" Grey struggled, trying to push Craft's hand away from his eyes.

Finally breaking off, Omega pushed Queenbee away, the dazed ex-Pseudoroid hovering drunkenly with a dazed grin on her flushed features.

It was at that point that Craft's artificial left eye picked up the traces of ice forming on the edges of Queenbee's outfit.

"Oh you can NOT be serious."

"THEEEEEEEEEERMAAAAALL...GE~EEEEEET!" Omega crowed, rearing up and leveling both hands at the stunned Technician, the green gems in each palm burning brightly.

"TRY THIS ONE ON FOR SIZE, YOU GOD-COMPLEXING DIPSHIT!"

"You have got to be kidding me." Model A deadpanned.

"ZA FOURTH WAVE!" Lightning crackled around the God of Destruction, his hair flaring out behind him as he invoked the power of his Thunder element. "LIGHTNING SIIIIIIIIIIIGN...!"

And then he cut loose.

"_**MAASTEEEEEEEEEEEEER SPAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARK!**_"

A colossal beam of light erupted from his outstretched hands, as if the divine might of the skies themselves had been crystallized into a single unleashed torrent of electrical destruction.

"Wh...WHAAAAAAAT?!" The Technician screamed in disbelief, before the light smashed into him and tore apart half of the Zone in a colossal fury of destruction.

Omega crashed to the ground, his boots pulverizing the flawless green surface. Straightening up once more, he grinned.

"Fuck yeah."

_"Master..."_ Saber groaned, pressing a hand to her face, _"I would greatly appreciate it if you'd kindly refrain from doing that in the future...as Fefnir Diz Aster's Fourth Wave is a system that relies on thermal control, it is exceedingly difficult for a lightning-type AI like myself to control it properly..."_

"Ahh, relax. Besides, it worked, didn't it?"

_"...well, yes...but it was hardly as efficient as it could have been with a proper-"_

"Efficent, shmefficient. Once it can nuke their faces off, I could care less!"

_"...Maaaaaaaaaassteeer...!"_ A vein twitched on the ever restrained Servant's face.

"Hey, hey, what are you doing with that sword...wait, no!" Omega paled, "I'm sorry! I apologize! Whatever I said, I take it back! DON'T-GYAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

Craft simply stared.

"...by rights, I should no longer be surprised by any of this, and yet, I find that I am."

"...HELL of a way to get a thermal charge, I'll give him that." Model A nodded emphatically.

"...too bad it's all in vain, though." A voice hissed by their ears.

"Wha-ARGH!" Whirling in shock, Grey took another pillar head on, the huge construct smashing him backwards.

"You...!" Darting around an identical one, Craft barely dodged a similar fate, before the floor erupted, dozens of them smashing up through the green and hurtling him into the sky.

"What-?!" Omega's eyes widened, a shadow falling over him as the entire ceiling descended, smashing him into the ground under the weight of over a hundred of the cylindrical constructs.

"Master-aaaah!" Rushing to her Master's aid, Queenbee was hit from four sides, pillars smashing her around like a pinball before sending her plummeting to the ground again.

"You...how the HELL?!" Omega snarled, struggling against the weight pressing down on him.

A black armored boot stepped forward, the Zone Technician rematerializing and grinning down at him.

"You forget, Saber, if indeed that is your real name, the nature of this world!"

The Zone Technician spread his arms wide.

"This is MY world! MY Limited Zone! Everything in here, is as I will it! If I so wished it, I could crush you four where you stand, the earth rising and the sky falling to smash you between them! I can negate your attacks with but a thought! I can reverse gravity, or form a weapon from my mind itself! You, for all your power and infamy, are helpless against me here!"

He stepped back, levitating off the ground now.

"When I kill you here, it will prove to the world once and for all the unparalleled might of the Zone Technicians! The might...of GEMINI CYTO!"

"Finally..." A voice sighed. " I thought you'd NEVER name yourself!"

Gemini whirled in shock.

"Wha-?!"

And ate twenty pounds of frag grenades to the face.

"AAAARGH!" Staggering back, the Technician barely had time to react before thunder roared, and a familiar set of spinning green blades punched through his chest.

"You...!" He managed to say, before vanishing into a cloud of data.

Craft dropped to the ground, his grenadier's knee folding up again as Grey withdrew his claw, reverting from Gallidin's form to that of Model A.

"You...what...HOW?!" Omega demanded.

"The first step to beating a Zone Technician is to get their name." Craft responded, drawing his massive cannon once more.

"There's no visual records on any of them, but Legion DOES have their names, and some data on their powers. Once you find their name, you can know what to expect!" Grey said cheerfully.

"And more importantly," Craft said darkly, "How to kill them."

"Owwww..."Queenbee staggered upright, clutching her head. "Ah, Master! Please hold on, I'll get you out of there!"

"No need." Omega growled, and with a single motion, smashed himself free. "I just needed a minute or two to get some leverage..."

"...it seems I was careless..." The disembodied voice of the Technician now known to be Gemini Cyto floated down to them.

"Oh, you bet your ass you were." Omega growled. "Now get down here. I want to see what it looks like when I hit you with a Master Spark you CAN'T dodge!"

Gemini's laughter resounded around them.

"Very well then..." As the black figure reappeared in the air once more, the world seemed to distort. A sadistic smile on his face, the Zone Technician raised his hand once more.

"Though I hope you understand what it means to challenge me"

The ground shook, Queenbee stumbling against Omega as the sudden movement caught her off balance.

"Wh-what is this?"

Light burst from the ground beneath Gemini, and from the ceiling above him, spreading out in a wave that traced out a colossal spiderweb of hexagons. With but a gesture, the Technician laughed, all of it disintegrating apart, revealing each hexagon to just be the visible face of another pillar. As the entire world around them deconstructed itself, breaking down into hundreds, no thousands of the pillars, as the four of them stood alone atop one such pillar, Omega's eyes narrowed.

"...this what you meant by their 'capabilities'?"

Craft remained standing, staring out at the enemy horde.

"Gemini Cyto. Special ability: Mental Projection, the art of giving form to your mind. The most basic of Technician skills. But he's one of the rare few who've chosen to actually specialize in that art, which means he can control it much more fluidly than others. It's how he can change objects like the pillars from one form to another, or to break himself into glass and reconstitute later. Though basic users like us can simply 'create', Gemini is capable of 'creating and transforming'."

"Dandy." Omega grumbled.

"Indeed." Gemini laughed, raising a hand as a dozen pillars rose behind him, leveling themselves at his opponents. "Now...are you prepared? Here, in this world, where matter no longer matters and the mind itself is the perfect weapon? What will you do, when the enemy you face controls the world itself?!"

With a mad laugh, he dropped his hand forward, the pillars hurtling to the attack.

With an impact beyond comprehension, the pillar supporting the four Legion operatives was destroyed, pulverized by the massive projectiles.

"What will I do...?"

The crimson sky roared, Omega bursting from the clouds of smoke. Charging forward, he barreled along the flat side of one of the thrown constructs still stuck in the ruins of their destroyed pillar, the brilliant violet flare of the Zweihander dancing through the air, his wild laughter ringing out.

"I've only ever had one solution! Even if God himself were to stand in my way..."

The clouds of smoke parted, a roar as Craft's Dullahan tore across the surface of another pillar. A flash of gold, and Queenbee darted through the green sky, Grey close behind her as he leapt from pillar to pillar with the speed of Gallidin Voltzer.

"No, even if you say the world itself stands in my way..." Omega's crimson eyes blazed with mad delight. "I'LL JUST DESTROY IT ALL!"

* * *

**[Resume Music: Chie to Yuuki da!-Medarot opening theme]**

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

"For the love of- WILL YOU STOP SCREAMING?!"

"ONLY IF YOU STOP CHASING ME!"

Celtis threw herself headfirst over a parked car, the Warwolf's claws slashing through the air behind her.

"I WOULD IF YOU'D STOP RUNNING! OPTIC BLAST!" The Warwolf reared up, a brilliant crimson beam slicing through the car like butter and continuing along the pavement in an erratic pattern.

"Oi oi, HANDS OFF THE NOOB! METEOOOOR KIIIIICK!"

WHAM!

The Warwolf skidded sideways, off balance from an A-Transed Ashe's Buckfire attack.

"You...! DAAAAAMNED AAAAAAAAAAA!" Granz gave a roar of rage, launching the Warwolf's grappling claw at her.

"Whoops, you missed me!" Ashe grinned, pirouetting sideways. Granz's eyes narrowed.

"Don't count on it, you blasted A!"

Behind her, the wayward grappler seized ahold of a lampost, tearing it out of the ground as Granz wrenched it back, wrist panels snapping open on his other arm as he cut loose with the vulcans again. Dodging the sudden hail of bullets, Ashe didn't see the returning iron post until it clotheslined her across the back.

"ARGH!"

Still reeling it in, Granz used it like a hook and brought Ashe hurtling in towards him. Switching off the vulcans, he brought his other arm around, the ground disintegrating beneath him with the force of his stance.

"GRANZ SPECIAL!"

"Oh SHI-!"

"DOUBLE!" His right arm, in a perfect clothesline, slammed into Ashe's chest, driving the air out of her lungs with an unpleasant creaking sound from her ribs.

"REVERSE IMPAAAAAAAAACT!"

And with the follow through, he launched her backwards like a human shaped rocket, blowing out the entire bottom floor of a building with the impact of her crash-landing.

"Son of...a bitch..." Ashe wheezed, sprawled over a pile of rubble, blood trickling from her jaws. "Anybody...get the number...on the asteroid tha' hit me...? Koff..."

The Warwolf turned, red lenses glowing already.

"And now for YO-ASDFGHKL!"

The rest of Granz's sentence was cut off by a Hades to the face. Even as the Warwolf staggered back, clawing at it's features, Celtis fired again, blasting it's legs out from under it. Granz brought the mech's hands away in time to see the floor racing up towards his cameras.

"Oh COME ON!"

WHAM!

The impact was almost enough to knock Celtis off of her feet, but somehow she managed to keep her footing and take aim again, this time at the top of a nearby building.

BLAM!

Granz gave an angry growl and pushed the Warwolf up on it's hands.

"Why you little-eh?"

As a shadow fell over him, he flipped the Warwolf over, only to see the top three floors of a building, their remaining supports blown through by Celtis' last shot, plummeting down towards him.

"...Oh, FUCK _YOU_!"

CRASH!

With the Warwolf temporarily...incapacitated, the green haired Chosen One raced off to check on Ashe.

"Ashe! Ashe, you in here?"

"NnnrrrrrRAAAAUGH!"

A pile of rubble exploded, and the silver haired Chosen One of Model A punched her way free, shoulders heaving.

"So HELP ME GOD, I am going to beat the SHIT out of Granz before today is over!"

"...I'll take that as a yes." Celtis sighed. "I kind of...dropped a building on him, so if you've got any ideas, now would be a really good time for it!"

"Well he's sure as hell not going to stop chasing you!" Ashe grunted, wiping the blood off of her chin. "So we've got little choice BUT to take him head on!"

"Yeah, but last I checked, that wasn't going so well..." Celtis pointed out at the blasted trail of destruction that marked their passage through the city, with impact craters scattered everywhere, each one looking suspiciously like Ashe in various A-Trans forms.

"...okay, you might have a point there." Ashe admitted, wincing. "Man I haven't been put through this many buildings since that one time I fought Atlas..."

Shaking her head, she looked back at Celtis.

"But still, whatever the hell kind of upgrades he put on that Velguarder chassis are NUTS! Nothing I've got is even scratching him! Not even the ZX Saber, and that thing's supposed to be able to cut EVERYTHING!"

"Well, if Granz could put together a reflective armor that could stop SABER of all people..." Celtis hefted her own O-Sabers, reminding Ashe that she too had tried going melee against the Warwolf. The end result of which had been an exceptionally fancy multi-slash attack that had simply knocked Granz off balance, barely scratched his armor, and resulted in Celtis herself getting punched through two buildings.

"True...Plus I'm pretty sure he's stepped even that up too." Ashe sighed. "No WAY was his armor this strong before! What else do we have?"

"We could...get Kitara to step on him?"

CRASH SMASH MAUL WHAM.

As if on cue, half a dreadnought came sailing over the rooftops, bouncing across the road twice before smashing into a building labeled 'Conveniently Placed Fuel Depot'.

Which then blew up.

As the flames died down, the two girls stared at it for a moment.

"...nah, she's probably busy."

"Good call." Celtis agreed.

"..."

"..."

"We could use Disaster?"

What looked like a miniature volcano exploded somewhere in the distance.

"...he's busy too."

"..."

"Well, there's always the Col-"

"DON'T EVEN SAY IT."

Somewhere else, a random dreadnought that was minding its own business was cleaved in twain for no apparent reason.

"Can we get in touch with Marino or Aile?"

"...damn, no. That Warwolf's putting out some kind of jamming signal. Comms are useless down here."

"If we keep hammering at him, I'm pretty sure Model O's got what it takes to beat him..." Celtis tried.

"Well yeah, but let's be frank. You could do that, but considering our current condition, it's entirely likely one of us is going to end up in the hospital by the time that happens."

Celtis winced.

"Blunt as always, aren't you..."

"Although..." Ashe turned to stare intently at Celtis.

"...er...Ashe...? Wh..why are you looking at me like that...?"

"Model O, eh...?" Ashe muttered, an unreadable look on her face. "Well, if it worked for taking on Thresher..."

Then she got to her feet. Dusting herself off, she reverted back to her human form and strode towards Celtis, a purposeful look in her eyes.

"A-Ashe...?"

Pushing Celtis back against the wall, the silver haired Chosen One leaned in...

"Wha...whawhawha-w-wait! What are you-My heart's not ready for thiiiii~iiiis!"

And then Celtis realized that Ashe was saying something.

"...u-um...what...?"

"I said...!" Ashe's features suddenly split in a demonic grin.

"GRIIIIIIIIIT...!"

Grabbing Celtis by the shoulders, she reared her head back.

"THOOOOOOOOOOSE...!"

In Celtis' subconscious, Model O gave a strangled squawk of panic and started to struggle, knowing exactly where this was heading.

In Celtis' ACTUAL consciousness, it was basically the same thing.

"Wait, no! What are you doing?! S-STOOOOOOP!"

"TEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEETH!"

_**WHAM!**_

With a wild yell, Ashe brought her head streaking forward to smash her skull directly into the cracked blue gem on Celtis' forehead.

...and Legion trembled.

* * *

CLANG.

A spanner bounced across the ground, metal ringing with each impact.

It went entirely unheeded, Vent staring out the broken window at the war torn city, his face pale.

"What the hell...was that feeling?"

A grunt of pain, and he turned to see Ace staring in the same direction, clutching his shaking right arm.

"It can't be...Ashe...what have you DONE?!"

* * *

High above Legion, trading long range shells with enemy Doru Ghoras, Aile staggered and dropped to one knee.

"Th-this is...!"

"The same as that time!" X snapped.

"Model O!" Z growled.

And then a towering pillar of unleashed orange energy erupted into the sky.

* * *

Ashe blinked.

"...what?"

Nothing replied.

"...where...is this...?"

The empty void gave her no answers, an infinite whiteness stretching as far as could be seen.

And then...a rattling of chains.

"Who's the-"

A roar, and something slammed into her.

"ARGH!" Hitting the ground, she threw herself into a roll, turning to face the enemy.

"You bastard what are...you..." She trailed off, her voice freezing in her throat.

Model O glowered back at her, a savage, feral smile on it's face. The black chains piercing it rattled menacingly. Though in the past few months, the beast had begun to improve, becoming less of the raging monster it had been in Celtis' first encounter, here and now, presented with a target it had no need to hold back on...

The crimson devil roared, and lunged forward.

Ashe couldn't help it.

She screamed.

Even all her years as a Hunter, all her time as a Chosen One, against Albert, against the Model Ws...None of that meant anything when faced with something like this, beyond the realms of possibility and common sense. This...thing, insanity in a human shape, overshadowed all of them. This was the same as that time, when the man in the crimson coat had faced down an army of onrushing Mavericks and frozen them with a single glare. She remembered that moment, she still had nightmares about it.

A sheer force of presence that stripped away reason, pride, even humanity. This...thing was everything mad and twisted in the world, Lucifer with the gloves off. Something that to merely witness it was to damn a part of yourself forever.

To Ashe's credit though, she managed to fight down that natural terror, the instinct ingrained in any living being when faced with something so...Other. But even as she staggered back, struggling with the raw animal instinct to just _get away_, to _run_, that second was all Model O needed.

The corrupt Biometal lunged, knocking her to the ground. Barely able to even look at it directly, Ashe sobbed out a curse, desperately scrabbling for her gun, a weapon, anything. One free hand slamming into the Biometal's jaw, the other beating uselessly against it's chest. With a snarl of anger, Model O struck back, a blow that set her head spinning. By the time she recovered, it had pinned her, both her hands held over her head by one grip around her wrists, and her legs pinned down by it's own. With a victorious bark, it drew it's free hand back, claws shining in the suddenly bloody light-

And stopped.

Tears still unshed in her eyes, a side effect of the immense emotional turmoil she had just experienced, Ashe blinked in surprise.

"Y-you...what are you...?"

And the Model O's head turned to glare at something else. Following its gaze, she saw...him.

A man stood there, alone in the stark void. Clad in black, he stood with his back to them, the edges of the coal black jacket drifting in a nonexistent wind. Hands in his pockets he stood as though wholly unconcerned of the drama between the two of them.

And yet...Ashe felt an irrational fear in her heart.

This man...she didn't want to see him.

If he were to turn around now, to bring his full gaze to bear on her...something terrible would happen. It was irrational. It was foolish. But something inside her heart was screaming.

Just seeing the raw, corrupted form of Model O was enough to tear at the psyche, but this monochrome figure in a human-shape...Where Model O was like a wild beast, no restraints or restrictions, this...entity was the opposite. A tremendous, crushing pressure seemed to fall on him, on everything around him. A soul, if such a being possessed one, locked away deep inside, like a light in the center of a black hole. This was the extreme of restraint, a being who continued to crush his own heart, his own passion, his own SELF deeper and deeper, as though it were a singularity inside of that chest, and not a heart at all.

A void, but not truly empty, as if the shining silver steel soul in him had begun to rust and corrode.

Desperation overriding the fear of that ominous presence, she called out to him.

"H...HEY! You...!" Her voice died, the strange nameless dread choking her again.

The man stirred.

Model O growled.

Still not turning, the man tilted his head slightly, looking back over his shoulder.

The glimpse of that inhuman, gold eye, half hidden behind the lenses of his shades was enough to paralyze Ashe.

Not human.

Not Reploid.

Not alive.

Not dead.

Something beyond comprehension.

A length of time, an existence that could not be understood by normal beings.

Some..._thing_, in a human shape, to whom real humans...no to whom almost all living things had lifespans of mere moments.

An existence that had continued, did continue, and WOULD continue, long after even planets themselves had been ground to dust beneath the grinding gears of time's advance.

Something she absolutely must not see...!

Lazily, that eye flicked over her, and then up to Model O, who still stared at him with that challenging look.

And then-

"Do what you will."

The man turned away once more.

Model O and Ashe alike both stared at him in shock, Model O actually lowering it's claw in disbelief.

"Wh-what?! You're just going to leave me here?!" Ashe demanded, her outrage temporarily burying the strange fear this man invoked in her.

"Why should I save you?"

His curt answer cut her short.

"You were the one who chose to come here, seeking power. You should have been prepared for something like this."

"I...what?"

"Those who search for power must always be prepared to lose their own lives in the process. After all..."

The man laughed, something cold and bitter.

"Everything has a price..."

"What...? But...I just wanted to beat Granz!"

"No matter how trivial the reason, power is power. You simply chose poorly."

As the conversation continued, Model O found itself grinding its teeth together. For some reason...it was feeling truly pissed off!

With every word this man spoke, its anger grew.

With his every action, his lack of concern, it's outrage increased.

As if it's next actions were all too predictable, as if he knew what would happen...

As if Model O's actions were set in stone, all too easy to read.

As if they were of no consequence whatsoever, completely irrelevant.

This man...!

He would dare to interfere the first time, binding it here, as if he had the right...and now, when it sought to do the same thing again...he simply decided to stand aside?! Like this, it was as though his first intervention was little more than a whim, sealing the Model just because he felt like it!

This...BASTARD...!

The razor edged fangs parted...for the first time since it's arrival here, Model O forced itself to form words.

"Y...yOu..."

"Oh?" The man's shoulders twitched, and Ashe could FEEL the smile, something that grated on the very senses. "It seems the beast can speak after all."

"Hy...hYpo...!"

Ashe stiffened.

Somehow, she knew what was coming. Despite her position she struggled, shaking her head frantically, silently urging the corrupted demon atop her to stop.

"HypO...YoU hYpOCRITe!"

The air froze, cracking.

"Y...yOu DaRe...tO...lo...lOoK dOWn...o...On...! mOdEL o...!"

The man's shoulders shook. And with a sick feeling, Ashe realized he was laughing.

"Heh heh...heheheh...**AAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!**"

She shut her eyes, trying her hardest to block out that horrible sound, that terrible laughter so cold and hard and broken.

A laugh that sounded like a metal blade, stressed and strained, until it finally broke, shattered steel that was forced to continue as a weapon, striking again and again, blunting itself further with each blow until the metal itself screamed.

"It...hurts...!"

Model O blinked and looked down. She was...shaking...?

Ashe flinched, as if trying to curl in on herself.

"This noise...stop it...please...stop it...!"

The man ignored them, his laughter finally dying down.

"Yes...yes that's right. I am a hypocrite. After all, a beast is just a beast, through and through. What right do I, of all people, have to stand in its way? **Ahahahaha!**"

The man looked back, and this time, his red right eye stared back at the Model O, a terrible, inhuman glint of madness, colder than space and more insane than anything that could be dreamed of by the world.

"Yes...go on, do what you wish to! A beast like you craves nothing but blood. Death after death after destruction! That's your dream, isn't it? Go on!" He laughed, throwing his arms out to the sides. "Be my guest! I won't stop you! AHAHAHAHAHA!"

It was those words that did it, that broken laughter scraping down through Model O's blinding hatred for the black stranger.

In that instant, Model O's rage towards that man reached it's limit. The claws plunged down-

And pierced Ashe's chest.

Red spilled across the floor, the Chosen One's heart torn to ruins by that one strike.

Ashe stared up at the beast, eyes filled with pain and shock.

"Y-you...no...!"

Model O withdrew it's hand, still stained with her blood. And from that empty space in her chest, it drew...something. Not a heart, but...something intangible and pure, a shifting morass of data.

Releasing Ashe's hands, the Model lifted it's other hand-

And before her startled eyes, punched it's talons into it's own chest.

The man's laughter had stopped, and yet, neither of them noticed. Ashe, too weak to move...found her gaze transfixed by the crackling power emanating from the Model's chest.

"What are...you...doing...?"

Model O gritted it's teeth, fragments of data and sparks dancing around it. And for an instant, the crimson demon remembered...

* * *

_"You know, maybe you're not that bad after all!" Celtis smiled._

* * *

It's eyes flashed, it's hand tightening.

"m...MorE ThAn...B...bEasT...!"

And with that, it tore it's own heart out, a raging fire of brilliant, white-hot power burning out between it's claws, and slammed it into the empty space in Ashe's chest.

"T...tAke...! PrOve...hIm...wr...wR...WRoNG...mE...R...r...RiGHt!"

Ashe screamed, as her body burned. The thing in her chest erupted, like an entire sun, blossoming into life inside of her. A feeling like boiling steel surged through her veins, suffusing her entire being.

...and yet, she fought it down.

"You...!" She choked, sparks coughing out, "What are you...doing to me...?!"

"p...POweR!"

And then, she felt it.

"Th-this is...!"

Looking up at Model O in shock, for the first time, Ashe really saw it. Behind the madness, behind the horror of what Biometal Model O really was...

It was still just a living being.

An unwanted existence, born from one man's insane desire for power, cursed from birth by a horrific fate of rage and hatred that it didn't even know the reason for, but followed anyway. It was only now, locked away in these chains, that it had finally begun to surpass those limitations.

And for this man, the same one that had locked it away inside of Celtis, to simply write it off as a mere beast, to trample over all that...

"Heh..."

Model O, still overwhelmed by the magnitude of what it was trying to do, didn't respond, ruined face twisted in a savage snarl, fangs gritting together as it struggled to contain this monstrous gift.

A single hand reached up, red orange energy blasting out in small flares through the skin of the joints as the power continued to surge and roar through the Chosen One's veins, bloody fingers gently pressing against the side of the Biometal's face.

Ashe managed a rueful smile, orange cracks spreading up her right cheekbone.

"Heh heh...That Celtis...sure has it rough..." She chuckled, "...dealing with a precocious kid like you..."

Model O stirred, as if distracted from it's concentration.

"All right then..." She smiled, a dangerous smile, the iron determination and spirit that had brought her victory over Albert shining through once more. "I'll...take this power of yours...!"

And the void beneath her shattered, a brilliant sun igniting behind her.

For an instant, Model O's ruined, savage features solidified, into something that could have passed for human, and it grinned.

Ashe's eyes widened at the sight.

"I...know...that face...!"

And as the brilliant star erupted, overwhelming them, she made a final, desperate question.

"You...just who ARE you-?!"

And then they were gone, the emptiness of the stark world disappearing in the glorious supernova.

Now alone, the man turned to face the onrushing light.

"Was I too obvious, I wonder...?"

In the glow, the man's features seemed softer, less weary, the tired lines etched into his face fading. The cold, crushing bleakness surrounding him retreated slightly, even if only for a moment, and he smiled slightly, a sad, human smile.

"I wish you luck, heroine of Model A." He laughed quietly, "The path you have chosen will not be an easy one...neither will yours, cursed Biometal..."

And he vanished.

* * *

Celtis was thrown back through the wall, a brilliant orange pillar of heat erupting from the ground around Ashe.

"Agh...!" She involuntarily cried out, another blistering wall of flames washing over her.

"Wh...what the hell is this...?!" Frantically, she attempted to reach Model O. "What the HELL did you do?!"

"HaaaaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

The building exploded, a colossal fireball consuming everything as Celtis dove behind cover.

And then her face paled as she heard Model O's reply, a stream of data passing through her mind.

"You gave her _**WHAT**_?!"

Granz stared at the sight in front of him in disbelief, having extricated himself from the rubble only to be knocked flat on his back by the orange shockwave.

"What in the HELL?!"

And then warning lights began to blink on his Warwolf's sensors.

"Temperature alert...?! What do you mean, 'temperature al-'", He choked off in mid-sentence as he read the values coming in.

"H-hey...hey, you can't be serious, right?" He laughed nervously. "That's...that's like a miniature SUN!"

* * *

In the depths of Cyberspace, Grey jerked and fell to his knees.

"Grey?!" Craft turned, startled.

Omega split an oncoming pillar in two, his rocket powered gauntlets launching off and deflecting two more with the force of their impacts as he too glanced at the Chosen One.

"What's going on, kid?"

"S...something's wrong...with Model A...!" Grey grunted, his jaw tight with pain. "There's some kind of new data trying to come in...!"

Craft side-stepped, another pillar hurtling past like a colossal javelin, before turning, Neige already charged and splitting another approaching construct in two straight down the middle with the blast. His artificial eye flickered, targeting software dancing over the dozens of Gemini's constructs that still flew towards them. It was like fighting the Gate of Babylon, except where the Gate fired an infinite supply of piledrivers at you instead of swords.

"It must be Ashe...She probably got her hands on a new A-Trans outside."

"N-no...you don't understand...! The data, it's not...being added to the list of forms...!" Clutching at his chest, the Reploid boy doubled over. "It's...overwriting one of them completely...!"

"What?!" Queenbee gasped, her golden swarms corroding one pillar into dust, dozens of her drones chewing away at the solidified Cyberspace as she struggled to turn aside another pillar. "But that...should be impossible! The Model A Biometal doesn't work that way!"

And suddenly Omega was next to them, staring down at Grey with a terrifying look on his face. In that instant...Craft knew the cause, a cold, sick feeling in his gut.

"She couldn't have...!"

"Which form is being overwritten?" The God asked, surprisingly quiet.

"Her..."Grey stopped, unwilling to accept the readings that were coming in, even as Model A struggled to manage this blasphemy of the A-Trans system.

"It's overwriting...!" He looked up, raw fear in his face. "It's overwriting her human data! It's changing her real form!"

* * *

Celtis stared aghast at the sight before her.

"I...am going to be in SO much trouble for this..."

"Urgh...my...head...!"

"A-Ashe!"

And sure enough, the battered figure of the Model A Chosen One staggered out of the inferno, one hand clutching her head, her clothes singed.

Celtis ran to her, alarmed.

"I was trying to warn you...you really shouldn't try to use Data Get on Model O! It's..."

She stopped in surprise, Ashe holding one hand up to silence her.

"Not...so loud..." She winced. "My head's killing me...what happened?"

Celtis stared at her.

"What do you mean, WHAT HAPPENED?!" She demanded. "You just headbutted me halfway across the street, and then everything blew up!"

"I...did that...?" Ashe wondered, looking around at the destruction. "Yeah...now that you mention it, I remember something like that happening...and then..." She winced again, clutching at her head.

And then it returned to her.

The crimson beast in chains, the man in the dark, the terror and then the understanding...

And that final request from the thing called Model O.

The silver-haired girl looked at Celtis, a new respect in her eyes.

"THAT'S what Model O looks like?"

"Eeep!" Celtis stiffened, alarm written across her features. "Y-you...you saw...?!"

"Aye." Ashe managed a grin, "Obstinate little bastard, isn't he?"

"E-er..." Celtis stammered, taken aback by Ashe's casual description of the chained-down borderline feral Model. In her head, though she could hear the Biometal making that now-familiar strangled squawking noise she'd come to associate with Model O being either outraged or colossally embarrassed. If that data transfer had been right, about just what it was that Model O had given Ashe...it could be either one, really.

"Aww, so you do have a cute side after all!" The silver-haired Chosen One laughed. "Now now, no need to get all bashful after all that!"

"Um...what?" Celtis blinked, bewildered.

"Ah? Oh no, not you, I meant Model...O..." Ashe trailed off as the impact of her words sank in.

There was a brief pause.

"Wait, you can hear him too?!" Celtis yelped in shock, grabbing her by the shoulders.

"Wha...I-er, I mean...I-I guess so!" Ashe stammered

"B-but...how-agh!" Abruptly, the Model O Chosen One let go of Ashe, jerking her hands back. "Ow!"

"Wh-what's wrong...?"

"Ow...th-that's hot!"

"Eh?"

It was then that Ashe noticed the heat haze rising off of her body. Raising a hand, she stared at it in surprise for a moment.

"Well, what do you know..." She grinned, a dangerous smile on her face as she clenched it into a fist. "Looks like I got a real prize booty out of this after all!"

Celtis didn't hear her, suddenly overcome by a strange bout of dizziness.

"I...something's wrong..."

"YOU'RE DAMN RIGHT IT IS!"

"Wha-?!" Celtis looked up in alarm, just in time for the full force of the Vermillion Vile Warwolf to smash into her.

"Celtis!" Ashe yelled in alarm.

"I don't know what you bastards were planning," Granz snarled, "But don't think I'll just stand idly by and let you do as you please!"

"Gh...you...!" Celtis gritted her teeth, trying to bring the Hades around to aim at the Warwolf's face, but...

_'Wh...what's...going on...?'_

Her arm shook, suddenly barely able to lift the massive handgun. And not just her arms, her entire body suddenly felt weak, as though her power were being drained...no, diverted!

"M-model O...! What's happening...?!"

"..." The Biometal didn't respond, an uncharacteristically grim look on it's face.

"Model-!" Celtis desperate cry was cut off as the Warwolf's charge smashed her back into the buildings. There was a terrible impact, and she choked, blood splattering across the vermillion armor.

Leaving her to slide down the wall, Granz whirled, his chest compartment slamming open to unleash a barrage of missiles on the charging Model A Chosen One.

"Don't think I forgot about you, damnable A!" He snarled, bringing his arms up as panels opened to reveal not one or two, but FOUR Vulcan turrets, all of them screaming death at her.

"Argh! You-!" Ashe's angry curse was cut off as they slammed into her, explosions tearing apart the street.

"No...!" Celtis swore, and struggled to rise. And then she felt it again, another surge of weakness as her power was once more diverted.

"Wh...what's happening...?!"

Ignoring her, Granz brought the Warwolf to stop, firing up weapon system after weapon system in preparation.

"I have no idea what the hell those readings were..." He growled, firing solutions already on standby. "But I'll be damned if I give you a chance...to...?!"

And then an orange glow burned through the smoke.

Ashe lowered her arms, having crossed them to protect her face.

"Huh...?" She blinked, "I'm...all right?"

Splash.

She looked down, a warm, thick dampness against her boots.

Molten metal, all that remained of Granz's salvo, flowed past her, boiling even as she watched.

"N...no way...!"

And then she felt it. A shockwave of power that blasted through her body, starting from her heart.

"Th...this is...!" She coughed, sparks dancing as the exhaled air attempted to ignite.

Ashe staggered, another surge of heat coursing through her. She was dimly aware of parts of her clothing beginning to combust.

And yet...

A savage grin crossed her features.

"H...heh...!" She managed to laugh, "Looks like...I might have...gotten more than I bargained for...!"

She leaned forward, hearing the creaking of her joints, the incredible heat straining her bones.

"That damned beast...!" She chuckled, a spark of memory returning. A single request. She doubled over with a sharp gasp, clutching at her right eye as raw orange energy erupted from it. And yet she still laughed.

"No...more than a beast..." She grinned. "He gave me a pretty valuable booty, after all!"

And as she straightened up, both Granz and Celtis could see the change. Where both her irises had once been green, now the right burned a furious, raging orange, three black markings emerging around the pupil.

"That sign...!" Celtis gasped. So that WAS what Model O had given her!

"Aaaaaaaaaa_**AAAAAHHHHHHHH**_!" As Ashe roared, the center of her chest exploded with power, an unmistakable triangular blue gem materializing and slamming into place, a furious orange nova blazing away in the center of it, the death's head symbol of the God of Destruction dancing like a flame in a hot wind. Liquid metal boiled and seethed, racing through her ribcage.

And in that moment, Ashe knew she no longer had a heart.

That thing which sustained her now, the raging heat that burned in her breast now, was a furnace. An infinite engine, a core that would never die.

The undying heart of Biometal Model O.

She coughed again, clouds of smoke hissing out from her mouth, still twisted in that dangerous smile.

"I guess I'm not exactly human anymore either, huh...?"

The earth at her feet began to rumble, orange light beginning to seep up through the cracks.

It was then that a far more terrible warning began to go off in the systems of the Warwolf. It was a sensor that had come with the system, so Granz hadn't really bothered to remove it, despite the fact that there was no way it could ever possibly be useful in this day and age.

The Gearhead actually stepped back, rage and fear on his features as he stared at the feed coming in from the Warwolf, the tremors shaking the ground around it.

"You...DAMN YOU...!" He swallowed, the warning sign appearing on his screen in brilliant yellow and black..

* * *

Alarms blared throughout the Guardian Base and in the A.C.E control center.

"Wh-what's going on down there?!" Aile yelled, grabbing onto the deck railing as the Base shook.

"We don't know, ma'am! Sensors are detecting a massive power surge in the center of the district! It doesn't match any known signatures in the database!"

"No..." Marino cut in, staring at the screens before her in shock, "It does...!"

"What?" Aile demanded. "You know what's happening?"

"By God I wish I didn't..." Marino swallowed. "It wouldn't match any known signatures, because we use an updated database. This particular energy's been outlawed since before the Golden Age of Robotics...!"

Aile went pale.

"You can't mean...!"

"The most dangerous power of them all..." Nana cut in numbly, her screens showing the same warning.

An energy reading the world never thought would see the light of day again.

* * *

** CAUTION! CAUTION! CAUTION! CAUTION! **

* * *

The earth shattered, the unmistakable sign of the nuclear hazard traced out beneath Ashe in brilliant orange energy.

**[Cue Music: Touhou OST- Nuclear Fusion (Lyude Remix)]**

**WARNING! WARNING! WARNING!**

**NUCLEAR HAZARD DETECTED!**

**RADIATION LEVELS APPROACHING CRITICAL!**

"IMPOSSIBLE!" Granz roared, his eyes wide. "**A NUCLEAR FUSION CORE?!"**

"Don't know, and I DON'T CARE!" Ashe thundered back. "NOW LET'S SEE THAT WARWOLF OF YOURS STAND UP TO THIS!"

Clenching her right fist, Ashe gritted her teeth as she felt the tremors racking her body, an impossible power gathering.

And the entire city shook, a terrible wall of sound racing out as the awful orange light flashed.

Granz froze, three entire city blocks behind him vanishing in a haze of destruction. Alarms were ringing throughout his network, registering _hundreds_ of losses to his forces. The metal of the Warwolf's left arm glowed red hot, the shoulder actually cracking open.

All of that...and she'd _missed_.

And then Ashe was on him.

**"UWOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"**

Flames igniting all over her frame, her first punch smashed the rest of the armor on the left of the Warwolf's torso, a colossal orange sphere of destruction exploding from the point of contact.

"Ugh...y-YOOOOOOOUUUU!"

With a howl of fury, Granz brought the eye-mounted beam around, but with a roar from Ashe, the laser simply diffused before it reached her, the superheated air disrupting the beam, that terrible orange glow reducing everything around her to an invisible wall of heat.

And still the sign of the nuclear hazard blazed, a match to the symbol now etched into the iris of her right eye.

_**"COME ON, YOU BASTARD!"**_

Everything was a hell of explosions, the ground shaking as the nuclear wrath of the Model O-powered Chosen One continued to surge, colossal detonations going off with each impact, the spherical orange spheres of light exploding from her every attack and destroying everything within their radius. Only the impossible armor of the Vermilion Vile Warwolf could survive, burning red hot in the glow of the nuclear power.

"WITH PLEASURE!" Granz snarled.

Maxing out his shielding, the Warwolf's right claw hurtled around, the air screaming as the bladed claws it through it with an edge sharper than any energy blade. A single blow, and it almost tore Ashe's chest apart. Rather than blood, red steam burst forth, Ashe's body temperature pushed far beyond anything a human should tolerate. But before Granz could press the advantage, she smashed the ground with a roar, a colossal orange detonation erupting and forcing him to leap away.

Ashe lifted her head, feeling the power in the air, in her veins, and grinned, her chest wound already healing from a mixture of natural regeneration and cauterization. And yet, despite the pain, despite the heat, Ashe found that she didn't care. She could FEEL the Biometal working on her body, reinforcing her bones, strengthening her muscles...

In any other situation, a normal person would have been terrified, feeling their body being changed like that, completely outside of their control, and feeling each change as it happened.

But Ashe was no normal person.

She was a Chosen One.

The Chosen One of Model A!

She had broken the Game of Destiny, smashed the mad ambitions of Master Albert, and defeated even the terrible might of Ouroboros!

And now, she had this nuclear heart, the gift of Model O, and a job request to complete!

"You want me to prove something for you, eh, Biometal Model O?!" She grinned, leveling a hand at Granz. With an enraged curse, the Gearhead lunged to the side, an entire apartment block vanishing in a geyser of nuclear wrath that erupted from the ground, vaporizing everything in its radius.

"Then I hope you know...I DON'T COME CHEAP! AHAHAHAHA!"

"Damn you...!" Granz swore, his hands slamming across the controls. With the snarl of machinery powering it, the Warwolf fired it's boosters, charging forward and crashing shoulder first into the Chosen One. Ignoring the thermal alarms screaming in his ears, the Gearhead roared.

"Don't count Gearhead Granz out just yet, you damned A!"

He smashed her backwards through one building, before straightening up and seizing her in his more functional arm. Firing it off on it's grappling chain, he hammered the controls, the Warwolf's upper torso spinning at an incredible rate as it thrashed Ashe through the surroundings like a flail. The Gearhead's eyes widened as he saw the results, however.

Even as he swung her through the buildings, a sea of explosions followed her, brilliant orange detonations going off, even when she struck nothing but inert materials like concrete and steel.

"It can't be...this is...!"

His hands dancing over the controls, the Warwolf dropped Ashe as though she had burned it.

"My God..." He muttered, his eyes poring through the readouts. "She can't control it...!"

Every single detonation, every explosion...was a nuclear reaction! She might have had the power now, but she had no way to control and channel it! So with every impact, she simply 'released', causing those detonations!

Granz felt a cold sweat break out as he realized just how close this fight had been, and how LUCKY his Warwolf was. All it would have taken would be for a whim of Fate, and she could just as easily have released a full nuclear explosion with a single punch, obliterating the entire sector!

Another eruption of orange, the brilliant yellow and black warning sign flashing on his screen, and Ashe burst free of the rubble with an exultant yell.

"Tch...!" Granz dropped the Warwolf into a ready pose. Quite frankly, he could care less about obliterating the sector, but if a nuclear explosion of that magnitude occurred, he'd never be able to use the territory for decades afterwards!

* * *

_'What do you MEAN, a nuclear power signal?! Aile, that's impossible! There hasn't been a functional nuclear power source in centuries!'_

_'So that means it's antiquated and shouldn't be a problem then?'_

_ 'Are you NUTS?! HELL NO! If anything, it means the opposite! The reason humans stopped pursuing nuclear technology was because it was too damn risky! Things like the Ciel System were capable of providing about the same amount of energy, but with less chance of, y'know, BLOWING EVERYTHING UP.'_

_ 'And a nuclear FUSION engine?'_

_'...that's IMPOSSIBLE. The conditions for achieving fusion were WAY too high to make that even remotely plausible. The closest they ever got were clean fission engines, which were back during the Maverick War eras!'_

_ '...I'm looking at one right now.'_ Aile replied grimly. _'It's your girlfriend.'_

_ 'I told you, we're just really intimate frien-wait, WHAT did you say?!'_

A loud crash interrupted Aile's response, Vent jumping and looking around the trashed office, to see the Scarlet Phoenix standing very still amidst the remains of the storage box he'd just dropped.

"This name is...!" His face pale, Ace Phoenix stared at the name on the piece of correspondence, as if hoping it would change.

But it would not.

This, combined with that unsettling feeling he had gotten from the Model O earlier, were the last things Ace needed to know that he had stayed here long enough.

Perhaps too long.

"VENT!" He snapped, whirling around. "Get whatever you need! We're moving out!"

"About damn time!" Vent snapped. "I just got word that Ashe's a walking nuke now!"

"That's the LEAST of our problems!"

"Say what?!"

"We've all been had."

Vent froze.

"Come again...?"

"I said, we've been HAD! This whole thing is just one big sideshow to keep us off the real target!"

"A distraction?! For what?!"

"To keep us off of their real target..."

Ace turned and strode towards the door, his eyes cold.

"They're gunning for the Legion Mainframe."

* * *

**A/N:** Well, that about wraps that chapter up.

On the plus side, hooray, Ashe has a Model O now! On the downside, it looks like all kinds of things are going horribly wrong with it.

Remember kids, just because you've got a haxing ability like A-Trans doesn't mean you should go around attempting to get as many forms as you can.

Because sometimes, there MIGHT just be a Model O waiting for you on the other side of the looking glass...

And before any of you say anything, no, I'm STILL not happy with how I wrote the Ashe/Model O scene. There's probably a better way for that to work, but I can't figure it out. So just bear with me for now, okay?

Actually in general, I'm not happy about a LOT of things in this chapter. I just couldn't seem to get the flow down right...so yeah, if it seems substandard to you, that's probably why.

Regarding Ashe, yes, most of you PROBABLY want to kill me now. Deal with it. She's not human anymore, but as you can see, the form replacing that has some...drawbacks. Worse still I couldn't even go as much all-out here as I wanted to, on account of y'know, HER THROWING AROUND NUCLEAR WRATH.

There's overkill, OVERKILL and then 'Okay, seriously? This is a bit much.' So yeah. Also, I'm messing with my writing style again.

Also, NO, Model O is NOT migrating over to Ashe, so that's not the reason Celtis is losing power. Celtis is still the only Model O user in this game and that's likely to remain so! Ashe just has a...REALLY god-moded human form now...

Sue me.

…

Yes, I AM still beating myself up here for letting ANOTHER story arc spin out of control.

And while I'm at it, yes I am aware that Model O, being based off of Omega, who is in turn using Zero's original body, most likely would not have a nuclear fusion core, on account of the original Zero frame being powered by, y'know, the EVIL ENERGY.

There are any number of explanations for it here.

Either A) The fusion engine was a SECONDARY power source (because, really, can you HONESTLY say there's no way Omega wouldn't have MORE THAN ONE powercore?), B) Albert himself couldn't decode the original data necessary for such a power source and instead either replaced it outright with a fusion core as it was the only thing close enough to it, or just misinterpreted the old data and replaced it anyway, C) That Model O, being Model O, i.e. EXTREMELY corrupted data, couldn't replicate that Evil Energy system in the first place, and created the fusion core on it's own, or the corrupted data just resulted in THAT being created in Ashe, rather than the EE core, or D) A WIZARD DID IT, i.e. the author didn't feel like TOTALLY breaking the game here by giving her something THAT insanely overpowered.

Draw your own conclusions. The best sounding one gets a cookie.

Sigh...well, whatever! Let me know what you think anyway!

DarkShift Out!


	37. Chapter 36: The White Star, Burning Blue

**Chapter 36: The White Star That Burns Blue**

**Disclaimer:** Anything awesome in here is mine. Sort of.

But first, seeing as so many people were complaining about the 'error' in the last chapter, the 'mistake' which I made by giving Ashe a fusion core, here's some background data to explain some of the thoughts that went into making that. Hopefully it should bring the 'WTF?!' quotient down to more acceptable levels:

My take on it is that Model O itself is...well, for lack of a better word, 'broken' on some fundamental level, which is why it works the way it does, i.e not Megamerging fully, and acting more viral than a normal personality. That 'broken-ness' essentially means that a lot of normal laws and restrictions on normal Biometals and such wouldn't apply. And since Omega himself was designed to take advantage of Cyberspace, which is essentially hacking reality itself, my take is that Model O, without any controls or restraints, can't really 'hack' reality with as much finesse as Omega theoretically could, but instead has a more brute force approach.

Essentially, I think the best way to put it is that if Omega is a crystallized, refined version of Model O, the Biometal itself is raw and unrefined, a formless...entity of some sort. But it still has the same 'power' as Omega. So Model O in a sense, exists as a raw, concentrated mass of sheer power, so great that it literally FORCES reality to bend to it's whim via Cyberspace. Simply by existing, it changes reality.

...I...don't know if any of this is making any sense, but if it does, that's the difference between them.

Model O can force the world to obey, though the quality of the end result will be nowhere near as 'perfected' as Omega, whom the world actively changes to obey. Kind of like the difference between a natural genius, and a hard worker.

This difference, actually is at the core of Ashe's strange fusion core.

Though you lot may say it wasn't one of my better thought-out ideas, and I agree with you on that to an extent, I assure you, I have put a good deal of thought into it. Firstly, in the author's notes, I mentioned several possible explanations for it.

The theory I myself had in mind is more along the lines of Model O, being so corrupt and damaged, not being able to manifest the Evil Energy at all. That data may actually be corrupted beyond recovery, I have yet to decide on that.

At any rate, what actually happened was this:

Model O gave Ashe it's heart, what SHOULD have been Evil Energy. However, as with any data from Model O, it was badly damaged and/or corrupted. In addition to that, remember, Model O has to FORCE reality to be hacked, relying more on sheer overwhelming brute force and power.

And on top of that, Evil Energy is exactly that, evil. It is a power so blasphemous that it's almost like a cancer on the face of reality. There is almost NO WAY the laws of reality would have been hacked to allow it's return that easily. Even Omega would have been almost unable to do it.

With that in mind, the fact that it was trying to hack to manifest almost irreparable data made that task almost nearly impossible. Worse still to manifest something that the world itself would ACTIVELY be trying to reject.

Even if it had been Omega at peak condition, with a perfect version of the data, with all necessary conditions at optimum, it would have been nigh impossible to do.

However, Model O still forced the laws to bend. Unfortunately, when you bend something out of shape like that, you HAVE to have something to put into the vacuum you've created. Nature/Reality abhors a vacuum, yada yada.

But the data was incomplete. And the process was too far gone, with too much power behind it for it to simply fail. So reality itself sort of...filled in the blanks.

The data was a mess, full of holes and missing pieces. But many of the things to describe it WERE still there, enough to form a garbled sort of 'image' of what Model O was trying to manifest. Despite all of the factors working against it, Model O's power was just too great for reality/Cyberspace to simply let the manifestation fail. So caught between a rock and a hard place, nature took it's course and followed the path of least resistance.

Filling in the blanks, and meeting the requirements of Model O's hack, a nuclear fusion core was the only possible result to satisfy everything.

With all of this in mind, is it any wonder it's going a little haywire?

...there. Does that help it make a bit more sense?

If so, great. I'll answer any further questions you have in the reviews.

Beyond that, enjoy. And expect more such...'mistakes', as I kick the crossovers up a notch from here onwards to be a bit more...direct.

* * *

The God of Destruction roared, the Zweihander tearing another oncoming pillar apart. Leaping past it, he whirled, dodging another one that rocketed past millimeters away. Reaching out, his claws bit deep into the hard surface, pulling him out of the way of still another pillar, before flipping over another one and firing off another gauntlet that twisted straight through another oncoming construct, shattering it to pieces as it reached him.

"COME ON COME ON! You say you're the world? Well then, COME AT ME!"

Gemini simply laughed, from his vantage point deep within the colossal maze of flying pillars.

"Why should I, mister 'Crimson King of Destroyers'! If you say you would destroy even the world for opposing you, shouldn't YOU be the one on the offensive? Ahahaha-whoa!"

Twelve needles slammed into a hastily moved pillar, a last minute denial of what would no doubt have been a spectacular headshot, bordering on impossible, considering the sheer number of obstacles between Gemini and herself. Queenbee lowered her throwing arm, another spine materializing between her fingers in a flash of gold.

"I don't believe my Master gave you permission to use that title." She stated coolly.

Omega whistled in admiration.

"Well color me impressed...You've really gotten a taste for those, huh?"

Queenbee flicked her hand out, a full complement of the deadly spines fanning out in her slender fingers.

"They're extremely easy for my swarms to produce, and I rather like how simple they are to use, Master!" Queenbee smiled, snapping one finger backwards and putting six more needles into an oncoming construct without so much as batting an eyelid, the delayed charges planted in just the right spot to split it into perfect quarters lengthways, the remnants passing harmlessly off to either side of her

"...either I'm getting sick, or that's just a warm fuzzy feeling of pride I'm getting."

"...while I will admit your conversation is not without its merits..." Craft interrupted them, his voice sounding politely strained.

"I would greatly appreciate some assistance, if you don't mind."

The two turned to see the grizzled commando struggling to hold back one of the pillars with one hand, the Neige Cannon braced against his body with the other and firing non-stop, missiles and beams alike blasting out in alternating streams of destruction as his right leg pressed down on another pillar, doing his utmost to stop from being crushed.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about you." Omega deadpanned.

"You..." Craft grumbled, before starting in alarm and leaping backwards as a colossal array of seeker shots smashed into the pillars pinning him, their destruction giving him the time he needed to get free.

"I assume you're feeling better then, Grey?" Craft turned from his mid-air position to see the source of the beams. Grey stood on another materialized platform, breathing hard as he lowered Model A's Seeker Buster.

"I wouldn't go THAT far..." The boy managed a weak smile. "It's just me here, after all..."

Craft blinked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean...it's just me here, with Model A's form and powers. I don't have access to any of his experience, his tricks, anything. It's all down to me."

Omega reared back, the Gate of Babylon firing relentlessly, a ceaseless barrage firing in every direction. Turning to fire over their heads, he spoke to Grey almost absentmindedly, his red eyes alive with a savage glee as he tracked dozens of the incoming pillars, dancing in midair as he stepped, sidestepped and danced around more coming at him from another direction.

"Why, where'd the paperweight run off to?"

"He's...around, but right now, he's too busy to help me. Right now Model A's just doing everything he can just to try and stabilize the data for Ashe."

Omega's eyes narrowed. Seizing a battleaxe from the gate, he spun and smashed it into the side of another pillar, the axe exploding like a bomb and splitting the construct in half, before turning and firing another palm-mounted Buster Charge into another one.

"Model O, eh...?" A dark smile spread across his face. "Well then, we can't afford to screw around here now, can we?"

And then before Gemini could even react, one of his own pillars was hurtling end over end right back at him.

"Wh-what the-?"

**[Cue Music: Two of Fairies- Crow's Claw]**

Desperately twisting out of the way as it sailed past his head, he looked back at his enemies in outrage.

"You!"

Charging headfirst up the length of another pillar, Omega cut loose, the Gate of Babylon at its full capability hammering away at Gemini's defenses. Grinning widely, he brought his right hand up, the Omega sigil burning as he cut loose with a blast of hellish power, shattering the defending pillars.

"Guh...that damned Gate...!"

Even as Omega tore apart another pillar with the blazing Zweihander, the Technician was already counterattacking, twelve dozen pillars leveling themselves at the attacking God, their ends glowing like cannon muzzles.

"Divine Cannons, FIRE!"

Blasts like the wrath of gods tore through the Cyberspace, the air screaming as they hurtled past, Omega leaping from one pillar to another as he dodged the oncoming beams.

With a blast of power, Craft snapped his cape outward, one beam torn apart by the reflective might of his cloak.

"Two can play at that game..."

Neige came up, muzzle burning white hot, Craft's cybernetic eye flashing once, the grim red light flickering across Cyto's array.

"Full power...DEAD END SHOOT!"

The one-man siege cannon thundered, punching a hole in the world as it raced through the green sky. Striking one of the Divine Cannons head on, it smashed right through it from end to end, Craft swinging the beam out and away, tracing a path of destruction through Gemini's constructs.

"Dammit, what the hell kind of gun is that?!" The Technician demanded, ducking as the beam swept past his head, launching another pillar and fifty beams through Craft's location, forcing the commando to break off the attack. More cannons arrived at his side, blasting away even as he launched off hundreds more of the pillars, sending them hurtling at the three attackers from every angle, a perfect sphere with no escape, blotting out the sky as the constructs crushed inwards.

Grey grinned, leaping to the front.

"This one's mine!"

A flash of light, and Chronoforce plummeted from the sky.

"The hell-Oi, kid! What the hell are you doing?!" Omega yelled, halting and looking down in alarm.

And then he saw the light of a full charge swarming around the falling Pseudoroid.

"Oh-hoooooooo!" A demonic grin spread across his face. "Well, THAT'S an interesting power!"

And as Grey unleashed the power of Chronoforce-

They vanished, the pillars smashing in on empty air as Chronoforce's ability all but blinked them ahead in time.

"Wh-what?!" Gemini recoiled in shock. "Where did-"

And then the red light burst to life behind him. Whirling, he froze at the sight of the God of Destruction, suspended in midair, arms folded and silhouetted by the terrible crimson sky of weapons.

"My turn."

"DAMN YOOOOOOOOOOOUUUU!" Gemini swore, twin pillars crossing in front of him to cut off the first wave from the Gate. And as they parted, his blue visor flashed, an entire array of pillars behind him glowing with the light of his Divine Cannons.

"RETURN FIRE!"

Countless beams blasted forth, meeting Omega's ceaseless barrage head on.

"Mongrel...!" He laughed madly, "You wish to challenge the king?!"

The red light swelled, expanding until it all but surrounded the Zone Technician.

"Then let's see just how far that godly control of yours can go!"

His coat flaring out behind him, Gemini reared up, a demonic light in his eyes.

"WITH PLEASURE!" He roared, countless pillars materializing, aimed in every direction around him. "After all, NO KING CAN SURPASS GOD!"

The Divine Cannons roared, a solid wall of light and destruction expanding out from Gemini as the blazing steel wrath of the Gate plummeted inwards at him. Explosion after explosion rang out , filling the verdant world with light as the immovable object met the unstoppable force.

And then Gemini vanished, a muffled curse of shock escaping him as an armored grip slammed shut on his features and yanking him out of the sky.

The Dullahan's engine roaring, Craft hurtled downwards, blasting headfirst through the hellish world of destruction, his left hand seizing the Zone Technician's skull and dragging him down through every pillar he could find on the way down.

Still heeding the Technician's command, dozens more of the cannons materialized, beams of destruction tearing up the space around the Dullahan, all seeking to protect their summoner as the bike leapt from one surface to the other as it charged down.

Gemini snarled, clawing at the hand on his face.

"Get... OFF OF ME!"

Spotting his destination ahead, Craft smirked and drew his hand back.

"What are you-!"

And without further ado, he brought the nose of the bike up and brought Gemini Cyto's head smashing into the ground at six hundred miles per hour.

With a roar of agony, the Technician burst from the cloud of dust, pinwheeling and crashing across the surface as Craft blew past him in a hurricane of exhaust smoke and still pursuing beams.

"What...how is this...I disintegrated the floor!" Gemini spat, staring at the platform like expanse around him. "There shouldn't be anything like this here!"

"I know." A friendly voice said behind him.

"That's because _I _made this!"

And as the Technician whirled, eight hundred pounds of Gallidin Voltzer smashed headfirst into him at speeds surpassing Mach 3.

Lightning flashed, a brilliant arrow of electricity hurtling across the floor, with Gemini Cyto pinned at the head of it, a runway extending meter by meter in front of the charging Gallidin, Grey materializing more and more of it with each step.

"Y-yoooooouuuuuuu...!" Cyto roared, blood splattering against the inside of his helmet as he struggled to get a grip on Gallidin's body, to throw him off..

"DON'T...UNDERESTIMATE...GOD!"

Under Gemini's control, the ground shattered once more, Grey's recreated platform disassembling almost instantly before the Zone Technician's overwhelming authority. A massive pillar erupted beneath them, Gemini dropping to his feet as Grey was hurled away, another pillar crashing into him in mid-flight.

"D-dammit, what kind of insanity...?!" He swore, getting back to his feet.

And then, as the golden light danced through the air, he froze.

"Oh no..."

Looking up, he saw the demonic grin on Omega's face as he dispelled the Gate of Babylon, the red sky disappearing and revealing the true purpose behind such an outlandish battle of firepower.

To hide his true trump card.

Queenbee stood there, lines of golden energy dancing all around her as they flowed inwards, forging the thing in her hands.

Drawing it back, put everything she could spare into it, cracks appearing along the surface of the weapon as she overloaded it past it's breaking point. A volatile construct, a barely contained explosion held in her hand, being drawn back...

"Like HELL I'd let that hit me!" Gemini snapped, his cannons already dropping down to firing position around him as still more appeared around Omega and the others, prepared for a massively destructive counterattack..

"Divine-!"

"Mister Saber!" Too late, the Technician saw the telltale blue shell again, as Chronoforce unleashed its power.

The world flickered, and suddenly there was a shadow over him.

_**"WRRYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!"**_

Gemini's eyes bulged.

"Oh you have got to be SHITTING me!"

To stunned to react, he barely had time to finish his incredulous statement, before Omega smashed him flat with Craft's bike, the owner turning away in the distance so he wouldn't have to see the fate of his beloved machine.

"WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT EVEN MEAN-oh crap." Gemini paled as Omega darted away, revealing Queenbee holding her now fully overcharged construct.

"DIVINE SPEAR...!" She roared, drawing the blazing lance back, the air itself shaking with the amount of power she'd put into it.

"Shit...!" With a panicked curse, Gemini brought as many pillars as possible between himself and Queenbee, a solid wall of constructs made from Cyberspace itself.

"SPEAR THE...GUNGNIIIIIIIIR!"

The massively overcharged construct blasted through space, the gold light burning through to a bloody red crimson color as it smashed straight into the Zone Technician's defenses with an impact that rocked the entire space, light and sound erupting in a devastating shockwave from the point of contact.

"DON'T UNDERESTIMATE ME, YOU CRETINS!" Gemini spat, enraged beyond reason. "I'VE TOLD YOU BEFORE, AND I WILL TELL YOU AGAIN! I AM A ZONE TECHNICIAN!"

His grip tightened, throwing out his other arm to support the wall before him, still more pillars slamming into place around him, reinforcing his defenses more and more.

"IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW HARD YOU STRUGGLE...OR HOW HARD YOU TRY...!"

Omega's cold eyes regarded him dispassionately, his strange 'sense' for Cyberspace showing him the effects more clearly than his eyes. This 'Zone' of the Technician's, marked out by the nigh-impenetrable barrier he had broken through to get here, was shrinking, the Technician rerouting Cyberspace ITSELF to form his defenses.

Already he could see the Gungnir slowing down, and beginning to shake. A taut smile worked it's way across his face.

"To manipulate the programming of reality itself to this extent, to the extent that the programming ITSELF becomes physical..." He gave a half-hearted chuckle. "That pink devil wasn't kidding..."

"IN THIS SPACE...!" Gemini roared, cracks racing across his mask. Slowly, his fingers began to close, his power beginning to overwhelm the opposing force.

"I...!"

**Crack.**

"AM...!"

**Crack.**

"GOD!"

_**CRASH.**_

Even Omega had never seen anything like it. Space..._twisted_, the walls of the entire Zone suddenly imploding in towards that one point, and just...crushed the Gungnir out of existence, as though it had never been.

"Wh...at?" Queenbee gasped, unable to believe it. That was an attack on par with the spear her Master had struck her with in their first battle! How...

"How could he just...snuff it out like that?!"

The massive walls split open, the terrible pillars separating and leveling themselves at the Legion force once more. As the last bastion peeled away, it revealed the figure of Gemini Cyto standing tall, one arm on his hip, tattered coattails flaring out behind him, and radiating enough sheer arrogance to poison an entire room.

"Do you understand now, you cretins?" He demanded. "I am a Zone Technician. So long as you stand within the boundaries of my Zone, you face a world where only my word is law! Logic, reason, sense...the only thing that prevails here is what I wish for! That is what it means to be a Zone Technician!"

Raising his arms, the world quaked, colossal pillars erupting in a row on either side of two groups, enclosing them in a single aisle.

"Now..." Gemini seethed, "With no place to run...no place to hide...I will smash you head on, with the wrath of my entire world!"

Craft's eyes flicked upwards as a strange darkness passed over them. Thirteen pillars, larger than anything Gemini had yet to throw at them, began to orbit around Omega's side of the battlefield, each following a path of their own. Like the electrons circling an atom, they moved, the blunt, hexagonal ends pointed directly at Omega. Craft wasn't certain what drove his conclusion, but somehow, he instinctively knew by looking that those colossal constructs, moving as inexorably as the continents themselves, were on an entirely different level from what had been thrown at them thus far.

It would cost them something on the power level of another Gungnir to destroy just one, and that wasn't saying anything for the destructive power if Gemini chose to use them in cannon mode. If this had occurred in the real world, and not just in Cyberspace, Craft knew they would easily be continent busters, a combined strike from all thirteen at once enough to break a planet. Not for the first time, he found himself grateful that this kind of thing could only occur in Cyberspace. Sure, he could probably handle them in the real world too, but then he'd never have time for a coffee break!

Just the thought of such a bleak existence was enough to make him shudder.

"...you just thought of something weird again, didn't you..."Queenbee glanced at him.

"I hardly think you're in a position to tell me about weird thoughts." Craft deadpanned.

Omega stared at the enemy on the other side of the field, his eyes uncharacteristically cold and silent. Seeing the change in demeanor, Gemini gave a dark smile.

"It seems you've realized it then..." He said aloud, "True Technicians generally don't operate with such a wide Zone as the one I've been using up until now. The reason for it being that the wider a Zone is, the more difficult it is to control. Thus, everything so far...all of your blood, sweat and tears, has been against a Gemini Cyto at 30% capability."

Grey's eyes widened.

"THAT was just a third of his capability?!"He demanded.

"Oh yes." Gemini nodded, "I had spread my Zone so wide in order to control my many forces in the city. Unfortunately, I had no idea it would be possible for Legion to field anyone capable of fighting so strongly here. That you were able to force me to withdraw my Zone to it's optimum size is nothing short of miraculous. Now..."

Raising his hand, he extended it out to them, a twisted smile on his face.

"Enjoy the gift of a Gemini Cyto at one hundred percent."

All four of them were almost crushed flat in the first instant, three of the floating pillars locking into place, suddenly vibrating, and trapping them in a three way gravitational lock. Hammered from three sides by immense G-forces, Grey dropped down onto all fours almost immediately, his Reploid frame barely able to tolerate the strength of the forces. Next to him, Queenbee had been smashed to the floor of their platform, lying on her back as she struggled to move even a finger. Even Craft was affected, his knees bending as he slowly sank, propped up only by Neige, the gun barrel slowly crushing the hard surface beneath them as he leaned on it.

"Th-this is...!" He gritted.

"That's right." Gemini said grimly. "My Pillars of Onbashira. the strongest constructs I can conceive. Like the divine tools they were named after, they are the ultimate incarnation of my will, and shall enforce it on those who dare to defy me!"

And as the muzzles of the remaining ten Onbashira began to glow with an ominous, cruel red-orange light, he stared down at the only one who had not moved, even under the pressure of his gravitational forces.

"You..."

Omega still remained where he was, arms folded, hovering alone in the air, his ice-white mane hiding his features, but not the cold red-glint in his eyes.

"You want to enforce that will of yours on ME?" He demanded, his voice still level. "Then come at me, you pitiful human. You, who wish to hide behind your false godhood...Come at me, with everything you have, with all your might!"

The red eyes narrowed.

"...and I'll show you a man deluded beyond all belief in his own powers."

Gemini's eyes widened in rage.

"FIRE! NOVA GENERATION CANNON!"

Energy blasted forth from the remaining ten cannons, slamming into a point somewhere behind the four Legion operatives.

In that instant, a star is born.

The white hot heat lashes out, moving deceptively fast for such a slowly swelling nova. In fact, even at the speed that it is increasing in size, it would be several minutes before the surface of the star reaches the four trapped fighters.

And yet, the heat is tremendous. A terrible solar wind, sweeping out with a buffeting, infernal heat. A crushing pressure exerted from all sides.

Truly, rather than anything godly, this should be said to be more like demonic,as 'hellish' is the only description that could suffice for such conditions.

"Not to...be a buzzkill..." Craft grunted, "But I assume you have...some sort of a plan...?"

The corners of Omega's jaw stretched back into a smile.

"...I hate it when I'm right." Craft groaned.

* * *

CRASH!

The Vermilion Vile Warwolf slammed back into a building, nuclear heat exploding just inches away from it.

"Tch...!" Granz growled, "I can't even get close to her like this!"

'Her' of course, still being Ashe, who was currently running rampant with raw nuclear power, a gift from Model O.

Well, gift here being a relative term. The good news, was that she was essentially now a living, breathing engine for nuclear fusion. The bad news? She had absolutely no control over it, with each punch, kick or impact resulting in the release of powerful nuclear 'reactions' spherical orange detonations that were, for lack of a better description, small-scale nuclear explosions. Further bad news, she didn't seem to have realized that there WAS bad news, with the knowledge that she now had enough power to total Granz being all she was interested in.

Not that she had gone mad with power, no. Far from it. She just had no idea that there was even anything wrong, not knowing that this power needed to be controlled, or just how much of a hazard she currently was. Thus far, only Granz had any inkling that anything was wrong, and that was thanks to him accidentally installing outdated radiation sensors on his machine in the first place!

And unfortunately...

"SHIT!" The Warwolf rolled sideways, firing another blast of its chest cannon as Ashe came smashing down on on its previous resting spot.

At the moment, Granz was a mite too occupied to be able to explain it to Ashe, even if he wanted to.

Fortunately, there was another person on the scene who'd been getting the vague feeling that something was wrong. And by vague, we mean realizing that she'd lost over ninety percent of her regenerative capabilities, and was barely able to move.

Celtis groaned and stirred, her eyes fluttering open.

"I...ugh...what happened...?" Slowly, she managed to push herself upright, shaking her head woozily.

And then the ground shook, another wave of heat rushing over her and slamming her back down. When it had passed, she lay there for a moment, blinking in shock.

"Th-that was..."

And as recent events rushed back into her head, she gasped.

"Ashe!"

Panicking now, she struggled back to her feet-

Only for Model O to give an angry growl and smack her across the back of her head...mentally, of course.

Back down on the ground for the third time in as many minutes, Celtis blew a stray strand of hair out of her face and did her best to restrain her temper.

"Mooooodeeeelll Oooooooo...!"

Another angry sound was her only response. Pissed off now, she bolted upright, yelling at the thing in her head.

"Don't you growl at me! What the HELL were you playing at just now?! Granz almost turned me into a carpet stain because you suddenly decided it would be funny for me to lose power in the middle of a boss fight! And don't get me STARTED on what you did to Ashe! Sure, it might have been stupid to try to Data Get you, but nobody besides me and Phoenix knew that! What the hell made you decide to replace her heart with a copy of your fusion reactor-?!" She stopped in mid-rant as the implications of her last statement sank in, turning her completely pale with terror.

"Oh GOD, you gave her YOUR FUSION REACTOR. Oh god..." She fought the urge to curl up into a little ball and cry, settling instead for clutching at the sides of her head in disbelief. "Oh GOD, Omega is going to KILL me...! I'm not even sure why, but it seems like the sort of thing he'd be willing to kill me for!"

This went on for a few more minutes, before it suddenly dawned on her that something was very wrong.

Aside from those two warning growls, Model O wasn't saying ANYTHING.

"Model O...?" She tried tentatively, before a sudden impact shook the ground and almost threw her off her feet.

She looked up in time to see Ashe skid backwards through a wall, her boots digging molten tracks through the ground under the force of one of Granz's punches. Recovering, she took a single step forward, twisting to avoid the next one, and punched the Warwolf right in its chest.

Right at that moment, as Granz said something utterly unprintable and fired his emergency thrusters, all but catapulting himself backwards, away from her fist, exactly at the instant that the terrible orange sphere of destruction erupted...and Celtis felt the power drain out of her again.

Her vision blurring, she dropped down to all fours again, shoulders heaving as she tried to breathe.

That power...Model O's silence...a terrible suspicion began to dawn on her.

Without a moment's doubt, she closed her eyes, plunging herself back into the stark void she knew to be the Biometal's prison. What she found there was beyond anything she could ever have expected.

Model O still stood there, pierced through and bound by it's many chains. But now, for the first time since she had known the cursed Biometal, Celtis saw a grim seriousness on it's features. One hand extended outwards, the other clutching the outstretched hand's wrist, Model O gritted it's teeth and struggled.

And in the distance...Celtis stared at the glorious might of a newborn star. A brilliant orange sun roared, seething with power, eager to grow and expand, to continue to accumulate more and more power as it's unstoppable nuclear reactions progressed ever onward.

Yet...it could not. Red energy, brilliant crimson light danced through that orange surface. Restraints of energy, flaring brightly every moment the star roared, struggling to keep the power contained. And still, despite the cosmic might in front of it, Model O still stood, alone and chained, and still fighting.

"You...idiot...!" Celtis gritted her teeth, numb with shock. "You knew this would happen! So why-?!"

Model O's blank red eyes flicked sideways to her, and for an instant, she was struck by the resemblance to it's original, a grin that would not have looked out of place on the real Omega flickering across it's ruined face.

Celtis knew what that sun was, and what it meant here.

That...was Ashe. More specifically, that was the thing Model O had put in her.

A nuclear fusion engine, of which no known examples had survived to the modern era. A legendary, demonic power that could just as easily destroy as it could save. Once stabilized, that incredible power could be harnessed and controlled, utilized with pinpoint precision. But without a controller of some sort, something to channel the nuclear reactions...it would simply consume itself and everything around it in an inferno of destruction. For Ashe as she was now, without any such control...her first punch, her first impact, would have vaporized herself and everything within miles of her in an explosion of unparalleled power, doing far more damage to Legion than ten Granz Armadas ever could.

And Model O had known that. So it had known there was only one thing it could do. For the sake of striking a blow out at the supposed arrogance of that man, to prove it was more than what he carelessly dismissed as a beast, it would stake everything on this moment, risk leaving its host Celtis unprotected, and not even certain if it could restrain the power of that nuclear drive outside of it's own body.

It had known all of these risks, just how insane and selfish this plan really was...and had done it anyway.

"What...HAPPENED to you when she used the Data Get?!" Celtis demanded, stunned. Model O was many things, but magnanimous was not one of them. So then why-?!

"...n...NoT fOr...HEr...!" Model O grated, fragments of it's features disassembling and reassembling as it forced words out of the torturous wreckage of it's vocal processes.

"F...foR...ME...!"

Her second surprise in as many minutes.

"W-what the...y-you can talk now?!" She stared at the Biometal in shock, realizing with a jolt just how important this was to Model O, just how badly it needed to see this through, regardless of the strain to itself. Data flickered through her mind, fragments of memory slipping past Model O's mental locks, to reach her.

They were partial, broken things, the Biometal realizing that they were reaching Celtis, and belatedly snapping them back, but not before she'd seen it's conversation with the monochrome stranger, and the price it had requested of Ashe in response.

"So THAT's why you're doing this..."

Model O gave what sound like an embarrassed grumble, distracting itself with the massive sun in the distance.

"And THAT'S why I've lost power!" She realized. "Because you're busy trying to keep her in check!"

Model O's jaws grated together, gritting it's teeth as another particularly powerful surge burst from the sun. And as red cracks spread across it's hand, Celtis was suddenly struck by the chilling realization that whatever Model O was, for all it's power, it wouldn't be enough.

* * *

"AAAARGH!"

Ashe let out a yell of pain as she smashed back into the building, orange power erupting around her and tearing apart the remains.

"Ugh...!" Gritting her teeth, she forced one eye open, staring up at Granz in anger.

"Dammit!" She growled, "What the hell is going on?! The amount of damage I do keeps fluctuating!"

"Damn right it is." Granz said flatly, hefting a single massive boulder in one of the Warwolf's claws, and smashing it down on her.

"Which is a good thing." He added, watching the boulder disintegrate under a series of nuclear reactions. "Both for me, and unfortunately also for this trash heap you call a city."

Ashe burst free of the rubble, one hand outthrust. Gritting his teeth, Granz twisted the Warwolf to the side as nuclear fire erupted from the empty air. His claws long since melted, he launched the grappling arm off anyway, the brute force of the heavy fist smashing her flat again, coughing up red smoke.

"Good for me, in that I can figure out how to dodge you, and when I can afford to take a hit." He glanced at the radiation detection screen and grinned. Flat-out BEST piece of accidentally installed luck, ever. With it, he could at least tell how much power was about to released, and could determine whether he could safely take the hit and press forward, or to break off and evade.

"And good for the city, in that, well, let's just say you could do a lot more damage than I ever could..." The Warwolf's armored foot crashed down on Celtis, having already determined her current output was low enough to risk it, as Granz added, "And that's only counting the ACCIDENTAL damage...!"

"What...are you..." Ashe gritted, the sign of the nuclear hazard igniting on the floor beneath her, a pillar of radioactive fury erupting and blasting Granz off of his feet. "TALKING ABOUT, DAMN IT!"

Nearby, Celtis cried out and dropped to her knees, doubling up, Model O giving a roar of pain, red cracks racing up it's arm.

Ashe wiped her mouth, grinning dangerously.

"Weird problems or not, believe me, I've still got everything I need to smash you!"

The Warwolf slowly pushed itself back to its feet, Granz grinning.

"Oh I'm sure you do!" He laughed, "But can you bring yourself to do it?!"

"I...what?" Ashe stopped, confused.

"Heh heh...you truly ARE a fool, A!" He grinned. "Why don't you take a look around at your surroundings? And REALLY look at them?!"

Despite herself, Ashe's eyes flicked to the side, and she felt like she'd been punched in the gut.

"Th...this is...!"

For the first time, without the fight with Granz occupying her attention, she saw the place they were fighting in. Or rather, what had become of it.

Six city blocks.

Six blocks that had been full of skyscrapers and buildings mere minutes before, a place battered by Granz's assault, but still recognizable as a city nonetheless...now lay in ruins, all but razed to the ground. The furthest three blocks still stained the sky a bloody red with the hellish fires that still burned from her opening attack. There was almost nothing recognizable left, the area looking no better than the cursed Sector that had been obliterated by Black Thresher.

Ashe took an involuntary step back, her eyes wide and staring as she continued to stare at the surrounding carnage.

"Th...this can't be...!" She managed, her voice shaking. "I-I...did all this?!"

"You really had no idea what you were really doing, did you?" Granz asked, almost conversationally, before his mech's optic laser burned a six centimeter hole clean through the right side of her chest, throwing her back against the wall. With a scream of pain, Ashe jerked as more of the orange flares erupted around her, destroying more of the surroundings. And now, chilled by the terrible sight she'd just seen, she noticed those reactions for the first time.

"Wh-what the...I didn't do anything just now, but it still-!"

"Oh, you've only just noticed?" The Gearhead replied, his tone still casual, before a hail of his wrist vulcans tore up the ground around her, gashing her in several places as she threw up a shaky wall of nuclear heat to defend herself. His hands danced across the keys as his army, their advance slowed during his occupation with fighting Ashe, began to push forward once more.

"You truly are a COLOSSAL fool." He laughed. "I don't know how you did it, but right now, you've got a full power nuclear fusion engine sitting where your heart used to be. And you can't control it in the slightest! Every impact, every punch you throw, every hit you take, you bleed off power reflexively! Just throwing you across the floor is enough-"

Suddenly the Warwolf was behind her, and with one tremendous kick, Granz smashed her fifty feet across the ruined area.

"To do THIS!"

A solid fissure of orange explosions tore up the earth in her wake, the light shining on Ashe's pale features.

"Y-you're lying...!" Ashe snapped desperately, struggling to her feet, "I...If that was true, if I couldn't control it, why haven't I just destroyed everything already?! If this reactor's as powerful as you say, I should be having problems with it putting out TOO much energy, rather than the opposite, which is what's happening!"

Granz leaned back in his chair, a smile playing across his features even though he knew something like this was probably morally reprehensible. But DAMNED if he wasn't enjoying this!

...he briefly wondered if he should get some kind of mental help to deal with it, but shrugged it off after a moment.

"I wonder about that..." He smirked, "After all, why don't you try asking your frie-HFDGHJKL!"

The Warwolf did an almost perfect backflip onto it's spine, the impact of the Hades bullet blasting it full in the face. Amidst the sounds of Granz's cursing, Ashe whirled.

"Arca-" She stopped in mid-speech, the relief draining from her voice.

Celtis sank back against the broken wall behind her, managing a weak grin, blood closing one of her eyes as the Hades slipped out of her hand and clattered to the ground.

"A-Ashe..."

"ARCANA!" Forgetting Granz completely, she bolted towards her teammate. "Wh-what happened to you?!"

"H...he's right...Ashe..." Celtis coughed, struggling to talk.

Ashe jerked, her hands stopping just short of Celtis.

"Wh-what?"

Celtis forced her head up to meet Ashe's gaze, and as their eyes met, Ashe choked, seeing Model O, and the furious battle it was waging against it's removed power.

"S..sorry." Celtis managed a weak grin of apology. "But it's taking everything he and I have to keep you from losing it altogether."

Rather than charge out to help the battle, she had been in hiding, silently dedicating whatever power she could towards helping Model O.

...which had been practically none, as even with everything she could muster, Celtis was...well, Celtis. But she'd ignored Model O's outraged protests and done it anyway, because it was what she felt needed to be done.

Which was why she'd ended up in this pitiable state. Her body, having already taken considerable damage from Granz's attack when she'd first begun to experience Model O's strange weakness, hadn't been able to heal properly, and she'd only made it worse by moving to smash down Granz.

"I...I...!" Ashe staggered back, pressing a hand to her face, "Oh god, I didn't...I didn't realize...!"

"It's...not your fault..." Celtis coughed again. "It's...mine...I should have warned you...about taking on Model O...and I should have been strong enough...to withstand this long enough for you to finish beating him...!"

But she was a coward, she couldn't finish saying. She had seen what was happening, with each further reaction that had erupted, how much damage it was causing to Model O, but more importantly, she had felt what it was doing to her. As the host of Model O, it was her power that fed the Biometal. Model O's power was supported by her, and with each wave of it that the broken Model was forced to put into restraining Ashe, the more damage it did to her.

It wasn't any sense of heroism, or desire to stop Granz's poisoned words that had driven her to attack just now. It was the fear, the cowardice that came from knowing that Ashe's very next attack would most likely have killed her. Celtis had seen that death coming...and couldn't face it. So she had run from it, her cowardice leading her to strike him down before it killed her.

And she hated herself for it.

And now Ashe too was suffering, as she realized just what the consequences of her actions were.

"I...what do I do...?!" The Model A Chosen One pressed her hands to her face, her mind reeling. There was nothing she could do, her mind replied. If she attacked, Celtis would die. If she herself was hit, even one more time, Celtis would die. And if Celtis died, they all would, with Model O no longer able to stop the out of control reactions.

A rumbling sound, and as the shell-shocked Ashe turned, Granz gave a savage laugh of triumph.

"FINALLY!"

And with a strange, whistling sound, several objects shot forth from the trans-server portals opening behind him. Before either girl could react, Ashe had been thrown off her feet, the objects piercing her body and staking her to a ruined wall in a flash of fire and bloody smoke.

"AAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

The Warwolf dusted itself off, Granz staring with obvious satisfaction at the seven dull gray, cylindrical metal rods stabbed into Ashe, all but crucifying her.

"Wh...what is this...?!" Ashe demanded, struggling to free herself, a sudden strange coldness beginning to spread through her body from the rods.

"Control rods." Granz said, obviously pleased with himself. "From the minute I realized what I was dealing with, I had the factories that idiot employer of mine captured immediately start on a rush job for me. That job?"

The Warwolf stepped forward, and with a blow, drove one of the rods deeper. As Ashe screamed in pain, he gave her a cold smile.

"Putting together a bunch of neutron cancelling control rods for me. After that, it was a matter of creative application of the trans-servers I already own, and a couple of linear accelerators." He leaned in, ominously. "So long as these things are in you, they'll eat that nuclear power as fast as you can make it."

Spotting one of the rods already beginning to glow red-hot, he amended his statement.

"Well, at least until you overload them." He turned away, "At any rate, it'll be long enough to shut down the REAL problem."

The Warwolf's footsteps shaking the floor, he broke into a run. Cold red and green lenses fixed directly on the suddenly frozen form of Celtis Arcana, he growled.

"No doubt that reduction in reaction progress has given that blasted hunk of metal in you more than enough time to start healing..."

Model O swore profusely, having indeed already cut back on it's restraints of Ashe's power, relying on Granz's control rods to slow the nuclear reactions long enough for it to finish healing Celtis. But it hadn't expected this ASSHOLE to charge it so soon!

Desperation fueling her, Celtis ignored her still damaged body and threw herself forward, reaching for the fallen Hades, Granz's vulcans hammering away at her, geysers of dust and plasma erupting from the ground around her. She didn't even know what she'd possibly be able to do with it at this point. She heard Model O cursing, almost abandoning it's restraining task to desperately crank as much power out of it's regenerative abilities as possible, and then the Warwolf was towering over her, red lenses blazing, it's remaining claws raised high and shining in the orange glow.

"Lights out." Granz snarled.

And in that one minute, in that whirlwind of chaos, of confusion and desperation, the pure white sphere Model O had torn out of Ashe to make room for it's nuclear heart, having lain forgotten on the floor next to the Biometal, pulsed with a brilliant light.

And the Hades handgun, the crimson cannon forged by the hands of a man beyond even the laws of space and time, roared with triumph.

* * *

"About that plan..." Craft cleared his throat. The gravitational forces had increased to the point where even he had been forced down onto one knee, Grey having long since joined Queenbee flat on the ground. Behind them, the colossal supernova filled the sky, it's raging surface drawing ever closer. By rights, Craft knew they should have already been dead, burnt to dust by the heat pouring off of it.

But he knew Gemini Cyto wouldn't be satisfied with just that.

No, he was containing the power of the nova, locking it in on itself, within that spreading sphere of destruction.

Once they were swallowed by that outermost layer, however...

Craft preferred not to think of that.

"What 'plan' could you possibly have for getting out of this?!" Gemini demanded, staring outraged at them over his outstretched hand.

And then the God of Destruction grinned.

"You did good, Grey."

Flat on his stomach, still struggling to maintain their platform despite the crushing pressure bearing down on them, the Chosen One of Model A lifted his head, eye's widening as he heard the man in crimson say his name for the first time.

"Saber, you..."

"After all, thanks to you, I've got a neat new trick up my sleeve." He grinned, and turned to look back over his shoulder, an approving look on his face.

"Good job, Grey!"

And with that, Omega turned forward and stared directly at the Zone Technician on the other side. No-one knew if it was because he'd somehow figured out Omega's plan, or because he'd instinctively realized the danger, but in that moment, Gemini Cyto gave a wordless scream of anger and released the control of the supernova's speed. The laws of physics now firmly back in charge, a wave of destruction swept out at the speed of light.

Destruction was now mere microseconds away.

Omega's smile widened.

Microseconds? What a ridiculous thought. It might as well be centuries away. After all, time was no matter for him, not any more. For here, in Cyberspace, thanks to Grey's efforts, he now had all the time in...

Omega's eyes flashed, an inhuman smile slashing across his face.

_**"ZA WARUDO!"**_

And suddenly, the next thing Craft, Grey and Queenbee knew was that they were well away from their previous position and staring down at the remains of the dying supernova.

As for why a supernova that should have by rights been still exploding had suddenly winked out of existence...well the answer was obvious.

Because the Zone Technician controlling it had been completely and utterly defeated.

The colossal Onbashira Pillars that Gemini Cyto had called his strongest and greatest, fell to the floor, one by one amidst tremendous crashes, and clouds of fragmenting green data.

In the center of it all, Gemini Cyto lay sprawled full length on the ground, an unmistakable graveyard of scarred and broken steel around his motionless form, the Gate of Babylon having an all too familiar signature. Omega stood over him, Zweihander drawn and held loosely at the side.

As a drop of blood splashed across the ground, Omega looked down and grinned.

"Not bad, 'o god'. I've never heard of somebody being able to counterattack a target moving faster than time itself."

He reached up and tugged idly on the narrow, eight-inch wide hexagonal pillar that Gemini Cyto had still somehow managed to punch clean through the center of his chest.

"I...told you..." Gemini smirked behind his bloodied mask. "In this world...I am God!"

A fit of coughing overtook him, blood splashing through the cracks in his mask.

"But you too..." the Technician continued when the spasm had subsided, "What was that...thing...?!"

Gemini Cyto had only seen it for a brief moment, only his dominion over Cyberspace allowing him to have even been able to glimpse the oncoming attack, an assault striking out at a speed faster than time itself, hundreds of blades materializing around him in a mockery of the attack he himself had used earlier by surrounding them with pillars. One single, black and white image, of this enigmatic man in red, and behind him, a colossal shadow in white, a purple mane of hair flashing out behind it, with massive, floating white claws reaching out to the Zone Technician, demonic talons spread out as if to drag him down to the pits of hell.

And that faceless black visor, red lines where eyes should have been.

Omega looked down at the defeated opponent and grinned.

"Good eye." He smirked. "For now, let's just call it a trade secret and leave it at that, shall we?"

Gemini laughed bitterly.

"Suit yourself. Now finish it, oh 'King of Destroyers'." He gave a savage look up at the one who had bested him. "After all, there's no room for gods so long as a god-killing king wanders the land, right?"

Omega laughed long and loud, stabbing the Zweihander into the ground.

"Aye...but for a god-killing king, there's always room for a goddess as a queen!"

And in one motion he had reached down and torn the concealing visor of Gemini Cyto off, crushing his lips against those of the startled and beautiful girl that had been hiding behind it.

Craft simply stared.

After several moments, he finally came up with an appropriate comment.

"...What."

* * *

Granz's claws smashed down, pulverizing the earth and everything around it for ten meters. Breathing hard, he stared at the screen, his heart racing.

"What the hell...WAS that?!"

In the instant he had struck down at Celtis, he had heard...something. A roar that sounded as though a single clear note had rung out, like the voice of a bell. And there had been something like a flash of light, or at least he thought there might have been, before his claws had struck.

Now, Granz might have been a bit stubborn, and a bit of a COLOSSAL ass when he was ready, but if there was one thing he WAS, aside from an EXCELLENT multitasker and strategist, it was a fast learner.

And if there was _one_ thing he had learned from dealing with Legion and their specialists, most plainly highlighted by his encounters with the God of Destruction and then the rest of them in this battle, it was that ANYTHING that involved 'mysterious flashes of light' or strange roars like that, specifically if it occurred on the opposite side of the field from him, and worse still if it happened right as he was about to claim victory, it usually meant really bad shit was about to happen.

And most of the time, he was on the receiving end.

So it was quite understandable that he didn't let his guard down just yet, instead searching through the clouds of dust and smoke for his target.

Celtis blinked.

Model O stared back at her, frozen in mid-restraint.

There was an awkward silence.

"Um...hi?" Celtis tentatively raised one hand in greeting.

Another silence. Wordlessly, the Biometal turned it's head back to the sun, just to make sure that yes, Granz's control rods had indeed scaled it back enough for it to afford some leeway-

And then rounded on Celtis in a growl of outraged incredulity.

"Wait wait wait, hold on!" Celtis panicked, Model O grabbing her by the front of her shirt. I don't know what's going on either! I just blinked and I was here!"

Model O blinked.

"Really!"

"..." Dropping her, it stepped back and gave a bewildered growl. Now utterly confused, it looked around. If Celtis was here, then...who was outside?

It got its answer seconds later, as blue fire erupted behind it.

Whirling with a snarl of challenge, it choked off, staggering to a halt as it beheld the newcomer. Next to it, Celtis stepped back with a similar expression.

"Wh-who are you?!"

And a voice that spoke in her mind responded.

_'I ask of you...Are you my Master?'_

* * *

Blue light washed over Granz from behind, casting a long, distorted shadow of the Warwolf over the ground. With an aggravated sigh, the Gearhead's shoulders slumped.

" I should have known." He muttered, and whirling, he brought the Warwolf's right arm up to fire-

-as it fell to the ground, the entire shoulder having been shot to pieces in the first flash of blue.

Granz stopped dead in his tracks, trying to process what had just happened.

"What just-"

The other arm dropped, shoulder sparking.

"Wh-what the hell?!"

Raising the Warwolf's head, he primed the optic cannon-

Which sparked and died, a crater being blown out of the side of the machine's face.

"Y-you...what the hell is going on here?!"

The one remaining camera working, he tilted it up-

And saw her.

* * *

High above the city, the Colonel Commissar continued his battle, the great iron blade crushing and cleaving Doru Ghoras one after another, listening in on Nana's conversation. Splitting another one of the Mechaniloids in half, he leaped atop another one, his grappling nails stabbing deep into the bulky armor.

And for a brief moment, he spared a glance over at the burning, smoldering area that marked the radioactive zone. And as blue fire flickered and flashed, he gave a rare smile, before returning to his own battle.

"Manifestation from Cyberspace...who would have thought I'd ever actually see it in person?"

Whirling, the cross in his hands rotated once more, the deadly revolving stake punching through the heart of another Doru Ghora.

"I wonder...what otherworldly heroes shall it show us today...?

* * *

Cyberspace...

The unknown realm that lies hidden behind reality.

That green world made of data given form.

It is the programming code for reality itself. It stretches out forever, throughout the myriad parallel dimensions of the multiverse. The ultimate program, it has no beginning, and it has no end. It continues to run, beneath the surface of reality, the true form of the laws of nature and of physics. It is not alive, and it is not dead.

The multiverse is not sentient, nor does it possess anything that can be considered as such. It simply exists. A program without a purpose, it is the clockwork that keeps the whole of reality ticking onwards, unseen and unheard.

It does, however, possess a will of sorts.

For wherever there is imbalance in that program, where one variable has gone out of control, a disturbance of the natural world, there must always be a way to correct it.

There are many ways this infinite program can correct such flaws.

If the distortion is too great to be corrected, that 'will' takes action, the world, or reality itself rebelling and erasing it entirely, such as through natural disasters, much in the way that a certain city of ancient times was drowned beneath the waves.

However, such a response is not always necessary.

Cyberspace ticks ever onwards, recording each passing moment. It records everything, right down to the smallest living cell. And throughout this, there are those rare few existences which the multiverse, which Cyberspace itself recognizes as existences surpassing the norm.

Legends.

Heroes great enough to shake even the multiverse with the strength of their deeds.

And it is to those rare beings that the world extends an offer.

Even after death, they would continue to aid the multiverse. They would become it's champions, summoned from beyond the reach of time and space, to return to fight once more. Each one strong enough to become a distortion in their own right, they are the debugging programs of Cyberspace, resetting the balance through their actions, their power.

Now just imagine for a moment...a system designed to call on the aid of such powerful beings. To allow them to be made manifest once more without awaiting the multiverse's summon.

Standing atop a pile of rubble, her back was to the Gearhead, a black, hooded longcoat blowing in the wind, two thin white lines running down from the shoulders down to the wrist of the long sleeves. A pair of feminine boots covered her legs up to the knee, the rest of her clothing being a black pair of shorts and a black bikini top, leaving most of her eerily pale skin exposed. Her hair was as dark as night, tied up into twintails that blew out behind her. Finally, a single white star flickered with the wind, emblazoned between the shoulderblades of her coat.

And covering most of her right arm, the end of it reaching all the way down to rest on the rubble beneath her...was the single biggest goddamn cannon Granz had ever seen a human use. The damn thing was almost as big as she was!

"...and now who the HELL are you?!" He demanded.

The girl stood there for a moment longer, flexing the fingers of her empty left hand experimentally.

_It had been so long since she had stirred._

_ A lifetime of battle, struggling through the chessboard plains of the Silent World._

_ And yet it seemed the battles were not over yet._

_ Someone had still needed her._

_ Here, in this world, a different version of the one reflected by the twisted mirror of the Silent World, she stood atop the rubble and looked up, up, as high as she could._

_ There, barely visible through the dirty, smoke-stained winds, she saw it._

_ That blue, untouched sky, she had only seen in dreams, glimpses of the real world._

She heard the heavy steel footsteps, and turned, the Warwolf glaring furiously up at her from it's one remaining eye.

_She knew what was happening, what was occurring in this new world. She supposed it was one of the perks of her new...'condition'._

_ After all, for the sake of finally escaping that neverending melancholy of battles on that silent world of greys, she had stretched a hand out, seeking some way out..._

_ And the multiverse itself answered her._

_ The man in white, who stood at the very edge of time and space, had heard her._

_ In those timeless, gold eyes, she had seen the question. The deal she would have to make for that freedom, and what that freedom would entail._

Slowly her eyes tilted down, focusing on the battered machine, seeing not just the metal, but the connections tracing back through space to the one controlling it.

The Warwolf instinctively took a step back, a cold feeling running through the Gearhead. Even hidden as he was, in his secret base countless miles away, concealed from all eyes, somehow, he got the feeling that those emotionless, eerily blue eyes were staring right back at him.

"This...is going to be a problem." He muttered, already sensing that this was no normal foe. The fact that she'd silently and effortlessly just WIPED OUT both of the Warwolf's arms all but attested to that.

Never taking his eyes off of her, he switched one of his hands over to a different keyboard, typing away. In response, a countdown timer came up, tracking the progress of a geographical locator program.

_The girl's grip tightened on the grip of the battered cannon._

_ The price of that freedom...to offer her services to the multiverse itself. As one who had transcended the boundaries of mortality, to become a hero, to become a legend, she would respond whenever the multiverse needed her, a wordless, soundless call that echoed from any time or place to correct the world once more._

_ She had heard many names for such an existence, but thus far there was only one she felt summed it up the best._

_ Antivirus._

_ Wherever there was an imbalance in the laws of the multiverse, an anomaly that was beyond the correction of those involved in it, a distortion in the great program that was Cyberspace, the Antivirus would be manifested, to take action on behalf of the multiverse._

_ That was her role now._

_ To be summoned to countless new battlefields, to fight on any number of new worlds, in order for her wish to be granted, to be able to see that blue sky with her own eyes._

_ And so here she stood, once more summoned to a new battlefield to struggle once more._

The girl hefted the cannon, her coat shifting with the movement.

_But...strangely enough, she found that she didn't mind._

_ All those untold centuries of battle in that Silent World...they had been without a purpose, without a reason. One simply fought because that _was_ their purpose, existing to mirror the interactions of their selves in the real world. Just distorted reflections, fighting on in a pitiful imitation of their real selves._

_ But here, as one who fought for the balance of the multiverse...there was a strange happiness in her. There was a purpose now. A reason to do battle, no longer doing it 'simply because'._

The cerulean eyes, lit by lines of white in concentric circles surrounding the black pupils, seemed thoughtful for a moment.

_ However, it seemed as though this time, it had not been the multiverse that had called on her. Rather, this seemed to be some external summon, as though an outsider of some kind had called for her. It was not unheard of for such things to happen, but for it to occur and call her as flawlessly as this...Truly, this was no ordinary technological marvel. There should be nothing capable of reaching into the depths of Cyberspace to summon an Antivirus with this level of clarity._

_ Unless..._

She seemed to consider it for a moment, remembering once more that man in white, with the unreadable golden eyes, who had given her that chance at freedom.

_ If it was one connected to that man...then there was nothing such as impossible._

_ She looked across the stark void, at the wary ghost, a shell of its true form, restrained by unmistakable black chains sealing it there, and her eyes flickered in recognition._

_ Indeed...if it were the owner of those chains especially, such an open disregard for the workings of the world were not just unsurprising, but were almost to be expected._

_ Barring that, whenever one was summoned in such a manner from Cyberspace, without needing to fulfill their role as an Antivirus, there were rules of a sort to follow...One such rule being that the Anti-Viral would always be given a particular class designation, based on their abilities, as a sort of limiter to prevent them from becoming a dangerous imbalance in the world themselves. And here on this world, it seemed she had been given a most unexpected designation..._

Granz's eyes flicked to the timer.

_Her eyes moved to the green haired girl, half hidden behind the scarred crimson ghost, an alarmed and slightly frightened look on her face._

"Wh-what did you say?" Celtis asked, bewildered.

_Her expression never changing, she repeated the question._

_"I am one who will fight by your side. I ask again...are you my Master?"_

Celtis exchanged a baffled look with Model O. The Biometal, for it's part, gave the newcomer a hard look, but gave a grudging nod. As a creation of Cyberspace itself, Model O knew what it was looking at.

"Um..."Celtis looked between them a few times, still clearly uncertain.

But Model O's grudging acceptance of the newcomer, and her own desperation to do something to make up for her moment of cowardice, that had all but seen Ashe destroyed moments ago, cemented her decision. She swallowed.

"If you'll help us...then yes." Celtis straightened up, hiding her nervousness. "Yes I am."

_Blue fire roared to life, scorching the earth beneath her, her long coat flaring up in the stark void where the broken Biometal stood chained._

_"Then my power is at your command."_

The girl leveled that scarred black cannon directly at Gearhead Granz, a brilliant blue charge igniting in its depths.

"But..." Celtis asked, still shaken by the sudden cerulean inferno that now raged around them, Model O giving it wary glances and growling slightly. "Just who ARE you?"

"All right..." Granz grinned, "You're not the green-hair, and you're DEFINITELY not the nuclear disaster over there..." he glanced at Ashe, who was still struggling to free herself, before turning back to the newcomer.

"So mind introducing yourself?"

And in a voice that spoke without her lips moving, the pale girl in the black coat responded, her words echoing in the emptiness of Model O's prison and in the real world as well, spoken to both the unnerved Celtis and the wary Gearhead Granz.

_'Class: Assassin.'_

Her left eye ignited, an otherworldly blue flame bursting to life.

_'Black Rock Shooter.'_

And she cut loose, burning blue shells slamming into the Warwolf with colossal impacts.

"SHIT!" Granz cursed, the mech rocking back. "That thing's FAST...!"

Firing boosters, he flipped the machine out of the way, trying to get as much distance from the oddly named 'Black Rock Shooter'.

At least, that's what he tried to do, before a chill ran down his spin and he threw the Warwolf sideways to avoid a pointblank shot from the SAME cannon, it's wielder staring up at him with those cool blue eyes from directly behind him.

"You...how the hell did you get there so fast?!" One of the Warwolf's legs slashed out in a spinning kick, it's talons scything through the air above the BRS as she ducked. Spinning around, she brought the cannon up and fired again, impacts slamming into the machine's torso.

"Guh...dammit!" Granz cursed, blasting off the damaged chest panels and cutting loose with a storm of missiles. "Dammit, I can't even SEE her!"

None of his prized sensors were picking her up at ALL, not even to lock on. Even proximity sensors weren't detecting her, the BRS landing atop the Warwolf's shoulders and flipping off with another three cannon blasts as Granz tried vainly to keep her in sight. No biological signature, no electrical signature, no metal detected, even from that massive cannon...if it wasn't for his own eyes, Granz would have sworn he was taking damage from NOTHING!

With an angry growl, he slammed the Warwolf's heels into the ground, electricity coursing through them.

"DISRUPTOR WEB!"

Lines of crackling light spread out from Granz's machine, gigavolts of electricity that would have incapacitated any enemy caught in it. Too late, Granz caught the flames of blue dying in the air, a trail leading to-

The Black Rock Shooter cartwheeled through the sky, cannon up and firing.

"God DAMN it!" Granz swore, twisting the Warwolf's body. Shots tore chunks out of it's edges, armor plates grazed off by the fierce blue shells, and somehow, incredibly, he avoided a fatal blow. Back panels blasted off on explosive bolts, emergency thrusters fired, the mechaniloid leaping off of the ground and rocketing straight at the BRS.

"The hell with sensors! If my machines aren't enough, I'll take you on myself!" The Gearhead roared.

The black cannon flashed, metal cracking and shifting. And in a burst of blue flame it transformed, a massive iron blade replacing the muzzle.

"A melee form-?!" Granz barely had time to be surprised, before she swung at him, the heavy iron blade smashing into the Warwolf's side, the flat of the massive blade crushing the metal and caving in the entire left side of the mech's torso, launching it out of the sky.

"AARGH!"

With a deafening crash, it fell to earth, punching a colossal crater in the ground and catapulting debris in every direction.

The Black Rock Shooter landed, her black heeled boots tapping down on an upturned car.

In complete contravention of the known laws of physics, the Vermilion Vile Warwolf lived still. A hulking form that loomed out of the smoke, half of it's body smashed beyond ruin, it's one remaining eye piercing the smoke with a red glow, it stared out at her with a cold rage.

And incredibly, Granz began to laugh.

"I will admit this, stranger. You're indeed one hell of an enemy! Unfortunately..." His grin widened, "Let's see you try that against a FULLY POWERED WARWOLF!"

The counter hit zero, and in that instant, the Warwolf flashed brilliantly. Granz's trans-server commands finally obtaining the necessary lock, they stripped the mecha of all of it's damaged sections and armor, teleporting in brand-new and fully functional gear to replace them.

Within the space of a few seconds, the Vermilion Vile Warwolf reared up to its full height, steel body glinting in all it's glory as though it had never been damaged in the first place.

"Now..." Granz smiled, all but gloating, "Let's try this AGAIN, shall we?"

* * *

**A/N**: And thus does the Chronicles reach a turning point in it's writing. That crimson handgun, bastardized duplicate of the Dominion, has finally showed a glimpse of it's true powers.

As mentioned before, expect the crossovers to get a tad bit more intense.

The Chronicles will remain a Megaman centric fic, but as the Black Rock Shooter has proven, I will be bringing in other characters from entirely different universes, each to play a role of their own. I apologize in advance if some of you take this badly and decide to ragequit on account of me getting more serious with the anime and manga references, but I do hope you'll continue to stick around.

Other than that, there's not much else I can say for this chapter...other than to facepalm and wonder what the HELL I was thinking to give FRIGGING OMEGA a TIMESTOP ability.

_ ..._Also, the Dio reference was practically MANDATORY.

Anyway, for those of you interested in the Black Rock Shooter and her original story, I recommend you go look up the OVA, followed by the eight episode anime. I can guarantee you, it WON'T disappoint.

I will be taking some liberties with her, though, as the Black Rock Shooter's never really been a truly 'defined' character, with at least four different versions of her out there.

At any rate, she's one of my top three favorite girls of anime, and thus, this crossover had to be done. And to HELL with the consequences. My story, MY RULES.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it, and look forward to the next chapter!

DarkShift Out!


	38. Chapter 37: MAN OF A THOUSAND SERIES

WHAT SORCERY IS THIS?

A NEW CHRONICLES CHAPTER SO SOON?!

YES. YES INDEED.

BECAUSE TODAY ROCKED SO HARD I DECIDED TO SHARE THE WEALTH. SEE MY DEVIANT ART PAGE FOR DETAILS. ON WITH THE MOST INSANE CHAPTER YET!

**Chapter 37: The Man of a Thousand Series.**

**Disclaimer:** I am in no way responsible for any head explosions that may occur due to overexposure to the awesomeness of Ace Phoenix and Vent in this chapter.

...no seriously. This is an actual hazard.

Alternative title: **One Does Not Simply Challenge An Otaku To A Duel Of Imagination.**

Enjoy the show!

...and try not to leap out of your chair whooping with glee when you spot any familiar epic cameos. Because there are MANY REFERENCES.

And when actual song lyrics start appearing, you will FIND THAT DAMN THEME ON YOUTUBE, AND YOU WILL PLAY IT. LOUDLY.

Also: **WARNING. CONTAINS DANGEROUS LEVELS OF HAM, HOTBLOOD AND GAR. SERIOUSLY._ YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED._**

* * *

Marino stared aghast at the readings on the screen.

The entire area where Ashe and Celtis had last been recorded as fighting Gearhead Granz's personal machine had gone dark, radiation warnings blaring all over it. Only A.C.E's elite sensor array, still possessing the technology required to detect and handle radioactive alerts, had given them an idea of the danger. It was because of this capability that Marino had even been able to realize what the energy signature was, Ace's crazy preparedness shining through once again.

Even as the battle raged, they'd been forced to reposition Fefnir, moving him to the edge of the radioactive zone. Thanks to that First Wave ability of his, it was actually possible for him to absorb the radiation, utilizing its power to fuel his other Wave techniques. Glaciers and colossal beams of unleashed thermal power tore apart the opposing forces in alternating waves, Fefnir deliberately not holding back, doing his damnedest to decontaminate the area as fast as possible.

In one stroke of luck, it seemed as though the nuclear signature that was Ashe had died down somewhat, as though it had finally stabilized. The bad news was that wasn't necessarily a good thing, considering the fact that said signature represented Ashe's current condition. Worse still, it seemed as though it were only temporary, the nuclear power reading slowly increasing again as it overwhelmed Granz's control rods one by one.

And then it had all gone mad.

The main screen had been overridden, new schematics and programs scrolling up at blinding speed. Something had alarmed the A.C.E mainframe, as though this information had simply been lying in wait for this moment. And through it all, one sign continued to reappear.

The spiked, winged A sigil that Marino had seen once before, in the moment that Model O had roared to life in the center of Legion City so long ago.

"What...IS this...?"

Her eyes flickering over the ceaseless stream of data, she caught sight of an unmistakable shape, green wireframes forming a transparent three-dimensional image of an all too familiar weapon.

"The Hades...!" She gritted her teeth. "I should have known...wherever that damn thing shows up, trouble's never far behind!"

Opening up a new line of communication, she patched herself through to Nana.

"Nana, you there?"

A crash of metal answered her, followed by a pained grunt from the girl in question.

"Urgh...y-yeah, Marino, I'm here!"

"What the hell was that?!"

"Nothing...I just had a minor 'disagreement' with a Crushpactor that didn't understand 'right-of-way'!"

"..." Marino stared at the screen in disbelief. "You played chicken with a CRUSHPACTOR?!"

Nana adjusted her glasses, struggling back into her chair.

"According to my calculations, going straight through them was the most tactically viable option!"

"IT HAS A GODDAMN SPIKED ROLLER ON THE FRONT! HOW DOES THAT COUNT AS EVEN REMOTELY VIABLE?!"

"...because I installed a pneumatic-powered pile bunker on the front of the Cruiser?"

"...huh." Marino blinked, "...yeah, that would count."

Pushing some stray hair out of her face, Nana dropped back into her seat, noting with dismay that she'd once again managed to pop the top two buttons clean off of the top of her lab coat, no doubt the result of the tremendous 'impact' caused by her crash.

"Damn...guess I'll have to fix this AGAIN." She groused.

Outside of the windshield, the Crushpactor's mangled features stirred, the ruined plasma cannon on it's front charging once more. Nana's eyes narrowed. With a single command, a section of the Cruiser's hull hissed open, a linear mag cannon blowing away the entire top half of the offending machine.

"Small talk aside, what's your condition?"

"Just fine." Nana assured her. "The Cruiser's a little scratched, but beyond that, I can be wherever you need me to be any time."

"Good." Marino's voice was tense. " I need you to get after Celtis and Ashe."

Nana's face clouded.

"I suspected as much. With that much radiation, I didn't think there was anyone in the city who could get a clear visual on them."

"Exactly. And not just that..." She pulled up an image of the data flowing in from A.C.E's core, all revolving around one particular handgun.

"This is..." Nana regarded the flickering screen intently, as if seeing a pattern. "...this is not good."

"What? Why, do you know something?"

"No..." Nana admitted, "But I can suspect. And judging from this data, I think we're finally seeing just what it is the Hades' version of the Dominion can do..."

* * *

"Guh...hah...!"

A hiss of steam, and a metallic snap, and Ashe pulled one hand free, the control rod pinning it to the wall now brittle and scarred from the power it had endured.

"God...dammit..." She gritted, looking down at her hand, the wounds already sealing themselves shut with the intense heat. With this power, it would be all too easy to just burn out these damn rods, Model O's regenerative power enough to heal these wounds...and yet she didn't break free.

She was still shaken by the realization of just how badly she had miscalculated this power. How much damage she had almost done, would have done, had Celtis not cut in.

As it stood, these damned rods were the only thing keeping her from going out of control again. But she hadn't seen Granz or Celtis since he had charged her earlier. Only the fact that she herself hadn't erupted in a nuclear meltdown told her that Celtis and Model O were still alive.

And so she was torn.

On the one hand, she could easily free herself...but without these restraints, the full burden of keeping her power in check would fall squarely back onto Model O, and she still didn't know if they were in the condition to handle such a burden.

Worst-case scenario, they would end up right back where they had started.

And on the other hand, she could stay here, focusing all her power on keeping this white-hot fury contained as much as possible, relying on Celtis and Model O to defeat Granz. But considering just how much damage Celtis had taken, she had no idea how long the Biometal would take to bring her up to fighting strength, or if it would even be able to with Granz on their tail.

And then the air in front of her..._blurred_, a ghostly pale figure in black fading into view in mid-run. In that instant, time seemed to slow, Ashe staring in disbelief at the person before her.

The Black Rock Shooter's head turned slightly, as if acknowledging the presence of Ashe as an ally, the blue flames in her left eye burning like a counterpart to the orange ones of Ashe's right.

Ashe's eyes widened, a strange feeling settling over her. In that brief instant, seeing that spectral image, a girl so pale she seemed almost like a ghost, that coat like the night made into cloth, the fine, almost elven features of her face, the slim lines of her body...Ashe realized that she was staring at something beyond the limits of any normal human, or even a Reploid.

A concept itself, given flesh and blood, a reflection without a source, burning with that spectral blue fire.

_The girl turned her head, sparing a brief moment to see the one who lay trapped, burning with that infinite orange color._

_ For a minute, she felt as though she was looking at herself, an image of what it would have been like had she been born on the other side of the mirror._

_ In that moment, she saw the potential, the same heart that might someday lead this girl of orange flames to pursue the same path as her. A wandering spirit, fighting across many battlefields for the sheer happiness of being able to visit such new and wondrous worlds._

_ And then, as she heard the sound of her pursuer drawing nearer, she allowed herself a faint nod to the other, a sign of recognition from one wanderer to another-_

And then she was gone, her deceptively slender frame tearing across the ground at an insane speed, leaping and flipping over the debris in her path.

"...Who the hell...?" Ashe breathed, feeling as though all the air had been sucked out of her.

And then with a roar, the fully revitalized Vermilion Vile Warwolf smashed straight through the rubble, engines flaring a brilliant blue as Granz howled out his challenge.

"COME ON, BLACK ROCK SHOOTER!"

**[Cue Music: No Scared – ONE OK ROCK]**

As if in response to that challenge, the BRS kicked off of another broken wall, leaping into the air and spinning around, the scarred black barrel seething with a spectral blue charge. The fire in her eye burned brightly and she fired, a colossal beam of eerie blue energy bursting from the cracked muzzle, a cascade of obliteration that slashed across the battlefield towards the Warwolf.

"AHHHH, NOW YOU'RE TALKING!" Granz laughed, playing the controls like a demon, the Warwolf skating around the beam with all the finesse and skill of a professional. One turn later, and he brought his arms up, aiming his fists directly at the airborne girl.

"RAPID VULCANS!"

Panels on the back of each wrist slid back, triple-barreled vulcan guns spitting a constant stream of death, thunder, fire and ice tearing apart the air in a scream of elemental rage..

Blue fire flashed in the girl's empty hand, a crooked black katana materializing in her grip. With just that, she moved, her blade dancing through the air in an almost invisible pattern, faster than the eye could see, vulcan rounds deflected with ease, pillars of ice erupting around her, flames exploding through the air, and lightning roaring as it crashed into the earth.

Granz's face was alight with pleasure.

"Yes, that's it! Come on, fight some more!"

He laughed madly as his hands danced across the keys. He'd never thought he'd say it, but this girl...this Black Rock Shooter...!

And as she touched the ground she leapt to the side, the Warwolf's boosters keeping it constantly in motion as it surfed and skated across the hard ground, never once letting up on the vulcans and missiles.

Her last-minute leap putting her ahead of the stream of bullets and explosions, she swung the ancient cannon up and over, bringing it to bear on Granz once more, opening fire again, each shell blasting out with a tooth-rattling metallic report.

Gritting his teeth, Granz brought the Warwolf up short, firing a blast of boosters that pushed him backwards and to the side, and another explosive burst from his engines to catapult him forward again, blue fire crashing into the earth around his zigzagging maneuver. Eyes glowing, the mecha whipped it's head around, the red optic beam carving a molten path through the surroundings as it lashed out at her.

"Excellent!" He laughed in delight. No, there was no doubting it now!

He was having more fun in this one battle than he had ever had in his entire career! Not even the fight with that demonic Saber had felt like this!

The BRS charged, leaping headfirst over the beam and twisting in a corkscrew, cannon held out in front of her and blasting away. With a roar, Granz kicked off of a nearby ruin, changing course in a ninety degree turn that brought him hurtling to meet her head on.

"GOT YOU!"

The devastating steel claws slashed across his vision, batting away her shots and leaving her open for a follow-up attack-

Before she dove to the ground beneath his next swing and came up in a roll, the cannon once more covered by that jagged black blade. Spinning around, the Warwolf's clawed foot swept out to cleave the legs out from under her, the BRS leaping into the air and somersaulting into a downward slash, the black blade giving a dull keening howl as it hurtled towards the steel helm.

Granz's claw swung around to block it, sparks flying as metal met black iron, both combatants springing back as Granz's chest compartment slammed open and unleashed a storm of micro missiles on his still airborne opponent.

And as they all exploded uselessly behind her, the Black Rock Shooter was suddenly past them, already in Granz's face before he could even blink.

"Wh-what?!"

In an instant, he saw the cause. Her coat-tails, flaring out behind her, had transformed, triangular tail fins of black and white steel, mechanical and rigid, flicked up and down, blue white power flaring from the engines mounted just above the back of her hips.

Acting on pure instinct, he twisted, the ancient blade slashing across the Warwolf's body and carving a diagonal scar across it's face. And as pain blossomed across his body, Granz gave a howl and fired off the grappling claw, talons slamming shut around the BRS and hurling her across the battlefield.

And for a brief moment, Granz looked down at his body, his REAL body, and at the gash carved along his chest, tracing up to his face, an identical to the one just struck against his machine.

"This is...!"

And then alarms blared, and the Warwolf leapt to the side as another charged beam of brilliant blue power tore across the field towards him, the Black Rock Shooter close behind.

And the Gearhead grinned, a savage delight he had never felt before bubbling up in his chest.

"Interesting...!" Laughing, Granz gunned the throttles, charging forward with all guns blazing.

The black steel tail fins snapping open behind her, the girl from the Silent World answered, her crooked black katana flashing as it shredded the storm of death heading at her.

Howling, the Warwolf smashed through the hail of burning blue shells through sheer brute force, ignoring the nicks and grazes to it's armor.

Two more steps, and she would be in his grasp...!

The Black Rock Shooter's expression did not change, the boosters behind her suddenly increasing in pitch.

One...!

Granz's claws reared back.

The pale girl accelerated, her legs leaving the ground.

Two...!

"DIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEE!"

The steel claws swept down.

_And in that instant, the black and white plain of the Silent World stretched out before the girl, as she stepped between the worlds._

_ One step._

_ Two steps._

Granz's eyes widened in shock as his claws passed through the girl with no resistance, the Black Rock Shooter literally ghosting right through the slashing talons, and straight through the mech itself.

_The lights and colors of the real returned as she stepped back across the worlds, and in a single step-_

"Magnificent...!" Granz breathed in awe, realizing the danger too late, and marveling at just how skillfully she had played him, even as he turned the Warwolf around, a deadly backhand lashing out.

_-pivoted on her heel, the Black Blade slamming into place over the cannon-_

And the Black Rock Shooter slashed the Warwolf's chest open in a single diagonal flash of steel.

And Granz roared, blood splashing out across the floor of his command center.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAARRGGHH!"

The Warwolf screamed in agony, staggering.

The Black Blade vanished, the cannon reappearing, that deadly blue fire shining in it's depths.

Granz shook, life support machines already racing to his side.

"No...not...YET...!" Breathing hard, he lifted his head, a new, bright light in his eyes.

Here, on the edge of death, having taken the first real wounds of his entire career, Granz found himself strangely...alive. This girl, a ghost in human form, who moved in ways surpassing humans and machine alike...for the first time, Gearhead Granz felt the thrill of battle in his blood, an aching desire to be there in person, to fight this girl...!

The Warwolf caught itself, talons digging into the ground as it steadied. The head came up, red and green lenses burning brightly.

"I'm...not...through...YET!"

Back mounted boosters exploded to life, and with a final roar, the Vermilion Vile Warwolf charged, a high, metallic scream of rage bursting from it's throat, the roar of Granz and his machine combining into one.

And the Black Rock Shooter fired.

And fired.

And fired.

And did not stop firing, an infinite barrage of burning blue shells hammering into the oncoming titan of steel.

And yet, not for one instant, did Granz stop. Bullet after bullet smashing into the Warwolf, the beast would not stop. Armor shattered, steel broke, pistons cracked, and yet the man called Gearhead Granz never let up.

"BLAAAACK...!"

His right shoulder erupted, armor torn away by another shell.

**"ROOOOOOOOOOCK...!"**

The left side of the Warwolf's face shattered, broken crystal lens fragments trailing behind him.

_**"SHOOOOOOOOOOOOTEEEEEEEERRRRR R!"**_ A demonic smile on his face, Granz lunged forward.

Without a moment's hesitation, the cannon flashed, the Black Blade slamming over it again, and the Black Rock Shooter charged, the towering mass of the Vermilion Vile Warwolf looming over her, claws outstretched.

And as they slashed down, she thrust forward.

With the last of his strength, Granz gritted his teeth, blood splashing across the console, even as a wild laugh tore from his throat.

"LIIIIIIKE HEEEEEEEEEELLLLL!"

And despite everything, the Warwolf turned, the piercing blade glancing across it's chest, tearing it open as it passed, metal and oil splashing into the sky as it continued forward, shattering the machine's left shoulder, blasting it's arm clear off of the body.

And the Warwolf's remaining claw slammed shut around the girl, hurtling forward to slam her through the ruins behind them, its momentum unstoppable.

* * *

"..."

Throughout Legion City, four people stared at the images of that battle in slack-jawed disbelief.

"Wh..." Marino tried, only to find that she was still having difficulty forming words.

"Dear god..." Nana's hands were shaking as she reached for the keyboard.

Aile stared at the feed to her helmet, eyes wide.

"What...the hell...was that fight?"

Away from all of them, and with a front row seat, Ashe found herself unable to answer that very same question.

Fifty-five seconds.

That was how long that battle had lasted.

It had taken fifty-five seconds, for that...girl...to fight Gearhead Granz, in one of his personal war machines...and WIN.

Not even the crimson coated war devil called Saber had done as much in his battle against Granz.

She had barely been able to see any of it, that black clad girl moving with an impossible speed and grace, surpassing anything she had ever seen before. Not even the Chosen Ones she had seen in action could compare to that.

For the first time, Ashe began to realize the magnitude of what she had just witnessed. That was the skill, the movement, of a veteran of battle. A veteran who had not fought hundreds, nor thousands of battles...but a veteran that had fought and WON, _hundreds of thousands_ of battles.

Someone beyond comprehension, who had fought, and fought, and fought. With no special abilities, just her own body, and the cannon at her side.

A legend.

The very concept of neverending battle.

The white star that burned with blue fire.

"...Black Rock...Shooter..." She whispered, awestruck.

* * *

_She stared up at the beast before her, it's frame in ruins, armor shattered and broken._

Granz stared down at the figure beneath him, the image shot through with static, his one remaining claw crushing her against the floor.

_Her face showed no emotion, even as a faint, crackled laughter echoed forth from the machine._

"Ha ha ha...I...see..." The Gearhead slumped back in his chair, one hand pressed to his bloodied and ruined chest.

"You...truly are...Assassin...aren't you...?"

The Warwolf's head turned slightly, it's neck sparking as it regarded the ancient and worn black cannon held by the girl.

"...A blade...that cuts the target...no matter where he may be..." He coughed. "So long...as a connection to his real body...exists..."

_The girl's eyes flicked down to the weapon next to her._

"I...didn't even know...it was possible to use...Cyberspace in such a manner..." Granz managed a bitter smile. "To slash me even across...the distance between...puppeteer and puppet..."

He laughed again.

"Well done...Black Rock...Shooter..." The Gearhead's vision was blurring now.

"I wonder..." he mused, the screen beginning to disintegrate into white noise.

"Is this...that thrill of battling...on the precipice of life and death...that I've heard about...?"

A last smile crossed his lips.

"Perhaps...it's not so bad...to fight on the frontlines...after all..."

His head fell back against the chair, the life support machines racing in towards him.

_The girl looked up as a single drop of oil slid from the machine's ruined eye, the light in it flickering._

"Heh heh...don't think...this will be...enough to kill me...!" Granz grinned, a hellishly bright spark in his eye. "I will...be back to face you again...! So...until then...!"

"Until...we meet again on the battlefield..." He gave a final, chuckle, "Fight on...Black Rock Shooter."

_And the machine went silent, the glow fading from it's eyes._

* * *

**Somewhere in Cyberspace...**

"KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

WHAM.

Craft could ALMOST restrain himself from smirking.

"You were asking for that."

Rubbing the side of his face, Omega simply grumbled a few choice swearwords.

"Hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. That usually works!"

"Y-y-y-y-y-you...! Wha-wha-what the hell was that?!"

The girl, having scrambled several feet back from Omega, managed to get to her feet, a brilliant shade of red and looking on the verge of a nervous breakdown, clutching the tattered coat of her former disguise close, her short black hair messy and unkempt.

"Weeeell, it's called a French kiss, y'see, and-"

"N-NO! NOT...that...!" She stammered, going even redder, "H-how did you know?!"

"Know what?" Omega shoved his hands in his pockets and slouched back casually, a smug look on his face.

"...Do you mean how I knew you were a girl?" He grinned, a suddenly predatory gleam in his eyes.

"Or do you want to ask how I knew you weren't the real Gemini Cyto?"

The air seemed to freeze, the girl going pale. Heavy footsteps sounded, and Omega found himself spun around, Craft staring at him in alarm.

"What do you mean, she's not the real Gemini Cyto?!"

Omega raised an eyebrow.

"Well, for one thing, your Gemini is apparently a guy. And in case you didn't notice, this Gemini here kinda has boobs."

A pause.

"Rather nice ones too, might I add." He admitted, the girl giving another squeak and stepping even further out of range.

Catching the look in Craft's eyes, he held up his hands placatingly.

"All right, all right, I'll get to the point." He took a deep breath.

"You know my...'thing' for Cyberspace, right? Well, for this entire battle, you guys have been seeing something ENTIRELY different from me."

"Say what?" Grey scratched his head.

"You lot have all been seeing this Gemini Cyto guy. But all I've been seeing is a Gemini shaped figure, like a shell of sorts, wrapped around ANOTHER figure inside of it."

He pointed.

"And that would be her."

The girl was staring at him in disbelief.

"You...but...how?!" She demanded, "No-one's ever been able to see through my disguises before!"

" 'No-one' ain't me, girlie." Omega grinned.

"B-but how did you know she wasn't the real Gemini?" Grey asked, "With how scarce the data on Zone Technicians is, and with the tricks they can pull, it would have been easy for Gemini to just be a girl masquerading as a guy the whole time!"

Omega gave him a searching stare.

"...they can do that?"

"Um, yeah..."

There was a moment's silence.

Then Omega turned, a businesslike look on his face.

"Welp, nothing else for it. Come on, take off your pants."

The girl let out a strangled squeak of panic.

"Wh-WHAT?!"

Omega grinned, advancing on her.

"Well, I mean, come on, it's the only way to tell for sure whether you're a guy or not, right?" He shrugged, "After all, what with aaaaalll those 'tricks' you Technicians have, you've gotta be sure, right?"

"Eeek!"

**Please excuse this brief intermission.**

WHAM.

"Get back to the point, old one."

**...or not.**

Omega shot Craft a dirty look, rubbing the back of his head.

"I was just teasing her..."

The look in Craft's eyes shut him up.

"All right, sheesh...But anyway, from that outer 'shell' there was a trail of data leading WAY off into Cyberspace." He shook his head. "It wasn't until I finally hit her just now that I got the confirmation that the trail of data was the REAL power, and that she was just kind of...'channeling' it for lack of a better word."

"…right down to the powers that the real Gemini would have used." Craft finished, a terrible look on his face as he stared at the girl.

"Basically, yeah." Omega continued, "Although this means that the whole fiasco has been a colossal waste of time, since that Gemini chump didn't have the balls to come out and face me head on."

Craft was still staring at the girl, his expression suddenly cold and taut.

"Red Masquerade…" He said finally, the girl stiffening.

Omega turned, suddenly aware of the change in mood.

"Who?"

"Red Masquerade: One of the most unknown Zone Technicians. Ability: Perfect Double. Allows the Masquerade to take on the form of any other known Zone Technician, right down to perfectly duplicating their personalities and mindsets, with access to their powers, so long as the original Technician is willing to support her with them, using the Masquerade as a medium and thus allowing her to 'channel' them. An entirely unique Technician, as her power is almost parasitic in nature, the oversized egos of most Zone Technicians making it easy for her to be employed, particularly by those who don't wish to appear in person."

"A body double of sorts?" Omega's eyes narrowed. "Tch…no wonder he hired Granz…two back-row commanders like them should have gotten along like a house on fire. At least Granz had the balls to bring his personal machines out for me."

Craft towered over Masquerade, cybernetic eye glowing.

"Where is Gemini Cyto?"

The Masque held up her hands, shaking her head frantically.

"I-I don't know, I swear! I'm just the hired actor!"

Gritting his teeth, Craft turned on his heel. True, Masquerade's code was simply to act out the role she was given, regardless of whether it be for good or evil. Thus, she deliberately avoided asking questions like that, in order to maintain her impartiality. As a result, they'd never been able to arrest her, what with legal loopholes always letting her get away on the grounds that she wasn't actually the one committing the crimes. She had even helped Legion a few times, assisting Ace and Vent's Cyberspace operations from time to time, although she'd never met any of them face to face.

But this time…!

He glanced at the God of Destruction, their best hope for anything connected to Cyberspace.

"Is there any way to follow the trail?"

Omega simply rocked back on his heels, arms folded smugly.

"But of course... Just who the hell do you think you're dealing with?"

Craft stared at him.

"A minute ago you said they were too far away to track."

"Well yeah, but that was before I had…"He grinned wider, to reveal a single shining crystal of compressed data held in his teeth.

The Masquerade went as white as a ghost.

"Y-you! How did you get-?!" And then she slapped both hands over her mouth, going a brilliant red as it dawned on her just HOW Omega had managed to 'extract' that data.

Craft simply stared at him, a deadpan look on his face.

"…seriously?"

"Heh, I told you, where Cyberspace is concerned, you can't top me!" He flicked the crystal through his fingers and back, amused.

"What, did you think that whole tongue-tangling session was just for the fun of a good make-out?"

Omega considered that question for a moment, and hastily threw up a hand as Craft opened his mouth to reply.

"…on second thought, don't answer that." He said quickly. "At any rate, I was able to extract the encrypted data seed she was using to relay power from the real Gemini to her. So all I have to do…"

He tossed it up.

"Is break that encryption!"

His jaws slammed shut, steel fangs crushing the delicate crystal as it came back down. A sound like breaking glass, and suddenly a brilliant red road burst from the ground in front of Omega, shooting off into the depths of Cyberspace. Grinning, he turned back to the others.

"Ladies and gents, we have our back door!"

Craft blew past him, Dullahan roaring as he tore up the slope.

"Wh-whoa, what the hell's HIS rush?!"

Omega staggered off balance from the near miss, before giving an angry growl and starting up the road after him.

"N-Nooooo!"

Only to be hit in the midsection by sixty pounds of flying Masquerade grabbing him around the waist.

"Ow! The hell?! GERROFF!"

"NO!" Masquerade shot back, grabbing him tighter "I can't let you stop Gemini!"

"Wh-what?!" He demanded, "WHY?!"

"B-because…if I do that…" She looked up at him, tears of despair running down her face.

"I'LL NEVER BE ABLE TO GET ANOTHER JOB AFTER THIS!"

Omega tripped over his own feet and crashed to the floor.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN, NEVER GET ANOTHER JOB?! IS THIS REALLY THE BEST TIME TO BE THINKING ABOUT YOUR CAREER, WOMAN?!"

"B-but all my other jobs as Masquerade always turn out horribly! And I'm ALWAYS the one who has to run from Security when it always goes sour!" She yelled back, straddling him, "Do you have any idea how HARD it is to get a job as a Zone Technician when all you can do is imitate another one, and even then only when they're ALLOWING you to access their powers?!"

"Well then, just do it WITHOUT their permission!"

"I…huh." She blinked, surprised, "I uh…I hadn't thought of that…"

Omega stared at her in disbelief.

"Are you KIDDING me?!" Bloody hell she really WAS a ditz! Either that, or just naïve beyond all compare!

"A-and also…" She lowered her head slightly, her black hair failing to conceal the pretty blush on her cheeks.

"A-also…?" Omega asked, suddenly nervous for some unexplainable reason.

"Th-that was…" Masquerade twiddled her index fingers together shyly.

Every instinct in Omega's body was suddenly screaming at him to run, to get away, to FLY, YOU FOOL!

"That was my first…k…k-kiss…!" She looked back up at him, a scared and determined look on her face.

"S-so…I-I'll have you take responsibility for that…!" Masquerade ducked her head, overcome.

"I-I'm s-still inexperienced, but I'll d-do my best so…P-please take care of me!"

There was a brief silence.

"E-eek!" Masquerade jumped in surprise as Omega's claws slammed shut on her shoulders.

"O-oi, you…" The God of Destruction's head snapped up, a manic look in his eyes, breathing hard, with blood gushing from both nostrils.

"S-Say that again…!"

"Uh…um..e-er… 'I-I'm still i-inexperienced, b-but I'll do my best, s-so…please t-take care of me'…?"

There was silence again.

* * *

Craft gunned the throttle, charging down the scarlet road with a grim look on his face.

"Dammit…pick up, Marino…!" He gritted his teeth, dialing the A.C.E Command Center. If this was indeed one big distraction, then there was only one place important enough for their enemy to go through all of this for…only ONE place, with a prize valuable enough to risk such an immense undertaking!

"The Legion Mainframe…!"

The single largest collection of data in the entire world. Every record, every file, every piece of digital information that existed in this world, was held in those databanks. The holy grail sought after by every cybercriminal in the world, the Legion mainframe was a prize with an incalculable cost. And more importantly, it also held some of the records on the most dangerous examples of Lost Technology known to human kind, or used during the Maverick and Elf Wars. If any of that were to fall into the hands of a Zone Technician, it would be sold to the highest bidder within hours, with the only worse result being that the Technician simply kept the data to himself and used it to establish an unparalleled amount of power.

And then the commando's increasingly grim thoughts were interrupted, a colossal pillar of crimson power exploded behind him, shaking the entire road, even Cyberspace itself resonating with the monstrous surge of energy.

"Wh-what the devil-?!" Craft stammered, tires screeching as he fought to control the bucking Dullahan.

_**"TEEEEEEEERRAAAAA CUTENEEEEESSS OVAAAALOOOAAAAAAD!"**_

And then something that looked almost EXACTLY like the apocalypse itself, incarnated in the form of a God of Destruction at suddenly 120% overpower blew past him in a hurricane of demonic crimson energy, laughing madly as he brandished the Zweihander wildly, the road itself cracking with the pressure generated from his passage.

Watching the berserk crimson disaster rocket off into the distance, Craft could only stare after him in disbelief.

"What the…hell?"

Somewhere behind him, Grey and Queenbee picked themselves up, groaning and coughing up smoke.

"O-oww…M-master was suddenly so intense…!"

Grey glanced over at the fainted figure of Masquerade, upside down in the crater left by Omega's sudden explosion.

"…Is this what Ace means when he says 'the power of moe-verload'?"

* * *

"And so the fools approach…" Gemini Cyto, the REAL Gemini Cyto, stared out at his screens, a dangerous smile on his face.

"But alas, too little, too late!" He turned to stare up at the colossal edifice of gold that was the Cyberspace representation of the Legion Mainframe. From the moment the battle outside had begun, he had been here, inside Legion, stealthily breaking in through its defenses until he could finally stand here, face to face with the Holy Grail sought after by all Zone Technicians…!

At last, all of the secrets of Legion, the history of the world dating back to the Elf Wars, the personal data for every living citizen of Legion City since time immemorial…their bank accounts, their lives, their loves…EVERYTHING!

Finally, it was his! The treasure trove of information that every Zone Technician strove for!

Gemini couldn't help but laugh, even as his programs began scouring the mainframe, already picking the best information for himself.

And then the alarms went off.

"That's far enough, Gemini Cyto!"

Gates slammed shut all around the mainframe area, locking the Technician in. Not showing any alarm in the slightest, Gemini turned, heaving a sigh.

"So, you've finally come, Rose Hurricane."

Marino glowered down at him from the screen above, dozens of digital gun turrets materializing around the walls of the mainframe area, all trained on the intruder.

"Damn straight I have…Now stand down and surrender to Legion Security at once!"

And Gemini Cyto laughed.

"Really? REALLY?! You expected me to come here, to finally obtain the greatest prize of all, and then simply lie down and surrender because you point a few pitiful constructs at me?!"

A gesture, and with a dull roar, the thirteen divine pillars of Cyto's Onbashira plunged down around him, crushing the walls, the gates and gun turrets alike with an earthshaking crash.

Through the smoke, the Zone Technician's blue visor burned.

"Don't make me laugh." He sneered coldly. "I am Cyto, GEMINI CYTO! A ZONE TECHNICIAN! ONE OF THE GODS OF CYBERSPACE! I WILL NOT BE STOPPED BY A FEW PALTRY DEFENSES SUCH AS THIS!"

He raised his hand, the massive pillars orbiting around him.

"My Zone is a contradiction against the laws of reality itself! What do you think you can POSSIBLY do to me?!"

And a new voice cut through the conversation.

"It's funny you should ask that…!"

"Who-?!" Gemini whirled, another voice speaking up as well.

"Aye…after all, you say your infamous Zone is a contradiction of reality itself?"

A laugh rang out.

"Then all you have to do…is POINT IT OUT!"

And at that moment, one voice roared, a shout loud and strong and triumphant!

_**"OBJECTION!"**_

**[CUE MUSIC! ULTIMATE MARVEL VERSUS CAPCOM 3- THEME OF]**

**PHOENIX WRIGHT!**

And the green world shattered, everything in front of Gemini exploding inwards in shards of green.

"Wh-WHAT?!" He staggered back, shielding his face. "No, THIS VOICE-!"

As the light of the real world shone in, even through the rapidly re-closing gap, he saw the legendary scarlet coat.

The most hated enemy of Zone Technicians the world over!

The man with the one of a kind ability, to breach the barrier of any Zone in the world! As long as he can identify the contradiction against the laws of the world, the bending of the rules that governed Cyberspace and reality, there is nothing that can escape the long arm of the law!

"You...!" Gemini roared, visor flashing with hate and rage, "The Anti-Zone...ACE PHOENIX!"

Ace stood in the gap, one finger still extended and pointing directly at the furious Zone Technician. The same finger that had just forced the laws of reality back into place for that one moment of glory, revealing the real-world server room behind him. When even reality itself is forced to recognize the fundamental contradiction of there being an entity capable of interfering with the very programming of the universe, ALL Zones will be temporarily broken open, allowing the one who made that contradiction known to enter.

Only three things are needed: To be present within the Zone's reach in reality, to know the true identity of the one responsible for the Zone, and an iron conviction that not even the universe's natural programming can turn aside.

"The one and only!" He grinned, blue eyes flashing.

"Damnation…I was told you would be out of the way until I finished here!" Without wasting a minute, Gemini hurled all thirteen pillars straight at him, the air shaking with the force.

"And I'm VERY interested in just who told you that…" Ace's eyes narrowed at the oncoming attack. "But unfortunately, I've got another friend here who'd like to talk to you first!"

Seizing one of the sides of his coat, he yanked it open. The scarlet cloth flared out, and for a brief instant, the inner surface of that coat showed something else, a window from Cyberspace back into the real world.

And in that moment, blue and red light burst forth from it, flashing through the void in a ceaseless spiral of brilliant energy.

**"GIIIIIGAAAAAAAA!"**

The gate to Cyberspace now unlocked, Vent hurtled forward, cerulean and crimson light roaring through the energy, a spiral of power wrapping around his forearm and expanding into a colossal drill of energy, blue and red intertwined in a raging revolution.

**"VEEEEEEEENT!"**

The light roared, the red and blue spiral expanding until it dwarfed Vent, power exploding around him as he rocketed forward.

_**"BREEEEAAAAAAAAKAAAAAAAAAAAH!"**_

The Onbashira shattered, a solid wall of power slamming into them as Vent crashed through, the massive drill obliterating everything in it's path.

Gemini screamed, his right arm twisted apart into nothingness, the original Chosen One blasting past him with a roar.

Data fragments flew, Vent's boots smashing the ground as he skidded to a halt, the massive drill dispelled in another burst of red and blue power.

"And so long as there's someone to open that path to Cyberspace…" He grinned, "There's no enemy I can't pierce!"

"HELL YEAH!" Ace crowed.

"Although seriously…are you SURE there's no better way to get me here?" He gave Ace an irritated look.

"Dude, shut up." Ace groaned. "I keep telling you, I can only get myself in with the 'Anti-Contradiction' move, and I can only open the gate for someone else once I'm IN here…"

"Well yeah, but…"

"Just take your damn Dynamic Entrance and go with it, would you?!" Ace snapped. "Now let's TAKE this turkey before he does any more damage to the mainframe!"

Gemini clenched his one remaining fist, data spiraling around his ruined socket to form a new one.

"Fine then..!" He turned to face the charging red and blue duo. "I'll smash you both ONCE AND FOR ALL!"

The Mainframe behind him flashed, luminous blue lines racing up its surface.

"Dammit!" Marino's eyes widened, alarms blaring. "Ace, he's taken over the mainframe! He's using it to boost his own processor power!"

"Nothing like a challenge!" Vent grinned, power already flaring around him.

"AGREED!" Ace laughed madly.

**[Cue Music: Necrofantasia Remix- Demetori]**

"CHARGE! ARK OF THE WORLD!"

Gemini roared, the world shaking as he cut loose. From thin air, a whole slew of beasts and Mechaniloids burst forth, hundreds upon thousands of them barreling towards the two heroes of Legion. Every known species of deadly beast ever recorded in the Legion Mainframe, every recorded model of offensive Mechaniloid, all summoned at once and charging forward in a blind rage.

"OI, Vent!" Ace called, grinning.

"Yeah?"

"You taking this one, or should I?"

"Nah, relax..." Vent laughed aloud, skidding to a halt and raising a hand towards the oncoming horde. "I GOT THIS!"

And as the world around him warped and twisted, the original Chosen One smirked.

"After all, when it comes down to numbers..." His eyes glinted with an unholy glee.

"KEKEKE! ZERG RUUUUUUUUUUUSH!"

And the hordes of the Swarm thundered past him.

"GODDAMN CHEAP-ASS ZERG PLAYEEEER~!" Ace yelled in outrage, diving out of the path of the stampede.

* * *

In the main control room of A.C.E, Marino sighed and pressed her head into her hands.

"Seriously…? HOW HAVE THOSE TWO NOT GOTTEN THEMSELVES KILLED YET?!"

Next to her, Cinnamon sighed, and offered her a drink.

"Oh, thanks Cin…" Ace's second-in-command said absentmindedly, taking a sip before spitting it all out in shock.

"Ci-Ci-CINNAMON?! Wha…how…where've you been?!"

Cinnamon simply sighed again.

"I've been working on refining the extra stuff for Mister Ace, silly! Remember, he's been putting a lot of physical stress on himself lately, and it's only a matter of time before he burns himself out again…"

Marino's expression darkened.

"I see…any luck?"

Cinnamon shook her head sadly.

"I can't do anything more than what we've already done for him. The most we can do now, is to get ready for when it does happen, to get him back on his feet as soon as we can."

"Damn it…" Marino growled, sinking back into her chair. Her eyes flicked over to the screen where Ace was currently in the midst of headbutting an enemy minotaur of some kind to the ground.

"Well, on the bright side, at least in Cyberspace, he doesn't need to worry about holding back…"

It was the one bright spot of their situation.

For it was only there in Cyberspace, the place where the laws of physics and reality didn't matter, that Ace could truly go all-out, fighting without needing to worry about limits of any kind.

…okay, to be fair, he never worried about limits in the FIRST place to begin with, but at least in Cyberspace, he wasn't likely to get killed because of it.

And then her console blinked, indicating that the Legion Mainframe was being accessed again.

"Dammit, here we go again…!"

* * *

Gemini gave a snarl of anger upon seeing his army stopped in its tracks.

"So you brought an army of your own, I see…!"

"DAMN STRAIGHT!" Vent yelled back, grinning fiercely, "But we got a BETTER one!"

As one, the massed forces of Vent's favorite swarm tactics gave a screech of rage and slammed into the center of Gemini's attackers, a condensed wedge of carnage hammering through the defenses.

Gritting his teeth, Gemini channeled more power through his connection to the Mainframe. His visor flashed, time beginning to dilate as the vast resources of the world's most powerful computing hardware surged through him.

"Blast it…Ace!" Marino's voice rang out, "As cliched as it sounds, he's using the Mainframe to boost his own processing speed!"

"He's…oh that is it." A vein pulsed in Ace's forehead. "He's increasing his processor speed to increase his ACTUAL speed?! COME ON!" Annoyance and cliched cheesy tactics aside, Ace looked up at the floating screen overhead.

"Marino, is there any way to shut down the Mainframe from here?"

She shook her head in anger.

"No can do, Ace. He's locked just about every means of access in Legion. We're getting reports of HUNDREDS of businesses and organizations complaining about downed servers and lost resources. I have our backups doing what they can, but we're losing connections faster than we can keep up."

"Well, just QUARANTINE the entire Mainframe! So long as we can stop him from getting into any other systems, the backups should be able to compen-!"

Any further ranting was cut off by Gemini appearing directly in front of the Scarlet Commander and slamming him fifty feet backwards with a point blank pillar summon moving almost at the speed of thought.

Vent's eyes widened, and he leaped back, hundreds of pillars hurtling down on the clashing armies with the speed and impact of a full scale aerial bombardment.

"Wiping out your own army, Cyto?" He taunted, "Not so much of a team player, are you!"

"SHUT UP, YOU!" Gemini snapped, a dozen smaller pillars materializing all around Vent and slamming inwards, only the Chosen One's phenomenal skill keeping from a crushing death.

"All right, Cyto, you wanna play a contest of speed? THEN LET'S PLAY A CONTEST OF SPEED!"

The angry yell echoed from in the distance, and Gemini turned to see Ace rising, a brilliant red aura around him. Light flashed, and a new weapon appeared in his grip, a white beam surging from the hilt.

"Let's go…!" Raising it to eye level, he charged.

"STRAWBERRY ON THE SHORTCAKE!"

**[Cue Music: REVENGE- No More Heroes OST]**

And the next thing Gemini knew, he was fighting for his life to parry a beam katana that seemed to be slashing and striking at him from every angle at once, cutting through his blocking pillars as fast as he could summon them.

"Wh-what the hell kind of move is this?!" He demanded, leaping out of the way as the flashing white energy blade sliced past.

"The craziest!" Ace laughed, blow after blow raining down. One swing around the left, a pillar slamming into his blade. One to the right, a pillar sacrificing itself to defend Gemini again. Another decapitating strike, the Technician dropping down and launching a counterattack with a pillar rocketing straight for Ace's gut. A flash of blue, Ace twisting to the side and away as eight copies of Vent blurred into the air around Gemini.

"CODE KIRIN: OVERDRIVE!"

One kick across the jaw. One punch smashing across the chest. A double hammer blow to the stomach. A whirling axe kick down as Gemini doubled up. As the Technician hurtled towards the ground, another Vent yanked him out of the fall, swinging him up and over before smashing him into the ground on the other side. As he bounced, another came hurtling in with a straight kick that crashed into Cyto's chest and hurled him across the arena. With a roar, the seventh met him halfway, open palm slamming onto the Technician's face and grabbing his head hard enough to crack the mask. Leaning forward, straining against Gemini's momentum, he smashed the Technician ninety degrees straight down, crushing a six foot wide crater in the ground with the back of Cyto's skull.

"And now the Grand Finale!" The copies disappeared in flashes of data, the eighth and final Vent, the real Vent, appearing high in the air, one leg drawn up.

"AAAAAATLAAAAAAAAANTIIIIIS…!"

Red and blue light howled through the air, coalescing around Vent's leg as he slammed it forward into a full body flying kick down at Gemini's motionless form.

_**"STRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIKE!"**_

Space and time distorted, as a kick capable of breaking entire continents streaked down from the sky, smashing into Gemini, and blasting a sixty foot wide crater of broken green data into the floor as the Technician snarled in pain.

"WHOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAA!" Vent roared, putting even more power into the attack, the ground cracking and twisting as the red and blue spiral raged around him.

And then, as the crater suddenly smashed even deeper, he leapt up and away, a rain of pillars slamming down around him like spears, one clipping him in midair and sending him spinning into the ground.

"YOOOOUUUUUUUU!" Gemini screamed in rage, blasting himself free of the earth again and causing the ground beneath Vent to explode in a new array of pillars that rocketed up towards the Chosen One.

**"FLAAAAAAME BUUUUUSTEEEER **_**KIIIIIIIICK**_**!"**

A meteor streaked down through the heavens, Ace launching an epic diving kick of his own that smashed straight into the side of the pillars and launching them flying like broken bowling pins across the room, crashing into one another and disintegrating into pieces.

Even as Gemini blasted the onrushing pillars apart with six well aimed new ones, Ace had used the momentum of his earlier attack to launch himself back into the air, beam katana reappearing.

"BLUEBERRY CHEESE BROWNIE!"

Slashing through the air multiple times, he launched sphere after sphere of destructive energy down at the Technician, each slash generating another one. They slammed down around Gemini like a meteor shower, explosion after explosion erupting around him.

"Guh...damn it, I need more!" Behind Gemini, the monolithic edifice of the Mainframe pulsed again, the Technician drawing more power from it.

"...well that can't be good." Vent deadpanned, standing atop one of the many pillars stabbed into the ground.

"Son of a- Ace, we just lost power to the entire Northern sector! He just knocked out the geothermal plants!"

"Geh...little busy here, Marino!" Ace gritted, before dropping the katana and dropping down to the floor below as a COLOSSAL blast of fire scorched past him, a screeching roar close behind it.

Rolling frantically behind cover, he hastily extinguished a stray wisp of burning hair and looked back out.

"Oh he is just ASKING for it now."

A massive spiked tail swept apart the clouds of dust, flames roaring up as what looked like a dragon made out of an entire volcanic mountain range reared up, a gigantic claw already swinging down at Ace' s hiding spot.

"Oh god DAMN it...!" Throwing himself sideways as the beast's claws tore through the pillar he'd been using for cover, Ace swore, manifesting his Scarlet Skin and blasting away with palm-mounted plasma casters.

"What's the matter, Phoenix?" Gemini gloated, his summoned dragon cutting loose with another eye-burning blast of fire. "Too hot for you?!"

"Oi oi, only I'm allowed to make the cheesy jokes around here!"

Gemini cursed and ducked, a dozen spectral blue swords shooting past his head. Swearing, he turned to see Vent with one hand outstretched, a dozen more of the ghostly swords spinning around him in a manner reminiscent of a certain Son of Sparda.

"Quit posing, you loser!" Ace yelled over the commotion, "You're cutting in on my screentime!"

"You snooze, you lose, Phoenix!" The Chosen One grinned, vaulting over the dragon's tail as Gemini turned it around, roaring angrily as he tried to crush Vent again, the man in question hurling all of the summoned swords after the Technician's head in retaliation.

"Hold STILL, you sonofabitch!"

"Sorry, but I'd rather not!" Landing atop the armored scales, the brown haired Guardian leader raced across the back of the beast, ignoring the pillars hurtling past him mere inches away. Light flashed in his hand, an epic chord ringing out in the void as Vent drew back the electric guitar, the engine in it revving like a chainsaw.

"FLCL...HOOOOOOOOOOOME RUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!"

_**BWAAAOOOOOOONG!**_

Guitar strings screamed out, Vent smashing the guitar STRAIGHT into Gemini's face with a wild whoop, sending the Technician pinwheeling down the length of the dragon's snout with an outraged yowl of pain.

Flipping backwards through the air, even as the dragon lunged down at Ace below, he recovered, feet slamming down on a new pillar and launching himself back towards Vent like a humanoid bullet. The Chosen One's eyes widened, cursing as he realized he'd never recover from the follow-through in time-

WHAM!

Gemini's armored helm slammed into his chest, Vent choking on blood as the impact hurled him clear off of the dragon's head as the Technician skidded to a halt in his previous position. With a malicious grin, Gemini straightened up and gestured, adding insult to injury as the dragon's tail lanced up and over, before rocketing down and smashing the flying Chosen One clear out of the air and into the ground with the force of a cannon blast, green shards of data hurtling in every direction.

"D...Dammit Ace!" Vent growled, wincing as he waited for his bones to re-knit. "You're the self-proclaimed pro at this, so start throwing down the wrath already, would you?!"

"GLADLY!" Ace snarled. "And now that you're FINALLY out of my line of fire, I can do just that!"

Scarlet Skin roaring, he seized the jaws approaching him in both hands, and with a blast of radiant scarlet power, twisted, hurling the massive beast tail over teakettle past him.

"You wanted to challenge ME, Gemini? ME. ACE _**GODDAMN**_ PHOENIX, in the HEART OF LEGION CITY'S CYBERSPACE, to a duel of _**IMAGINATION**_?!"

He slammed his fists together and drew them apart, a single card spinning between the open fingers of his right.

"FINE THEN! LET ME SHOW YOU A REAL DRAGON'S POWER!"

A colossal magic circle blazed to life behind the Scarlet Phoenix, white lightning crashing through the air.

"COME! TYRANT WHO RULES THE HEAVENS!" He thundered, his scarlet coat-tails defying gravity as they whipped out behind him.

"BLUE EYES WHITE DRAGON!"

The magic circle shattered, the legendary dragon of white steel and burning blue eyes tearing a hole in the world, roaring its rage as it took to the skies, massive wings flaring. With an answering scream, Gemini's beast reared up, spewing devastating surges of fire after the airborne serpent.

Ace brought his hand down, savage delight in his blue eyes.

"TAKE HIM DOWN! NEUTRON BLAST!"

With a screech of fury, the massive white dragon did exactly that, thunder crashing through the sky as it snapped it's head forward, raw, uncontrolled electrical might blazing from it's jaws in a colossal blast of lightning.

Gemini screamed with rage as Technician and dragon alike vanished in a mammoth detonation that shook the reaches of Cyberspace for miles around-

-only to be torn apart as the Technician ripped the surge to pieces with his armored hands, armor cracked and battered, as his beast reconstituted itself beneath his feet, shoulders and neck exploding in a shower of gore as four additional heads tore their way free, each with a savage reptilian head on the end snarling with a different elemental power.

"AS IF ONE PATHETIC BEAST COULD EVER KILL ME!" Gemini shrieked. "RIP HIM APART, HYDRA!"

Fire, ice and lightning crashed down around Ace, and through the air at his still flying creature. A fourth head roared, the ground beneath him shattering and blasting upwards, sharp chunks of rock slicing into him.

But even as a stray splinter slashed across his cheek, Ace never flinched, that same dangerous grin on his face.

"So one's not enough, is it?!" He laughed, throwing his free arm out to the side, palm upwards.

"That's fine by me!" A flash of brown and blue, and suddenly Vent was there, one hand slapping down on Ace's outstretched own. Light flashed from the space between them as the Chosen One turned away, Ace bringing two more spinning cards across to join the first one in his other hand, a demonic grin on his face.

"THEN HOW ABOUT THREE?!"

The skies split asunder, thunder roaring and lightning blazing, as not one, but TWO more Blue Eyes dragon tore through the green night, screaming their rage at the enemy before them.

Behind his mask, Gemini Cyto's eyes widened in rage.

"You...!"

"TRIPLE THREAT!" Vent laughed madly.

"THREE-WAY WHITE LIGHTNING BARRAGE!" Ace roared, the heavens themselves blasting downwards to smite the five-headed beast like the wrath of god.

"DAMN YOOOOOOOOOOOUUUU!" Gemini screamed, the blasts punching shattered holes in the barrier he'd thrown up, each one vaporizing one of his beast's heads in flashes of red. Even as his monster roared in pain, the Technician was pressing the attack, dozens of pillars appearing at his sides and blasting away like an entire array of artillery guns.

"IT'S STILL NOT ENOUGH, YOU FOOLS!" He thundered, one hand thrust out as dozens of energy blasts tore up the area around the Scarlet Commander, the white dragons diving and looping as shells hurtled past them.

"THE HELL IT IS!" Ace roared back. Snapping both arms upwards, he gave a wild howl.

"IIIIIIKUZOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO !"

** [Cue Music: BREAK OUT!-JAM Project]**

Back to back with him, Vent flicked his fingers, a devilish smile on his face as a new card snapped out between them.

Above the two heroes, the three dragons came together with divine roars, weaving a spiraling, interwoven trail of light as they barreled upwards to the sky, before looping around and charging straight towards Gemini, darting and diving around the furious barrage from the Zone Technician.

"Damn damn damn damn damn damn **DAMN DAMN DAMN DAMN DAMN DAMN** _**DAAAAAAAAAAMMMMNN YOOOOOOOOOOOUUUU!**_" Gemini screamed, rage and hatred in his mad eyes as he redoubled his assault.

"WHY WON'T YOU FUCKERS JUST _**DIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEE**_?!"

"VENT!" Ace glanced back over his shoulder, a savage smile on his face.

"Yeah, I hear you!" The Chosen One gave an answering grin, his long hair whipping in the raging wind. Raising his hand, he threw that last card to the skies, a spiral of red and blue power erupting from it with a force that shook the world.

"YOU THINK THIS IS ALL IT TAKES TO TAKE US ON?!" He roared. "THEN FACE THIS!"

"THE WRATH OF THREE...!"

"...FUSED INTO ONE!"

And two voices roared through the green darkness, as Guardian Commander and Scarlet Commander stood as one.

_**"POLYMERIZATIOOOOOOOOOOOON!**_"

A scream of rage in the night, and Gemini Cyto's world shook. The mammoth hydra beneath him shrieked, the brilliant white colossus of the three headed Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon slamming into it in a full body blow, roaring with divine fury. Silver claws lashed out, the last two hydra heads spinning away in showers of blood and fragmenting data.

"I CAN STILL REGENERATE YOU FOOLS!" The Technician thundered, fresh heads erupting from the stumps. "And now you face TEN heads instead of five!"

But even as all ten of the beast's heads reared up, fire and death spitting forth, the legendary white dragon of legends roared, godly white power erupting to life in the jaws of it's three heads, rage and hate in it's eyes for the abomination before it.

And Ace and Vent spoke for it.

"FUCK YOUR NUMBERS _AND_ YOUR REGENERATION...!"

"WE'LL JUST ANNIHILATE YOU UNTIL THERE'S NOT EVEN A SCRAP LEFT!"

Hands thrust out towards the battle before them, both Commanders howled their defiance.

"GO! ULTIMAAAAAAAAAATE...!"

"WHIIIIIIIIIITE LIIIIIGHTNIIIIIIIIIIIING...!"

_**"ATTAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK!"**_

With a scream of fury, the Blue Eyes Ultimate cut loose, a thunderous white beam of power blasting from each head, warping and twisting around each other to form a single monstrous wall of destruction that surged forward. Before the outraged eyes of the Technician, his own attacks vanished, devoured by the white storm that filled his vision, his hydra's entire body disintegrating into atoms under the impossible power.

"DAAAAAAAAAMN YOOOOOOOOOOOUUUU!"

Throwing his arms up before his face, he leapt clear of his beast, the brilliant beam of destruction erasing it in an instant.

"AND WHERE THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?!"

The summoned Blue Eyes vanishing behind them, it's task completed, both Commanders charged, a burning steel fist and spiralling kick scything in towards the Technician from both sides-

And striking empty air, Gemini vanishing before their eyes.

"Slippery bastard...!" Vent gritted, even as the world around them warped and twisted, transforming into a massive spherical chamber, Gemini's power reconstructing the entire arena.

"You damned dogs of Legion...!" The Technician snarled, his voice resounding through the empty chamber. "To HELL with the Mainframe...if I can't have it, I'LL JUST BLAST IT TO FRAGMENTS ALONG WITH YOU BOTH!"

Marino gritted her teeth, alarms ringing out throughout the A.C.E command deck.

"Dammit...! Ace, Vent!" She yelled into the communications line, "He's taken control of the entire Mainframe area!"

She looked across at other screens, showing technicians battling the fires erupting from overheated servers, alarms going off throughout Legion's administration. No doubt the Masters were going to have a FIT about this...!

Ace and Vent stood their ground, looking up as every inch of the walls, ceiling and floor unfolded, hundreds upon thousands of pillars emerging from the smooth surface, all pointed directly at them. And as the ends of each pillar began to glow ominously, Ace grinned.

"Hey Vent..."

"Yeah, I'm thinking it too. That one combined summon we never quite found a reason to break out..."

"Now's about as good a time as any, eh?" Ace chuckled, red light erupting around his frame.

"Why not?!" Vent laughed, blue power exploding from his body.

The Scarlet Phoenix raised a hand to the skies.

"ROAR! THE CREST OF COURAGE!"

"HOWL! THE CREST OF..."

There was an awkward moment of silence. Ace rolled his eyes and gave Vent an irritated look.

"Well?"

"...do I HAVE to say this?" Vent hedged, looking mildly embarrassed.

"Oh come on, you say that EVERY TIME we try this!"

"Well what do you expect?!" Vent shot back, "It's easy for YOU, you have 'Courage' which still sounds cool!"

"Yours isn't bad!"

"Dude, yelling 'The Crest of FRIENDSHIP'?" The Guardian Commander winced, "It's just so...corny!"

"Oh for the love of...will you get over it already?!"

A bead of sweat slid down the back of Gemini's unseen neck, one hand still raised.

"Er...hello...? I'm uh...I'm still here...y'know, with a million cannons of death pointed at you...?"

Marino sighed.

"They'll uh...they'll be back with you in a minute. This happens all the time."

"...oh. Nah, it's cool. I can wait."

A moment of silence as Vent and Ace continued ranting at each other.

Then Gemini punched himself across the face, shaking his head.

"No, wait, what the hell am I saying?! This is perfect!" Snapping one hand out at the bickering duo, he roared triumphantly.

**"OMNIDIRECTIONAL ONBASHIRA CANNON..._FIRE!_"**

And as light burst forth from the muzzle of well over the million cannons, destructive power hurtling in towards the red and blue pair from every conceivable direction, Vent gave an angry growl.

"God, FINE!" Throwing one hand to the sky, brilliant blue power surging around him once more, he thundered.

"HOWL! THE CREST OF...CAMRADERIE!"

Ace gave him an outraged look.

"Oh, you WUSS!"

"BITE ME, ASSHOLE!"

And the energy screamed to life around them, a column of blazing white energy erupting from the void.

"COME!" Ace thundered.

"THE WHITE KNIGHT WHO GUARDS THE DARK!"

_**"OMNIMON...ZEEEEEEEEE...EEEEEEEEEXXXXXXX!"**_

**[Cue Music: EVERYWHERE YOU GO! (X MIX) – Super Robot Wars OG]**

With a curse, Gemini recoiled, a colossal tower of white light erupting from the ground, powerful gravitational waves stripping his beams from the air themselves and absorbing them into the vortex.

"What the hell is that-?!"

Red and blue light flashed, energy given form from nothingness.

The lights coalesced, the red solidifying into a massive version of the Model Z helmet, the blue condensing into a form not unlike the blue helm of Model X.

And then the helmets slammed shut, transforming into armored gauntlets that resembled streamlined mechanical heads, like armored claws. Light burst from the back of each, lashing out, knitting together artificial sinews, steel flesh and iron bone beneath powerful armor.

As the data continued to condense, it moved up, forming forearms, and shoulders, each emblazoned with the colors of their respective helmets.

The arm formed from Model Z burned a brilliant red and black, emblazoned with a familiar blue gem and scarlet fins.

The arm from Model X glinted blue and white, a red gem and rounded armor plates.

A hexagonal shoulder plate slammed into place on the left, marked with the crimson Z.

A semicircular band of steel on the right, an X shining on the joint where it attached itself to the shoulder.

"You wanted a fight, Gemini...?" Ace grinned, borne aloft by the scarlet power raging around him.

"Well, now you've GOT one!" Vent smiled dangerously, shoulder to shoulder with Ace as blue energy flared around his frame.

In the empty space between those two waiting arms, the white storm of energy burst apart, sparks crackling through the air as it took on a new form.

Cyberspace shattered, a blazing white cape billowing through the green world. Taloned boots materialized, metal impacts ringing out as armored sections locked into place, materializing from the boots and moving upwards.

The white steel ended at the midsection, a narrow-waisted, wide-shouldered black torso condensing from a spiralling swirl of darkness. And then as the light shattered, armor crashed into place on that chest, locking that black steel heart behind a high-collared breastplate of pure white steel.

With a crash that shook the entire space around them, the two arms slammed into place, shoulder sockets locking together on either side of that torso. They were still for but a moment, before light flashed again, and suddenly they writhed and flexed, power coursing through the artificial muscles as metal groaned and creaked.

And finally, from the empty space within that steel collar, the horned white helmet snapped up, finishing it's materialization even as it moved. Metallic cracks rang out as it twisted, the black neck snapping from one side to the other, as if working out the final kinks of the last few spinal connectors. That last preparation completed, the helmeted head dropped back down to the normal level. Brilliant green eyes flashed to life in the empty black sockets as it glared out at the enemy, golden fins flicking up on the back of the helm, a single white horn glinting on it's forehead.

Crossing it's arms over it's chest, the mighty mechanized knight of steel seemed to shudder for a moment, before snapping them out to the sides again, a colossal shockwave of invisible power blasting out from it. It's summon complete, the legendary Royal Knight in white iron, a Cyberspace construct conceived by Ace, so powerful that it required TWO minds working in tandem to manifest it, roared, not with a voice, but with a wordless steel howl that seemed to radiate from the iron body itself.

"Tch...!" Gemini lowered a hand from his face, glaring through the dying light with a hateful glint. "So THIS is your final hand, is it?! Ignorant FOOLS!"

Snapping one hand up to the sky, his visor burned brightly as the green walls around them both glowed, the sparks of charging Onbashira spreading out across them like the lights of the night sky.

"WHAT CAN ONE PITIFUL SUMMON DO AGAINST THE THOUSANDS OF GODKILLING WEAPONS AT MY COMMAND?!" Gemini laughed madly, and with a devastating sound like space itself being torn asunder, those cannons fired.

Blue light flashed in Ace's eyes, a savage grin on his face.

"YOU'D BE SURPRISED!"

**[Cue Music: Touhou Mashup-Our Hisou Tensoku/All Mankind's Hisou Tensoku ]**

"After all..." Vent grinned. "Even if all the lights in the sky around us are enemies, how could either of us call ourselves a hero if we were to retreat from something like that?!"

The colossus of white steel rumbled its approval, shoulders flexing with a metallic crash, the white cloak billowing behind it, green eyes burning as it stared down the coming onslaught, naught but a blazing fire of determination reflected within.

**It casts a huge shadow upon the ground - natural, for a Fortress of Peace,  
A 109-meter tall, 2-ton heavy machine.**

Boots slamming down on the scarlet steel of the knight's shoulder, Ace snapped a hand out, roaring triumphantly.

"IKUZOOOOOOOOO!"

**Wielding its ancient power for the sake of the world,  
Carrying our hopes on its back, it's launching right now!**

The legendary Royal Knight's eyes flashed, raising that powerful left arm. A flash of light, and pure green energy erupted from the end of the helmeted fist, solidifying into a long straight-edged blade of green hued steel, undecipherable writing blazing along it's length.

**Bring light to the tear-stained Gensoukyou!  
Now, with all your might!**

**Unleash your light, Suuuuuuper Roboooooooot!**

And with a roar, it brought that infamous blade slashing across the world in a perfect circle.

"REEEEEED SWOOOOOOOOOORD!"

In an instant, the tables turned, that single swing enough to smash away Gemini's attacks and send them hurtling back towards their source, the White Knight's wordless roar thundering through the green-hued dark.

"WHAT?!" The Technician gaped in astonishment as explosions burst to life throughout his arrays of cannons.

**Nuclear fusion levels at 97 percent! Hisou Tensoku, LAUNCH!**

"MY TURN!" Vent thundered, landing atop the blue iron of the knight's right shoulder.

"GOOOOOOOOO!"

**Iron Fists of Rage!**

**Iron Fists of Justice! **

**To crush all evil,**

The cerulean right arm lifted, a colossal cannon barrel extending from the helmeted gauntlet, already blazing with a blue light.

"BUUUUSTEEEEEEEER SPAAAAAAAAAAAARK!"

The almighty cannon, forged from the records of history's strongest Reploid, roared, a monstrous blast of power slamming into Gemini's cannons. Hundreds shattered, annihilated under the impossibly powerful shell.

"UWOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

With a wild roar from Vent, the legendary knight of steel whirled, cannon blasting again and again, shattering the skies with each impact. Omnimon ZX's eyes were alight, flickering over the surroundings as fast as thought, cannon tracking each new target with an almost instantaneous response time.

**Bursting Barrage!**

**Explosive Barrage!**

**Give 'em both barrels blazing!**

"CLEAVE THE WOOOOOOOOOOORLD!"

A flash of steel, and the Red Sword tore a gash through the cannons again, reflecting beams with each stroke, Ace's blue eyes glinting as he snarled through the maelstrom, ignoring the beams slashing past him on every side. His will was the White Knight's, and in its own way, so too was the White Knight's will his own as well...!

**Iron Fists of Hope!**

**Iron Fists of Our Wishes!**

**To bring back those smiling faces...**

"WHY WON'T YOU JUST DIE?!" Gemini screamed, cracks racing across his mask as he summoned cannon after cannon, his pillars blasting away in a barrage that turned the green world white with power.

**Thermonuclear munitions!**

**A thermonuclear Warrior!  
The machine we've dreamed of... Hisou Tensokuuuuuuuu!**

"BECAUSE THIS IS WHAT IT MEANS TO CHALLENGE A HERO!" Vent roared, fury and an iron determination blazing in his eyes, the White Knight beneath him responding to that roar with one of it's own, twisting between another barrage, cannon blast shaking the world.

**With that indestructible love, cast away your fears!  
Unleash it - Yasaka Hurricane! Did you see the Power of Miracles?**

"THIS IS WHAT IT MEANS TO CRUSH ALL EVIL!" Ace screamed back. The Red Sword flashed, shredding beams that could slay even the gods, tearing them apart even as it blasted them back the way they had come.

**With perpetual nuclear fusion, with a geyser as hot as Hell,  
Stand tall, Onbashira! Launch immediately!**

"TO STAND AND KEEP FIGHTING, NO MATTER THE ENEMY!"

"EVEN IF THE WORLD WERE TO TURN AGAINST US..."

**Igniting the fighting spirit slumbering in your heart,  
Brandish that mighty light, Suuuuuuper Roboooooooot!**

_**"WE'LL SMASH ON THROUGH YOU ALL!"**_

**Mode Shift: Grey Thaumaturgy. Standby, OK!**

That burning blue cannon roared, again and again, the legendary blade of blazing green cleaving through everything.

The might of Legion, the might of the Guardians!

Now, Scarlet Commander, and Biometal Commander stand as one!

The combined courage to tear apart those who would threaten the world!

**Iron Fists of Rage!**

**Iron Fists of Justice!**

**Show no mercy for their schemes!**

The man who pursues the dream of a hero!

**Bursting Barrage!**

**Explosive Barrage!**

**Always getting back on your feet!**

The man who pursues that lonely wish to protect!

**Iron Fists of Hope!**

**Iron Fists of Our Wishes!**

**Tightly grasping this vow!**

Scarlet and cerulean power screamed through the dark world, the legendary white knight, the Royal Knight of that digital universe never faltering! Born from one man's sheer courage, and the iron-hearted determination of another, that artificial construct, that being of white steel and data roared with a voice all it's own, inheriting that sheer burning drive, to fight, to win, to protect!

**The mighty machine... Hisou Tensoku!**

**Thermonuclear munitions! A Thermonuclear Warrior!  
The mighty machine... Hisou Tensokuuuuu!**

As the green world shattered, the enraged Technician finally revealed, his cannon defenses breached at last, Gemini gave a scream of rage, space twisting around him.

"You...How DARE YOU DEFY ME!"

A colossal construct of solidified Cyberspace forming around him, a monstrous, dehumanized avatar of himself tearing free of the restraints of space and lunging forward, he threw a colossal pillar straight at them, the air vibrating with the force of it's passage.

As the shadow fell over them, Omnimon ZX turned, eyes widening, even as it realized it was too close, even as its two commanders swore, throwing up as many defenses as they could muster. With a yell of pain, Ace staggered, the pillar striking the Knight dead center and hurling it from the sky as Vent cursed, the impact ringing through his body.

A tremendous crash, the solid surface beneath it cratering with the force of the impact, the knight gave an angry growl and punched aside the pillar pressing down on it, Vent recovering first and bringing the blue cannon up once more.

Only for his eyes to widen, an outstretched claw bigger than Omnimon ZX itself descending and crushing them further into the ground.

"HOW'S THIS?!" Gemini cackled, his voice distorted by the monstrous avatar around him. "HOW DOES IT FEEL TO FACE THE WRATH OF GOD?! THIS IS THE UNSTOPPABLE POWER OF A ZONE TECHNICIAN!"

Ace gritted his teeth, blood running from a gash in his forehead. He could feel the Knight beneath him shaking, struggling to retaliate as well, alarms blaring through his vision, telling him that he was rapidly approaching the limits of what his mind could sustain. The White Knight growled, sword and Buster slammed up into the massive palm over it, it's clawed boots shattering the green floor beneath it as it fought the colossal pressure.

And yet, just like the Scarlet Phoenix standing atop it, the legendary Royal Knight would not surrender. A wordless hatred for the evil in its sight, the fusion of data and iron snarled, cracks running through its leg armor as it pushed its strength to the limit and beyond.

"Damn...!" Vent gritted his teeth in a taut smile, dropping to one knee as he struggled to hold off the crushing hand of the mad Technician, feeling the power beneath him shaking in response. "You...really are one of the tougher Techs, aren't you...?"

But a single chuckle escaped him.

"But too bad for you...that you picked US as opponents!"

The savage laughter of Ace Phoenix, the infamous Scarlet Commander rang out.

"Damn STRAIGHT!" He snarled. "'God'...? 'Unstoppable power'...?!"

Blue eyes flashed through the dark, a massive tremor shaking Gemini's hand.

"Wh-what is this?!"

**Ahh! Overcome countless battles!**

**Now, GAGANGAN!**

"DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH!"

**GAGANGAN!**

The ground shattering beneath them, the unstoppable white knight rose once more! Armor cracked and battered, that tattered white cape flared out, green eyes blazing in that steel helm! An earthshaking steel howl, that soul of white iron and chivalry burning hotter than even the Inferno!

**GAGANGAN!**

"EVEN IF GOD HIMSELF STANDS IN OUR WAY...!"

**SUUUUPER ROBOOOOT!**

"I'LL BLAST ON THROUGH HIM!" Vent thundered.

**Native Faith, operational! Energy, full throttle!**

That legendary cannon roared, again and again, shockwaves slamming down around the rising knight, shattering the ground with the recoil. Despite his best, Gemini realized with a sudden terror that he couldn't suppress them, his overwhelming might crumbling as the repeated blasts pushed his hand further and further up.

"H-HOW?!" He screamed, unable to believe it. "HOW ARE YOU STILL FORCING ME BACK?!"

**Iron Fists of Rage!**

**Iron Fists of Justice!**

**To crush all evil!**

"CHAAAAAAAAARGING SPAAAAAAAAAAAARK!"

A single mammoth blast of blue energy exploded, obliterating Gemini's hand entirely and throwing him back with the recoil, screaming in pain as the feedback sent lines of pain racing up his real arm.

**Bursting Barrage!**

**Explosive Barrage!**

**Give 'em both barrels blazing!  
**

"BECAUSE EVEN IF YOU WERE THE DEVIL INCARNATE...!" Vent snarled, powerful boosters blasting to life beneath that brilliant cloak, Omnimon ZX charging straight for the colossal avatar's face with a scream of high-power turbines.

**Iron Fists of Hope!**

**Iron Fists of Our Wishes!**

**To bring back those smiling faces...**

"THIS SWORD OF JUSTICE WILL CLEAVE EVEN LUCIFER IN TWO!" Ace screamed, the Red Sword already blazing with power.

**Thermonuclear munitions!**

**A Thermonuclear Warrior!  
The machine we've dreamed of... Hisou Tensokuuuuuu!**

"D-DAMN YOOOOOOOOU!" Gemini screamed, rage and fear in his voice, his avatar's right fist transforming into a colossal pillar that he brought hurtling forward at them, the air shaking with the shock of it's passage.

"SMASH ON THROOOOOOOOOOOOUGH!"

**Iron Fists of Rage!**

**Iron Fists of Justice!**

**Show no mercy for their schemes!**

With a roar like the sound of metal given a voice, white light blasted through the void, and Gemini shrieked in pain, the entire arm disintegrating as the legendary white knight tore through, blazing blade held forward as it shattered everything in its path. Brilliant blue thrusters screaming, that cape as white as snow raged in the wind! That Royal Knight who protects the digital barreled on through the maelstrom, one still-visible green eye burning through the storm with a furious anger towards the enemy that would threaten the world!

**Bursting Barrage! **

**Explosive Barrage!**

**Always getting back on your feet!**

And as that godlike sword slammed into the beast's heart, it's chest shattering, Gemini cursed and twisted, the massive blade nearly striking his real body as it staked his avatar to the wall behind it with a colossal impact, Cyberspace crumbling and collapsing around him as energy coursed through that weapon

Looking up, his eyes widened in hate and shock as he beheld twin streaks of red and blue barreling down the length of green steel towards him.

"GEMINIIIIIIIIII...!" Vent snarled, brilliant blue power raging through his left fist.

"CYYYYYTOOOOOOOOOOO!" Ace screamed, scarlet energy thundering through his right.

"You...!"Gemini's teeth gritted, terror, rage and pain rampaging through his mind. "VENT OF THE GUARDIANS...AND ACE...PHOOOOEEEEEEENIIIIIIIX!"

**Iron Fists of Hope!**

**Iron Fists of Our Wishes!**

**Tightly grasping this vow...!**

"BUUUUSTEERRRRR...!"

"FALCOOOOOOOOON...!"

"WOOOOOOLF!"

"PUUUUUUUUUUUNCH!"

Cyberspace shattered, twin tyrants of power blasting straight through Gemini, his chest torn asunder, armor broken and smashed, his body hurled into the air.

**Thermonuclear munitions! A Thermonuclear Warrior!**

"GAME...!" Vent skidded to a halt, energy blasting apart around him.

"OVER!" Ace thundered, crashing down with enough force to smash the ground, red flames vanishing.

**The mighty machine... Hisou Tensokuuuuuuuu!**

And the world exploded, the Legion mainframe reappearing as Gemini's ambitions shattered once and for all.

With a sickening crash, he hit the ground, rolling as fragments of his broken armor clattered off of him.

"...never speaking of this again?"

"Never speaking of this again." Ace confirmed.

Both men exchanged wordless brofists, and turned, a soundless rumbling from behind them as the massive figure of Omnimon ZX slowly descended.

Ace looked up and grinned.

"For an experimental first run...you did pretty damn good, ZX!"

The massive white helm tilted downwards, regarding him intently, before nodding.

"...I'm still not sure if he's really sentient or not..." Vent whispered.

"He's sentient enough to have a sense of JUSTICE! So that's good enough for me!" Ace grinned.

"Urgh...you...bastards...!"

The Scarlet Phoenix's expression hardened, and he looked forward again.

"As stubborn as ever, Cyto..."

The battered form of Gemini Cyto pushed himself up on one hand, chunks of his torso now gaping wounds of data, one hand a ruined husk, and one side of his visor broken to reveal the mad glint in the brown eyes behind it.

"I am...still a Technician...!" He rasped, blood gushing from the cracks in his faceplate.

"I am still...a god...!" He spat, anger in his eyes. "I won't...allow you to win...!"

"Tch...!" Vent growled, blue power beginning to spiral around his fist again. "It's always the same...no matter how badly we crush them, these guys survive on ego alone...!"

With a creaking of metal, Omnimon ZX raised it's Buster, light already gathering.

Cyto grinned.

"Just TRY to kill me...!" He laughed. "I've already hacked into a dozen power facilities! The minute you attack, I'll overload all of them and trigger the biggest goddamn EMP the world has ever seen!"

Ace's eyes narrowed.

"You cheap asshole...!"

"This is the price you pay for meddling in the affairs of a god!" Gemini spat. "Now I'm leaving with that damn data, and NONE of you are going to-!"

The world trembled.

**I Don't Think So, Mr. Cyto.**

And then, for one brief moment, they were suddenly...elsewhere.

* * *

"Well..." Vix said hesitantly, "This is...unexpected?"

As if in response to her words, the Ultras ATX reached out cautiously and gave the Dreadnought in front of it a tentative poke. The Dread in question didn't respond, but rather simply tipped over backwards, crashing down lifelessly on the ground.

Hand still outstretched, the ATX looked down at it in bewilderment. Kitara pushed her goggles up with one thumb, eyes narrowing as she cast a practiced eye over it.

"No response here either..." She turned the ATX's head, surveying the battlefield and the suddenly still forms of all of the Granz Armada's forces. "Celtis and Ashe must have managed to take down Granz, then!"

Vix grinned.

"Of course she did! After all, we trained her, didn't we?"

Ignoring the voices coming from the ATX's speakers, the Colonel adjusted the brim of his hat, standing atop the remains of the last Doru Ghora, loud crashes sounding from around him as it's brethren plummeted powerlessly from the sky.

His eyes narrowed, a familiar vibration thrumming through the air.

"This is..."

Back aboard the Guardian Base, Aile cursed, a crack of displaced air shaking the sky, a massive silhouette falling over the airship. Looking up, her eyes widened.

"This is Aile to Helm! Hard to starboard, NOW!"

"A-Aye!" Came the startled reply, the Base heeling over sharply as it turned.

There was an almighty crash, one of its wings snapping off as a massive white armored form hurtled to the ground below with a crash, knocking over a ruined electrical tower with the impact and carving a mile long path of destruction across the city before its crash landing finally stopped.

"Wh-what the hell was that?!" Model X yelled in shock.

"I dunno, but it's got our faces on it's hands!"Model Z squawked.

"...wait, what?"

"ACE!" Marino's voice suddenly blasted over the channel, everyone wincing at the volume. "Ace, is that you?!"

"Ace...?!" Omega cursed, staggering upright. "Wait, this is-!"

Looking around, his eyes widened in disbelief.

"I'm back in the real world?!"

"A-apparently so, Master!" Queenbee stammered, picking herself out of the rubble of the building they had landed atop of.

"Us too!" Grey interrupted. "B-but how?!"

They first hint of the reason came from a terrified Red Masquerade. She collapsed to her knees, shaking hands reaching up to clutch at her head, her entire body trembling with sheer animal fear.

"No...no no...I-it's one of Them...! Why is one of those _things_ here now...?! Nonononononononono...!"

Omega stared at the terrified girl, her wide eyes staring unseeingly at the ground in front of her, trembling with an abject fear he had never seen before, and a cold feeling began to run down his spine.

The Ultras barreled to the end of the crash site, chainsaw treads screeching as it skidded to a halt.

"O-oi, whoever you are!" Vix yelled, "Anybody alive in there?"

"Mister Ace?" Kitara added.

And then both girls were struck dumb, a metallic groan ringing out as the white form of Omnimon ZX slowly lifted itself up out of the smoke.

"Wh-wh-what the hell is that thing?!" Vix stammered, hands already darting back to her firing controls.

Ashe slumped against a rock wall, the remnants of Granz's control rods still in her, having been pulled out of the surface she'd been anchored to. At least she could still move this way...

"The hell...is that?!" She grated, looking up at the towering white Royal Knight. Distracted, she stumbled-

Only for a hand to catch her. Blinking in surprise, she looked up, to see the eerie blue eyes of the Black Rock Shooter on her.

"O-Oh." She stammered, off guard, "Th-thanks..."

The silent girl only nodded, before turning to look up at the knight.

_A being of the virtual world existing in the real world...only one thing could do this._

"Sooooo cooooool...!" Kitara breathed, eyes sparkling. And then she gasped.

"Wait, it's hurt!"

And as the smoke cleared, the other combatants could see the truth of her words too. Omnimon ZX staggered, blood running down from numerous cracks in its battered and broken armor, one side of its face plate shattered, its cloak in tatters. Metal creaking, its steel head turned towards the Ultras, one green eye taut with pain and suspicion as it struggled to bring its cracked and bloodied cannon to bear on it.

"N...NO!" A new voice snapped out, the Knight halting. "They're...friendlies!"

As the smoke cleared, it revealed the tattered scarlet overcoat atop the machine's left shoulder, its color further darkened by its wearer's blood.

"ACE!"

The Scarlet Phoenix spat blood, struggling to stay upright, pain and despair in his eyes.

"Anyone who can hear me...get ready...!"

"Ready...?" Nana's eyes narrowed at the computer screen for an instant, before they widened in horror, the meaning behind Ace's words hitting her. "Oh no...No, not NOW!"

"VENT!" Aile cried out in shock, seeing her equally battered brother standing atop the wounded White Knight's right shoulder, half supported against the armor.

"Don't worry...about me, Aile...!" he gritted, one eye shut by the blood coursing from his temple.

"Even the Technician was just a ploy...!"

"What?!"

Of them all, only Marino knew the true horror of their situation. For Ace, Vent, and even their summoned construct, the Omnimon ZX, as well as all of the other Cyberspace forces to have been hurled back into the real world like this, it could only mean one thing...

"This is Marino! **A.C.E, FULL ALERT! GET THE DIMENSIONAL FIELD GENERATOR UP AND RUNNING, NOW!"**

And as a secret device in the depths of the hidden corporation powered to life, an invisible flicker racing throughout the entire city...

The sky shook, the sun suddenly blotted out.

Omega staggered, a COLOSSAL power suddenly shaking his senses, the world around him trembling.

"What the hell...?" He breathed, looking out at the city. And in that moment, for a brief instant, he...saw.

As though the very fabric of reality itself thinned, he could make out...a figure, huge and towering, filling the sky. An invisible shadow, with only the thinnest veneer of reality between him and it. But as a tremor suddenly shook the city, a shockwave racing out across the ground, Omega caught a glimpse of green, and for the first time, felt an outraged shock course through him, the vibration revealing, for a brief moment, the green matrix of invisible lines overlaid on the world.

"This is...Cyberspace...AND reality...?!"

"He's here...!" Ace gritted, the Royal Knight slowly raising it's weapons again.

** [Cue Music: Pokemon Black- Ghetsis Theme (Orchestral Remix)]**

The final barrier shattered, a monstrous white claw punching through, joints lined with red, and descending on the city. Bigger than skyscrapers, a second, matching claw tore through the walls of reality, descending on the earth below with a devastating crash, a wall of sound and destruction spreading out from it.

And the POWER radiating from the crack those claws had emerged from...!

Queenbee staggered, clutching at her chest.

"M-Master...!" She stammered, suddenly afraid, "What's...what's happening...?!"

Omega stood tall, staring into that black rift in the world, his blood racing. Even as one who understood Cyberspace far more than any normal being, what was happening here was something beyond even his capability to truly understand. Or no, rather, he might be the ONLY one who could understand the magnitude of what was happening here.

Red-banded forearms emerged, pulling something through into the weird fusion of reality and Cyberspace Omega now found himself in, gold banded wrists glinting in the fading light. Then, two smaller, three-clawed hands emerged, seizing both sides of the rift, and in a single brutal move, tore it open.

The sky shattered, the cloudy evening instantly replaced by the dark void of space, the lights of stars glinting in it. The ruined fragments of some sort of space station towered up from the broken horizon, their bases hidden by the faint, jagged ring of normal sky that remained visible. And in that sky, large and blue and beautiful, loomed an impossible sight.

"Th-that can't be...!" Grey gasped.

"E-earth?!" Ashe's eyes widened. "But...we're standing ON Earth!"

Omega's eyes narrowed.

No...not quite Earth. Not the Earth of today at any rate. This was the blue and green Earth of the past, before he had almost singlehandedly razed it to dust in the Elf Wars.

This was a recorded image, a scene brought to life by the one who controlled this strange fusion of Cyberspace and reality.

And then, he saw the shadow rising up before that Earth, the owner of those claws silhouetted by that blue planet.

A great golden ring floating behind it, blue energy flames bursting from eight equally distributed points on that circumference, white nozzles acting like exhaust vents. Hexagonal blue gems glittered between each nozzle, red lines tracing through the gold metal in angular patterns.

A mammoth, draconic torso reared up, the arms of the massive claws revealed to be originating from beneath two long, downward angled shoulder plates, eerie blue veins running through the metal where those shoulder plates disappeared beneath a more boxlike set of white ones, lined with red and with four white spikes arranged around the end of them. Directly atop each of those shoulders was a single transparent cylinder, pulsing with blue energy. Finally, the great head rose up, white armor plating running over the upper surface of an extended, serpentine neck, a network of cables running along the underside and ending in a streamlined head, an angular forehead protruding over a disturbingly human face and a long, underslung jaw guard jutting out beneath.

It towered over them, silhouetted in that artificial sky as it's cold eyes stared down at them with a supreme lack of interest, a monster more colossal than Legion City itself. As though it were a god looking down on mere bacteria, that terrible gaze swept over them all, ignoring them.

Until it finally stopped on its target.

"I-it can't be...!" Gemini stammered, stumbling backwards. "Y-you!"

**Yes. Me.**

The thing's mouth didn't move, but the world trembled at the sound of that voice, those with weaker minds crying out and falling, blood splashing from their ears and mouths.

One of the smaller hands suddenly darted out, talons larger than buildings slamming shut around the Technician.

**Now. If You Don't Mind...I'll Be Taking That Data Now.**

"Wh-what?! NO!" Gemini struggled, screaming in terror. "WE HAD A DEAL!"

**Yes. We Did. And Now I'm Changing It.**

_Crunch._

Kitara blanched, Vix gritting her teeth as blood sprayed from between the massive talons.

Fefnir gritted his teeth, staring up at the monstrosity filling the sky.

"B-boss, what do we do?!" Gomorrah panicked.

"...nothing we CAN do...!" He gritted, blood welling up from his clenched fists. "It's taking everything the kid and Vent have just to stop that thing from just warping us out of existence on a whim..."

Blood splashed on the ground, trickling from Ace's eyes as he struggled.

Nearby, Vent wasn't in much better condition.

"Dammit...!" He grated. "Even Cyto was a set up...!"

**Yes. He Was.**

The talons opened, a single gleaming nexus of data shining in the bloody mess that had once been Gemini Cyto.

**Hm. It Appears That He Was Unable To Get The Entire Mainframe.**

The talons closed, an invisible flicker running through the world, indescribable power emanating from just that tiny movement.

**At Least He Still Obtained The Important Part.**

"Y-you..." Ace gritted, coughing blood. "What are you...after?!"

Behind him, Omnimon ZX raised its Buster, it's movements slowed by the massive stress being exerted on it's commanders, and still more by the grievous wounds it had taken against this enemy before. But still it would not yield, even despite all that.

The monster simply flicked one it's talons at it disinterestedly, and without even touching it, the White Knight was hurled clear across the city, it's sword arm blasted off by an invisible shock as both Commanders smashed into the ruins beside it

Ace choked, vomiting blood as he collapsed, bits of rubble raining down around him.

Vent shuddered, but managed to remain standing, even though he _felt_ the capillaries rupturing inside of him from the force.

But still, neither one would let that stop them, even as Ace struggled to get back up, both of them fully aware that they were one of the only things keeping this enemy from simply...erasing them all with but a flicker of it's mind. Such was the degree of Cyberspace control possessed by this creature, enough to force the world itself to obey, forcing Cyberspace and the real world to overlap. This was the godhood that Gemini Cyto had spoken of, but had never actually possessed.

This...was the pinnacle of Cyberspace manipulation, what Zone Technicians both dreamed of and feared.

This...was a Dead End.

The Dimensional Field generator, that even now was humming away beneath Legion HQ was one defense against the Dead Ends, generating a protective 'plane of existence' between Cyberspace and reality, enough to stop the monster from simply erasing them with but a thought. However, even that wasn't foolproof, and taken by surprise as they were, the field hadn't gotten up to full strength.

Thus, it was only Ace and Vent alone, of those gathered there, with the mindset capable of controlling Cyberspace like the Technicians they had fought, who could take up the slack.

In a sense, it would not be amiss to say they were probably the only thing standing between this monster, and the instant..._unmaking_ of everyone here.

"Dammit...if only we were at full strength...!"

**Then You Would Have Had A Chance. Nothing More.**

The empty white eyes stared arrogantly down at them. And then, for a brief moment, Ace felt the pressure bearing down on himself and Vent lessen, someone else's power rising up against the invisible force emanating from the creature.

It's head tilted sideways, blinking in surprise.

Then slowly, it turned to look away from them, at something further to the west.

**Ah. I See. So It Was Your Power I Sensed.**

"...who's he...talking to...?" Vent gave a strained whisper.

"The hell...should I know...?!" Ace snapped back, one hand clutched to his chest. "So long as they keep him...off of us...for the next few minutes...! The Field's almost up...to full!"

And sure enough, the splintered horizon that still showed the normal sky, was beginning to climb, the shattered edges reforming as more and more of the enemy's rift was forced back.

The great red and white head glanced around at it with a mildly irritated look.

**It Seems As Though I've Worn Out My Welcome.**

It paused, as though considering whether or not to simply smash the advancing field...

**But I Have Gotten What I Came For, So I Shall Leave It At This For Now.**

The massive main claws releasing the ground, it began to lift back, revealing that only a tiny portion of it's body was visible, the rest of it's vast bulk vanishing into the depths of the empty space around the city.

**Ah Yes...**

The monster stopped, it's head suddenly snaking forward to stare at the cameras feeding into A.C.E's command deck, a suddenly cruel look in it's eyes.

**Miss Rose Hurricane...**

Ace's eyes widened, in rage and a sudden stark agony.

"NO!" He coughed, staggering to his feet, forcing himself upright even as he felt blood vessels rupture with the effort. "Stay...AWAY from her...!"

The horrible monstrosity that had once been a man called Colonel Redips gave a ghastly smile, the red jawguard dropping to reveal a hideous maw of serrated teeth.

**Spider Says Hello.**

Inside the A.C.E Command Center, Cinnamon flinched as, with a snapping sound, the railing came apart in Marino's hands.

"I SAID..."

Great Redips' head snapped to the side in alarm, a wordless metallic snarl ringing out.

"...GET AWAY...FROM HER!"

The monstrosity gave a roar of pain, as the scarlet armored Red Sword hurtled through the air, the blade burying itself in the thing's left eye. The scream of rage and pain shook the entire city, the world itself trembling before the wrath of Great Redips.

_**YOU...!**_

**[Cue Music: HisouTensoku's Theme- Touhou Youyou Kengeki Musou]**

Ace spat blood, rage and hate in his eyes, the massive form of Omnimon ZX towering behind him, cold wrath in it's one remaining eye, that legendary cannon up and aimed unwaveringly at the monster, having hurled it's severed sword arm like a javelin into the beast's eye moments ago.

"You'll PAY for that one, Redips...!"

With a snarl, Great Redips tore the Red Sword free and hurled it aside, rounding on the two of them.

**I Had Thought To Spare You Worthless Insects My Wrath Out Of A Misguided Pity For Your Current Condition, But As Always, You Test My Patience, Phoenix!**

That cruel smile was back.

**...Much Like The Previous Owner Of That Body-**_**ARGH!**_

The blast of a Buster Spark slammed into Redips' face, Vent's eyes as cold as the colossal White Knight behind him, smoke rising from it's right arm.

"Shut it."

Redips' eyes burned through the smoke, his face unharmed, save for the sheer rage barely contained beneath his controlled expression.

**So Be It. Today You All Die.**

Ace gritted his teeth, knowing his rash reaction had probably just damned them all. But for what this bastard had just done to Marino...

His one still-working fist clenched tightly.

He'd do the same thing all over again, and the consequences could kindly go FUCK THEMSELVES IN THE FACE.

And then Redips reeled, an invisible force slamming into him, a power in Cyberspace great enough to force even him back.

**What...?! Who Dares...!**

And at that minute, the Field reached full power, the rift around Redips beginning to shrink inwards at an astounding rate.

**No, Damn You!**

Redips cursed, already beginning to retreat back into his own space. In his anger towards Ace and Vent, he'd been distracted from holding back the Field's advance, and now, it was too late to stop.

Not only that, but what the HELL was this power pushing against him?! If Redips hadn't known better, he would have sworn it was ANOTHER Dead End! There was nothing else that should be able to do this...

Unless...He turned, seeing once more the same source that had distracted him from Vent and Ace moments ago, seeing the shape of that power outlined faintly against the boundary of Cyberspace and the real world.

A massive, ancient looking white armor, a purple mane of hair billowing behind it, a black, full frontal helm with only red lines of light where eyes should be...

**You Should Be DEAD...! And Now You Stand Here, DEFYING Me...?!**

Redips' anger peaked, a tidal wave of force slamming into the impertinent interloper. If it had any effect, it didn't show, the red lines on it's visor glowing, before the power pressing against the Dead End redoubled.

...the beast gritted it's teeth, knowing it had no other option. While it was still easy enough to win any fight here, Redips had achieved his goal already, and any further conflict would be meaningless.

**Very Well...**Redips snarled, **I Will Retreat For Now, Ace Phoenix...**

Redips raised one of his smaller claws, the data crystal Gemini Cyto had been sacrificed for glowing in it's grip.

**But I've Still Won This Battle. **

And then the abomination called Great Redips was gone, terrible and cruel laughter echoing over the city as Cyberspace and reality separated once more, the wounded Royal Knight vanishing back to the digital green world as Ace staggered and fell.

"...Marin...o...!"

** "**Hey, easy there." Vent winced as he caught the Scarlet Commander, his own regenerative powers the only reason he was in better condition. Glancing down at the bloodied Phoenix, he gave an annoyed growl. "And of COURSE, I'm going to have to be the one to clean this up, aren't I..."

Sending out a call to the Guardian Base for a pickup, he turned to look at the empty sky.

"...but the Field alone wouldn't have been enough to force him out so quickly..." The Guardian Commander's eyes narrowed, "What the HELL could have enough power to force even a Dead End back?!"

* * *

Craft stared out at the city, already hearing the belated alarms going off. He heaved a sigh, watching the sunlight begin to filter back through the clouds of smoke and ash.

"Impressive, God of Destruction." He murmured to the figure standing next to him. "I didn't think even you were capable of something like that."

Omega didn't respond.

"Not many can claim to have faced the ultimate evolution of a Zone Technician in a straight-out battle of force and to actually push it back, much less survive." He gave a bitter smile. "I did warn you."

"Go...fuck yourself..." Omega replied, his voice halting. He still stood in the same spot, his body stiff as he stared out at the city, at the empty space that Redips had occupied. "...you...even LOOK at me...right now, Craft...I swear to God I will fucking murder you."

"Does your pride mean that much to you, Omega?" Craft asked, his voice quiet as he looked away.

"It's...all I...have." The God snapped back bitterly, before turning his attention elsewhere.

"Queenbee." He rasped.

"Ah, yes Master...?"

"Come...over here...for a minute, would you...?"

A frown creased Queenbee's face, as she trotted over. Something was wrong...

"...Master...?"

"Where...are you...?" The God of Destruction's voice sounded strained.

"M-Master, I'm right..." Afraid now, she darted around to his front, and stopped, frozen by the sight that met her, "...i-in front of you..."

And then she staggered, the full weight of her Master crashing down on her as his iron self-control gave way. His knees buckling, Omega collapsed against her, Queenbee almost a foot shorter than him as she stumbled.

"Mister Saber!" Grey yelped, starting forward-

Only for Craft's hand to snap out in front of him, blocking the young Reploid's passage.

"M-mister Craft...?"

Craft shook his head, a sad look in his eyes.

"Leave him, Grey."

"What?! But...he's hurt!"

"Grey." Craft's voice was pained. "He doesn't want our help."

"But...!" And then he saw the look on Queenbee's face.

She stood there for a moment, her eyes wide in shock, still horrified by what she'd just seen. She felt the warmth against her, that terrible, hot wetness soaking into her clothes as Omega slumped against her, his breathing harsh and ragged.

"M...Master...!" She managed to say, her voice choked by panic and fear, tears welling in her eyes.

And Omega's voice rasped in her ear.

"Get me...OUT of here...!"

"Y-Yes, Master!" She swallowed, tears running down her face. Without another look back, she leapt off of the building, her wings flaring, her Master held tightly in her arms as she desperately raced towards their shared home, somewhere alone and quiet, where her Master could recover.

And all the while, she tried very hard to prevent herself from holding him too tightly, so she wouldn't have to feel the shattered steel of his pulverized skeletal frame. And the sickening softness of liquefied internal components, all but dissolved under the intense physical stress. Or to feel that terrible, terrible wetness spreading against her, refusing to let herself see her hands, with that hot crimson fluid spilling onto her, from the mechanical capillaries and synthetic veins burst throughout his body.

And she sobbed, trying so hard to forget the image of the face pressing into her shoulder, and of the one, pain-dulled eye, the normally bright crimson iris now a blank red, and the river of blood that streamed from beneath the closed, horribly sunken left eye.

In the darkness of his mind, Omega silently raged. When he had finished recovering from this...and he WOULD...

SOMEBODY was going to have a very, VERY bad day.

* * *

**A/N:**...

…

…

What...the HELL did I just write?

No, seriously.

WHAT.

I don't even

ASADFGHJHGFDFGHHJKLGFDSASDFG HJ

…

...a-anyway...

This FINALLY marks an end to the Zone Technician battle. It seems a bit abrupt, but don't worry, that's fine. The next chapter finally puts a lid on this, and together with the chapter after that, will hopefully explain the insanity of what happened to Celtis, what the HELL the Black Rock Shooter is doing here, etc etc.

And also, for those of you who keep whining about how the plot is apparently moving too slowly, rest easy. The conclusion of this will drop QUITE a bombshell on you.

I mean, assuming Supra Force Metal Redips turning out to have become a borderline Eldritch Abomination wasn't ENOUGH of a kicker for you.

And for those of you saying Omega should TOTALLY have taken him down there, two things:

Omega's used to Cyberspace, or reality. Not both at the same time. Which is WHY he only attacked Redips using just raw manipulative force, rather than simply creating something like Omnimon ZX. He'd've needed to recalibrate a LOT of things for it to work, since reality tends to introduce a few not so great variables into any calculations that'd require Cyberspace-only conditions. The only reason the Great even saw a shadow of the original, Armed Phenomenon God of Destruction was because of his own abilities as a Dead End.

And two, Redips is now a Dead End. And Dead Ends can basically A) Overwrite REALITY with Cyberspace, B) Essentially unmake you if they feel like it. C) Basically just pull all KINDS of God-class hax. So if you really say Omega should have tanked him, it means you're still going by the Command Mission power levels. Redips is now much MUCH stronger. Adjust accordingly.

Rest assured though, nothing permanent happened to Omega, he should be more or less back up, and TWICE as pissed come the next chapter.

Suffice to say, it would not be inaccurate of me to say this Zone Technician arc marks a major turning point for the Chronicles, both in writing style, and in terms of the story itself.

Those of you who have stuck with me this far, I can't thank you enough. For your continued support, and your enthusiasm for the Chronicles. Those of you now joining in, welcome to the insanity! And for those of you who don't like the direction this is taking...well, everyone's got their own opinions.

Thanks for reading, and I'll see you in the next chapter!

DarkShift Out!


	39. Chapter 38: Aftermath the First

Chapter 38: Aftermath, Part 1

Disclaimer:...why do I even put these anymore?

Anyway, it's a little late, but what with exams and everything, my schedule's been a mess. So I figured that rather than halfass it, I'd put some extra work in and make it a Christmas present of sorts!

...and believe me, writing something this long and detailed in three days was INTENSE!

But yeah, the spirit of giving, right?

Anyway, Merry Christmas, you guys, and here's to four years of the Chronicles!

Now, on with the chapter!

* * *

Master Thomas stared blankly at the screen.

"...this might seem like a silly question, miss Aile..."

Aile sighed, and massaged her forehead.

"Yes, sir. Yes, that _is_ what happened when Commander Ace Phoenix and my brother engaged the Zone Technician in the Legion Mainframe."

Thomas blinked, looking across at her..

"...were those actual THEME SONGS playing in the background?"

"...yes sir." She groaned. "We think it's a side effect of Ace and Vent's manipulation of Cyberspace. It automatically happens whenever the sheer insanity involved reaches a certain level."

"Hm." Thomas raised an eyebrow.

"...kind of catchy."

Seeing the suddenly panicked look in Aile's eyes, he hastily added.

"It was only a joke! No need to look so worried!"

Aile slumped over in despair.

"With all due respect, sir, you have NO idea."

"I-I see..." Master Thomas gave a nervous laugh. "I take it Vent is as mad as ever, then?"

"As a hatter." Aile sighed.

"Where is he, by the way?" Thomas added, looking around. "I had been lead to believe that he would have been the one delivering this briefing."

"Er, about that..."

Aile looked around the Legion briefing room sheepishly.

The Colonel stood like an ominous black specter near the door, arms folded as his shadowed eyes surveyed the room. Nearby, Craft had pulled up a chair and settled into it, arms resting on his knees and leaning forward, _Neige_ propped against the wall next to him within easy reach as always.

Nana sat at the conference table, not too far from the Colonel, her hands dancing over her laptop keys, the screen reflecting off of her glasses. Unsurprisingly, she had even managed to find the time to reattach the buttons on her chest.

There was, however, no sign of Fefnir Diz Aster. This was both unsurprising, and more than a little good, as she had to face it: the man just was NOT cut out for the boardroom. The last time he'd been in one, he'd teased Nana about her chest until the normally docile operator had snapped and broken her laptop across his face.

Armored boots resting on the table, the legendary God of Destruction leaned back in his seat, an uncharacteristically grim look on his face as he leaned back, arms folded as he stared at the wall screen. But Aile knew he wasn't really paying attention, and she had a fairly good idea why he seemed so distracted.

Not only had he all but missed the real deathmatch with Gemini Cyto, he'd also been presented with the news that Granz had been defeated, and what's more, possibly even WORSE than what Omega had done to him the first time. There were actually rumors that the legendary Gearhead might actually be dead this time, his entire armada dropping where they stood moments after his main machine had been recorded as going offline.

And Omega had seen the recordings of that fight.

It was uncertain just what about it ticked him off, but from the moment he had seen the Black Rock Shooter in action, he had fallen uncharacteristically silent, his suddenly cold eyes recording everything about her movements, her actions, everything. Aile got the sneaking suspicion that he had seen the same thing they had.

NO-ONE could fight like that. That fluidity, that speed, that...inhumanity, for lack of a better word. Whoever she was, the Black Rock Shooter was something that defied comprehension. Machine-precise movements, with that speed and all-too organic ability to adapt...Aile really had no idea what to make of her.

And the fact that even the now infamous crimson mercenary had been eying the video coldly was enough to trip off warning signs.

The only person who seemed to have any idea about her was Ace, but...

Well, to be honest, his response to seeing her had been to grab the screen and stare at it in shock, before making a noise that sounded vaguely like "SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE" before the doctors had to tackle him to the ground and sedate him again to stop him from bleeding into his lungs _again_.

And what was worse, Celtis and Ashe were both missing.

The reason Fefnir hadn't come to the meeting was because he was currently out cleaning up the radiation left behind by...whatever had happened when the two of them had fought Granz.

Which explained why, periodically, a colossal beam of energy would erupt from the blasted area and into the stratosphere, Fefnir using the Fourth Wave to recycle the hazardous radiation into something more environmentally harmless.

...of course, this also meant a lot of the area had been covered in snow and ice by this point. But they'd deal with that later.

More to the point, they'd been trying to trace a weak radioactive signature in the aftermath of the battle, which was currently believed to be Ashe. They had people out looking for her now, but it would take time to narrow it down. Celtis on the other hand...

The female Guardian Commander wondered briefly if that was actually the REAL reason Omega was in such a foul temper. Considering the fact that he'd personally deployed QUEENBEE to search for her, it didn't seem too improbable. As further damning evidence, her agents had reported that there were signs of Syrene Nagato AND Ibelis Royale on the move as well, also looking for her. And considering the ties (Aile winced slightly at the unfortunate connotations of that word in the case of Queenbee) that the enigmatic swordsman had to either of them, chances were good it was no coincidence.

Worst of all was the fact that he had all but disappeared after the battle, literally dropping off the face of the earth. NOBODY, not even Legion's best agents had been able to find the man. Wherever he'd gone, though, he'd taken only Queenbee with him, the Pseudoroid only spotted during the city during rare periods of time where he'd sent her for supplies, or to search for Celtis.

She'd half expected him not to respond when she'd contacted the ex-Pseudoroid with the information about the debriefing today, only to receive a curt reply over heavily encoded channels that yes, he would be there.

And arrive he had, storming through the HQ lobby practically RADIATING a black cloud of barely restrained temper.

No, Saber was PISSED, that much was certain.

Not just him either, but Vix and Kitara weren't exactly pleased either. They'd both railed at her to be allowed to go help search for Celtis, but unfortunately, the ATX was too valuable to the reconstruction effort for them to be spared.

...because quite frankly, SOMEBODY had to pick up all the dreadnought and Doru Ghora pieces, and a giant robot did that a heck of a lot faster than cranes, so...yeah.

What was possibly the biggest anomaly of this entire meeting though were the number of people missing from it.

Celtis: Disappeared during the battle with Granz, current location unknown.

Ashe: Source of anomalous nuclear signature, disappeared during aftermath of Granz battle, current location...possibly known.

Grey: Model A had spoken to Grey only once since the fiasco with Ashe, having gone into a sleep state to recover from the immense effort it had expended to keep the Model O data from going out of control and devouring Ashe from the inside out.

So there was that, and the fact that Ashe had promptly disappeared afterwards, without any further messages. Understandably, the young Reploid was a bit worried. In her eyes, though, he seemed to be handling it quite well. She was still worried about him, though, as he was a bit like an adopted kid to her. She'd left him sleeping in one of the Guardian Base's rooms, as the poor kid could probably do with the rest after the stress of looking for Ashe during the past week.

Vent and Ace...well...they were in...about as good condition as you could have reasonably expected, considering they'd kept something very much like a digital eldritch abomination from simply erasing half of the city with just their own minds, and a TRUCKLOAD of luck. Ace of course, was naturally in worse shape, Vent's abilities as a Chosen One saving him from serious injury yet again.

...and that brought her to the unpleasant question of Marino...

From the moment the Dead End known as Great Redips had disappeared, the ex-thief had been like a woman possessed. She had commandeered the A.C.E Command Center, running all of the operators ragged with a nonstop barrage of data gathering tasks. Every single minute had been spent hunting the Dead End, taking whatever resources she felt had been necessary. Since she had known Marino, Aile had NEVER seen the woman like this. All this time, had the supposedly carefree second in command of the secret corporation been carrying such a colossal vendetta?

Such a savage regime could not go unnoticed forever, and particularly now, when as many data processing resources as possible were needed to help reconstruct the damage left by the Zone Technicians and then the Great. Marino hadn't cared one whit for any of that however, driven by a single-minded hatred that hung around her like a black cloud of miasma, driving everyone away from her. The only people who Aile had really seen her talk with were Nana and Cinnamon, and they seemed to be the only two who knew anything about the ex-thief's fury towards the Dead End called Great Redips.

And neither of them were talking.

So, five days after he'd been locked in the Intensive Care Unit, Ace Phoenix had woken himself up through sheer bloody-minded refusal to stay down, collared a nearby tech and demanded to know what had happened to Marino.

That was the first question he'd asked, after nearly a week in and out of a coma, with internal damage that should have killed him, after one of the most catastrophic cyber attacks on Legion, with a DEAD END of all things. Any NUMBER of crises could have been going on, any number of urgent matters could have arisen...

And yet that was the first thing he'd asked. Not about Legion. Not about A.C.E. Not about ANY of that.

He'd asked for Marino.

Aile gave a weary sigh and rubbed the bridge of her nose.

Honestly...sometimes she just felt like taking those two idiots and locking them together in a broom cupboard or something. Between Ace's sheer obliviousness alternating with random moments of poorly hidden worry for his second-in-command, and Marino being...tsundere, they were NEVER going to get anywhere...

At any rate, upon finding out what Marino had been doing, the Scarlet Phoenix had broken out of the medical wing and blazed a trail of destruction across A.C.E's myriad floors, _despite having over three quarters of his nervous system fried to slag_ by the stress of withstanding Great Redips, with nothing more than a _barely_ functional Scarlet Skin, and facing the entire elite battalion of Medical's enforcer squads (who, by the way, had been formed with the SOLE PURPOSE of ensuring that Ace Phoenix stayed in the damn medical wing to recover whenever he managed to half-kill himself with his mad plans again. As this incident shows, it was a well-warranted idea, although ultimately useless in the face of a man powered by pure refusal to STAY THE HELL DOWN. For ANY reason.), PLUS whatever extra guards had been posted by Marino herself to contain the Phoenix's reaction when he found out about what she was doing.

Of course, only Aile and the others who were personal friends of Marino knew the real reason for that. And it wasn't just for damage reduction.

Of all the people in Legion, he was the only one she didn't want to see her like this.

And also, because...Well...Ace was the only one she knew she wouldn't be able to defy if he told her to stop.

Not for the first time, Aile found herself silently cursing the thief's tsundere nature.

At any rate, Ace had smashed them all and stormed the Command and Control center himself, sealing the door behind him.

No-one really knew what had happened next, and to be honest, nobody even dared to speculate, as though instinctively sensing the COLOSSAL landmine that would set off.

But when the shouting had died down at last, and they'd finally managed to get the door open, it was to find knives in EVERYTHING, and Marino sobbing brokenly into Ace's chest.

She'd been more or less all right after that, except for taking an Ace-ordered vacation for two days to finish getting herself back together.

…and Ace had gotten himself BACK into the medical wing, now for an even LONGER stretch of time, on account of reopening pretty much ALL his injuries.

And yet somehow despite this, neither of these idiots could figure each other out.

Head, meet wall.

Repeatedly.

And then of course, there was Master Thomas himself, the great red-bearded bear of a man taking up the opposite end of the table from Omega. If the leader of Legion City was affected by the murderous glare coming from the crimson-clad figure at the other end, he showed no sign of it.

So that more or less left them out of this particular meeting. And since they couldn't very well have the COLONEL preside over this meeting, or they'd have all of Legion under martial law within twenty minutes, it fell to Aile to take over.

"Vent has some...issues at the moment..." She hedged. "So I'll be going through what we DO know."

"Very well then." Master Thomas inclined his head. "I for one would like some kind of explanation on just what on earth a Dead End was doing in my city, and how it managed to evade our very best threat detection software. Not to mention it also escaped the notice of the much-vaunted Guardians as well."

Aile winced.

"In our defense, sir, we never expected something like THAT to be waiting in the wings. First a Zone Technician, then squads of Dreadnoughts, then a brand new Granz Armada? Not to mention Saber's group fighting with what turned out to be a SECOND Technician, before discovering that the real Technician had actually gotten into the Legion Mainframe already, only for my brother and Ace to jump in and stop him?" She shook her head. "To have a Dead End of all things appear after that...It was a brilliant strategy, sacrificing pawn after pawn just for the sake of drawing out our defenses until we were all but unable to stop the Dead End."

On the other side of the room, the Colonel's jaw tightened and he tugged the brim of his cap down slightly. To know that a DEAD END of all things had been behind this, and he hadn't been able to strike it down in time to stop its' escape...

Of course, if the Colonel had been truly honest, he had another reason behind his anger at being unable to strike down the enemy.

And that was the fact that of all the Dead Ends, it was the Great himself, the Dead End who had been responsible for so much of the hell that his current operator had been forced to endure in her younger years. Despite whatever Nana herself had said, he had seen how shaken the scientist had been at the knowledge that Great Redips had become a Dead End, one of the great monsters that lurked in the blackest, most hidden depths of Cyberspace.

And for that alone, the great cross upon his back sang with the desire for the Great's blood.

His eyes flicked across to the still fuming God of Destruction, seeing the carefully hidden tells, like the fact that he still favored his right side, or the fact that the God's left eye seemed a tad bit faded in comparison to the other, or the faint practically inaudible grinding sound of nanomachines conducting extensive repairs. For even the God of Destruction, a being capable of regenerating even the most horrific of wounds in mere moments, to only NOW be finishing his recovery cycle a week later...

The Colonel Commissar had suspected the identity of the mystery power that had distracted the Great, and now he knew for certain. A raw clash of power like that was the only thing outside of facing Zero himself that could have done that much damage to the God.

At the very least, it served to explain at least part of why the crimson tyrant was in such a black mood.

"Yeah, ABOUT that..." Omega's voice cracked out over the conference room, his tone heavy with a barely restrained violence.

"Explain to me just what the HELL a Dead End is. And more importantly, HOW I MURDER IT TO WITHIN AN INCH OF ITS LIFE."

Aile sighed, as next to her, Master Thomas gave the God of Destruction an evaluating look.

"An interesting set of priorities you have there, mister Saber."

"Priorities? Oh you BET I have priorities..."Omega fumed, "Dropping that son of a bitch redlined more systems than stopping a Z-saber combo with my FAC-" He cut himself off abruptly, aware that he was probably saying too much.

"Look, I don't like getting ambushed by some kind of digital Lovecraftian abomination, all right?!" He dropped back down into his seat, glowering at the screen again.

"Indeed." Master Thomas replied dryly. "I too have gotten a bit rusty with the information on Dead Ends...So if you'd be so kind, miss Guardian Commander, an explanation might be in order first."

Aile rubbed the bridge of her nose.

"...all right. But I myself don't understand much of it. Only Ace himself, and probably Vent know all of the details, and neither of them are particularly good at explaining it."

Taking a deep breath, she began to speak.

Dead Ends. The rarest, most mythical and powerful of Cyberspace entities.

"In normal circumstances, when a Reploid or human dies, they become a Cyber-Elf, a denizen of Cyberspace. Only exceptionally powerful Elves, created from people who had experienced particularly strong emotions at their point of death, such as regret, or an intense desire to protect the ones left behind, were strong enough to move between Cyberspace and the real world, even being able to use powers of a sort, to influence the world..." She hesitated for a brief moment, "A lot like what happened to our old Boss, to be honest..."

Master Thomas gave a consoling nod.

"He died so that you might live, Aile. And to this day..." He gave her a proud look, "I still have yet to see any reason to say that sacrifice was wasted."

Aile gave a wan smile.

"Thank you, sir. But as I was saying, those emotions are the key to the Cyber Elf's power. Albert knew this, which is why he sought to feed the Model W fragments on Elves formed from people who died filled with fear. Darker emotions like that were the perfect source of power for an abomination such as Ouroboros..."

She went on for a bit, but Omega's mind was elsewhere. Cyber Elves that were powerful enough to continue affecting the world with their power, moving between Cyberspace and the real world...He knew of one such Elf.

That blue bastard X. He'd sacrificed his own body in order to seal Omega's 'sister' of a sort, the monstrous and powerful Dark Elf. In return, he'd become a Cyber Elf, and a RIDICULOUSLY powerful one at that, armed with abilities of all three Elf-types, and even able to manifest a ghostly image of his real body.

This, of course, hadn't stopped the bastard from interfering in the manly duel of God of Destruction versus Crimson Devil.

Although Omega still had to admit, he was DAMNED strong in that form, even as a ghostly manifestation of data.

If these Dead Ends were of the same nature, it was no WONDER his mental assault on the Great had left his body so fucked up.

Realizing that Aile had gone on talking, he refocused his attention on the conversation once more.

"However" She continued, "As time went on, with humanity becoming more aware of the existence of Cyberspace, specialists like Kitara and the Zone Technicians began to show up. We...didn't know what this meant at the time, unfortunately."

The ripples of this sudden influx of activity in Cyberspace had gone out, reaching into the deepest, darkest corners, and stirring things that should never have seen the light of day. Once again, mankind's own ambition had driven it to seek even greater heights, climbing to a place it was ill-prepared for.

She hesitated.

"...after all, if a Cyber-Elf's power was determined by the emotions experienced at the time of it's death...

What about those rare beings who had died experiencing extremes of emotion BEYOND the norm?

A being whose will, whose sheer refusal to accept its own death twisted it, warping the very nature of the world.

No normal person could be capable of such self-distortion. Such a insane refusal to accept it's own death that rather than die, it forced the world itself to yield, twisting the laws of time and space, warping the definitions of life and death itself. The result?

A being that existed...between. A forbidden existence, bridging Cyberspace and reality, a being that had hated, had feared, had fought death so hard that it had forced the world to obey it, merging both worlds together as one wherever it chose to manifest.

To overwrite even reality itself with their own reality, the world of their own death...THAT was the anomaly called a Dead End.

It was here that Craft, surprisingly, chose to make his own contribution to the explanation.

"There's only a mere handful of them out there, but we've never been able to get an exact number. Ace himself has only ever been able to confirm enough differing signals for us to know there's probably at least five of them, but beyond that, it's like chasing shadows in the night." He shrugged. "They're everywhere and nowhere at once, lurking in their own pocket dimensions of Cyberspace."

He tilted a head at Omega.

"You got a glimpse of one of those dimensions when the Great appeared."

Omega's brow furrowed.

"You mean that weird image of space and the Earth?"

"...yes." Nana said quietly. "The 'Zone' for lack of a better word, of a Dead End is like a bubble of space-time, a place created from the memories of their place of death. That is their Reality Dysfunction. They've torn a hole in reality with their sheer refusal to accept their own deaths, and created individual worlds of their own, in which that refusal is the only natural law. As such, for all Dead Ends, that world reflects the scene of their final battlefield."

"So..." Omega looked across at her, noting her subdued behavior. "This Great guy...his last battle was in space?"

She hesitated for a moment, and nodded. Before she could speak, however, a heavy hand descended on her shoulder, with surprising gentleness.

The Colonel's eyes flicked down at her for a brief instant, before rising to look at Omega coldly.

"Great Redips was fought and defeated amidst the ruins of a space elevator by the Maverick Hunters X and Zero, assisted by Sub-Commander Marino and Medical Officer Cinnamon, with tactical support provided by the then-Operator Nana. He had fused himself with an experimental source of power, the ultra-refined Supra Force Metal, and sought to raise up Reploids as a superior race, driving them to evolve even further, until he reigned supreme over the entire universe." His cold eyes narrowed.

An unspoken warning lay in that icy gaze.

"That should be all the information you need at this point in time."

"C-Colonel..." Nana looked up at him, surprised.

The God of Destruction held his gaze for a few moments, before clicking his teeth in annoyance, and stretching his arms.

"Tch..." He grumbled, leaning back in his chair, one eye flicking open to give the Colonel a disinterested look. "Whatever. It's not like I care what skeletons are in your girl Friday's closet."

"..." The Colonel's eyes narrowed. Unnoticed in the corner, Craft wordlessly flicked Neige's priming switch. Both Omega and the Colonel by themselves were barely controlled violence waiting to happen, but in close quarters like this...

Omega, to their surprise, didn't pursue any further, instead bringing one hand up to inspect his clawed fingertips idly.

Defeated by X and Zero, huh...?

"He actually managed to successfully merge with Supra Force Metal?" That question, coming from Omega of all people, was a second surprise in as many minutes.

"Yes he did." Nana answered firmly. "There was no question about it. The powers he displayed during that battle, and the fact that despite his transformation he still retained the same mind and personality without going completely mad..."

She shivered slightly at that memory.

"He managed it. We're still uncertain how, but the fact remains that Redips is the only known being to have ever successfully channeled the power of Supra Force Metal. That is how dangerous of a man he was."

Omega flicked through his claws, tiny sparks dancing where the tips of each finger grated on each other, and said nothing, keeping his thoughts to himself.

The Great was dangerous for another reason as well. One that Omega suspected he wasn't the only one to realize in this case...

Of all the great villains of this world, Doctor Wily, Sigma, Lumine and Weil, they'd all ultimately aimed for far smaller goals. Namely, the Earth itself. Wily just wanted to prove his superiority over Doctor Light. Sigma sought to eradicate everything that wasn't Maverick. Lumine desired a world where only his race of newgen Reploids existed as the superior race. And Weil...

Well, Omega knew what Weil's deal was, having been the instrument of the undying monster's revenge for the better part of a century. He just wanted to see the entire world suffer and burn under him, just like he had for so many years.

This Redips character on the other hand...Omega's claws clenched into a fist.

"Take over the universe, huh...?"

Alone of history's monsters, this man had sought the ultimate extremes, an infinite desire to conquer EVERYTHING. A true megalomaniac, someone who could force even the impossible energy of Supra Force Metal to bend to his will.

Indeed, Omega could see how someone like that could deny death so extremely that the universe itself would warp to accommodate his continued survival. If anything, it gave Omega a very good idea of just how inhuman, how distorted your mindset had to be in order to ascend to a Dead End.

For an instant, he entertained a stray thought.

"I wonder..." He murmured. "If I hadn't accepted my death back then...would I have become one as well?"

It was meant as a rhetorical question to himself, too low to be heard by anybody else.

Behind him, Craft gave a faint smile of irony at that question. The only way Omega would have ever not accepted that death...would have been for him to not be Omega at all. Even with the knowledge of Dead Ends, and what could await him had he fought that death, refusing to die...ten times out of ten, the legendary God of Destruction would always meet that death head on, a smile on his face even as he fell.

That was just the kind of man he was.

The kind of man whose soul would not ever falter, even after countless decades of forced servitude to one of the most evil monsters to walk the land.

A small, white gloved hand reached up to touch a much greater black one, a reassuring pressure exerting itself. The Colonel looked down at Nana, his second in command pressing her hand against his.

To pursue the path of a Dead End, even only in rhetoric...she alone knew the pain such an idle question would cause the black-clad terror of Legion Security.

"God of Destruction."

Omega's head twitched slightly, his eyes snapping over to Colonel with a dangerous glint as he heard the black commissar's voice sounding over a private communications link that only the two of them could hear.

"The power of a Dead End...is not worth the price you pay for it." He rumbled. "Take it from someone who's walked that road ahead of you already."

The God of Destruction stiffened in his seat, a wary look in his eyes.

"Colonel...you...!"

The Colonel Commissar of Legion gave a bitter smile.

"Or at least...half of my soul has."

And with that, he cut the link, turning his attention back to the discussion, leaving Omega staring at his black-clad back with an expression between actual respect, and a wary caution.

"Ah-HEM."

He started, Aile clearing her throat pointedly.

"Oh uh...whoops..."

"Kindly pay attention, Saber." She gave him an annoyed look. "Much of this explanation is for you in the first place, since almost everybody here already knows about the Dead Ends."

"Ah-HEM."

Aile hung her head.

"All right, the explanation's for you AND Master Thomas." She gave the red-bearded ruler an exasperated look.

"Really, sir, I'm the leader of the Guardians! I can't be filling you in on this kind of stuff!"

"True." The Wise Man inclined his head. "But still, I find it helpful to have an alternate point of view when dealing with such matters. I've already heard the Legion version, so I felt it prudent to hear the data that the Guardians have on the Dead End called Great Redips."

Aile sighed again.

"...honestly, no wonder Ace and you get along so well..."

As was previously mentioned, Dead Ends were extremely rare, with possibly five confirmed in existence, and a risk of there being at least four more. However, this rarity in itself was a blessing and a curse, the proof of just how distorted one's mindset had to be in order to become a Dead End. Lesser minds had gone mad trying to duplicate that effect, to try to achieve that sheer refusal to die, the fear of death so great that it overwhelmed reason and sense, even crushing the iron rules governing life and death.

The blessing of such a twisted existence was that it was all but completely impossible to attain, meaning that were barely ten rumored Dead Ends in existence today.

The curse of such a being, however, was the INSANE power possessed by it.

One Dead End, acting on it's own, could shake the very foundations of the world with its presence. Simply emerging from their hidden realms, the distorted worlds of space and time where their death had been overridden, a Dead End could overwrite an entire area, fusing Cyberspace and reality into one combined plane of existence and then burying even that beneath the crushing impossibility of the world of their Reality Dysfunction, their own laws of physics and the laws of their final battlefield overriding all others.

If all of them were to unite for a common goal? If even two Dead Ends were to combine their forces?

They would erase the entire planet in a matter of minutes, remaking it to their whim with but a moment's concentration.

"What...?!" Omega slammed his fist down on the table, an outraged look on his face.

To simply rewrite the world in an instant...that power was beyond ludicrous. Even he, for all his overwhelming might had worked to raze the planet. He'd put in an honest century's work there! And now to find out there's a secret class of enemies capable of doing the same thing with a snap of their fingers?!

They DARED to render his own achievements meaningless?!

Aile held up a hand to stall the furious tirade from Omega.

"Easy, Saber. It's not THAT hopeless. If it was, they'd have done it already."

The God of Destruction's eyes narrowed.

"...elaborate."

"The very nature of a Dead End works against them." Craft rumbled. "Because of what they are, an alliance of any kind is literally impossible. As it stands now, the only thing standing between the Dead Ends and such a union is their own distorted mindset, the very thing that gives them their strength."

And nobody else said it, but secretly, they all felt an unspoken agreement that Ace and Vent probably counted as an obstacle to the Deads as well...

Because of the selfish, twisted mindset required to become a Dead End, it was all but IMPOSSIBLE for a Dead End to even conceive of allying with another. The very nature of their power stemmed from their ridiculously strong sense of identity, and their refusal to simply become a footnote to the glory of another. Joining with another in any form of alliance was anathema to them, no matter how similar their goals were.

Two Dead Ends would quicker seek to utterly obliterate one another for the sake of their prize, rather than simply co-operate.

"In other words, their respective egos get in the way..."

Craft shook his head.

"It's a bit more...obsessive than that, to the extent that their independence of everything save for themselves is practically hardwired into them. The cost of a Dead End's power is to forever lose the ability to connect with anyone other than yourself."

The commando fell silent, as though realizing he'd strayed into dangerous territory.

"To live forever, locked away in your own world of hate and denial, all alone save for the voices in your head, and your own fear of death...that is the price you pay for such insane power." The Colonel finished bitterly. "But for the constant scheming, always seeking to interfere with the real world...what else is there for a Dead End?"

Omega's eyes narrowed.

So that was the fundamental weakness of the Dead Ends, and supposedly their ONLY weakness.

This, apparently, didn't stop the more...canny Dead Ends, like the Great, from acting through pawns like Gemini. Only a fool would ever believe a Dead End considered them as anything even remotely close to an 'ally' much less cutting a deal with them.

And with such power at their command, the appearance of any Dead End was widely regarded as being on par with a natural disaster.

Omega's folded hands tightened, claws digging into his upper arms.

_'A natural disaster...?'_ he glowered silently, _'Don't make me LAUGH! I didn't take this much damage off of a fucking EARTHQUAKE!'_

Furthermore, it seemed as though this Great he had faced, however, was one of the only ones that they had an actual face for. Much like the Zone Technicians, (whose title he was REALLY beginning to hate the sound of, by the way) there was very little data on any of them, except it was even SCARCER than the information on the Technicians.

"I take it you've had a few run-ins with this 'Great', then?" He asked sardonically.

"This...isn't our first encounter, no." Aile hesitated, obviously unhappy about bringing up such a sore point, "But it's the first time we've had such a direct confrontation with him."

Their first encounter with the draconic white abomination had been during the aftermath of the Ouroboros Incident. In the days following the monstrous Biometal's plunge into the ocean, there had been a massive search operation launched, with every major faction in Legion and outside of it hellbent on getting their hands on the remnants of Model W. It had been as though the world had been gripped by a fever, a surge of madness as everyone sought a chance to seize even a small piece of Albert's monstrous legacy.

The forces of Legion Security and the Guardians had seen almost as much action then as they had during the battle against the Biometal itself. Only in this case, it had been worse, as instead of Mavericks, they were now fighting their own. It was like a poison in the air, gradually seeping into the minds of everybody there until all they had left was a mad desire for the Biometal, and to HELL with anyone in their way.

It had taken almost a month before they had gotten it under control, racking up an enormous number of casualties and arrests.

It wasn't until afterwards, when Nana and Marino had been poring through the records, that they had discovered the unnoticed, insignificant looking thread of data that had been propagating itself through the cybernetics of every person present on the site. That data manifested itself as a dull, subsonic vibration throughout the body, causing disorientation, hallucinations, and in general, a downward spiral into madness.

Once they'd found that, it came with the cold certainty that the madness of the massed scavengers wasn't just a coincidence. On further investigation, it was revealed that this was the code given off from every fragment of Model W, an extra modification by Albert to further incite war and bloodshed during the Game of Destiny. For a chilling moment, they'd thought that it meant that Model W was not yet dead.

And then Ace had checked on it himself, cross-referencing it with all older instances of the signal's appearance. From that, he'd found a match with one of the older Biometal fragments. And not just that, but it was a perfect copy of the signal too, something which shouldn't have been possible, as Model W never gave off the same frequency twice, in order to further disorient possible thralls.

So what it all meant, in the end, was that somebody else had managed to somehow get their hands on that frequency, and had used it to wreak havoc on the scavenger fleets.

The reason for such mayhem turned out to be hidden with a small, well-hidden cadre of Raiders within the massed scavengers. Their goal? To slip in amidst the confusion and steal a single solitary fragment of the Model W, which had fallen in shallower waters and had escaped detection due to the unique layout of the seafloor. Only this group's employer had found it, and aimed to steal it before anyone else was the wiser.

Ace, fortunately, had managed to stop them.

In the aftermath of the bust, however, as they had finally tracked the source of the code down...

Something massive had reared out of the depths of Cyberspace, an entity so mind-numbingly colossal in terms of data that even Legion's combined technological might hadn't been able to fully define it, and with but that flicker of white armor they had managed to catch a glimpse of in Cyberspace, it had killed every single one of the arrested Raiders. Their cybernetic implants suddenly crushing inwards, all twelve of the captured Raiders had imploded in a horrible mess, their bodies crumpling inward like cheap tin cans even as the carefully collected evidence and data disappeared, and all known records of it obliterated. All that, done in a matter of seconds.

"And for all that trouble, all we got was a single blurred image from Cyberspace." Aile growled, a copy of said image appearing on the screen behind her, a poor quality representation they'd managed to scrape together from the data left by the Dead End's passage.

Poor quality, but knowing what they knew now, it was obviously the Great.

"...I still hate the bastard." Omega grumbled. "But at least he gets points for efficiency."

Craft rolled his eyes.

"As generous as ever, aren't you..."

"So that's everything on the Dead Ends." Aile said finally."The last thing left to mention is that people skilled in the manipulation of Cyberspace, or people with their own mental distortions like Ace and Vent are the only thing that can obstruct a Dead End."

Omega raised an eyebrow at that.

"They're distorted as well?"

It was Marino who spoke now, the thief materializing from the shadows like a ghost.

"Yes. They're distorted...but in a way different to the Deads."

Aile whirled in alarm as various noises of surprise murmured through the room.

"M-Marino!" She stopped, and cleared her throat, trying to regain her composure.

"Er...um...how are you doing...?"

Marino gave a weak smile.

"I've been better."

The dark circles under the thief's eyes, and her haggard expression seemed to support that, as she turned to face Omega.

"Where most Dead Ends are distorted in that they value themselves over everything else, even the laws of reality itself, Ace and Vent are...distorted in the opposite sense."

The God of Destruction's eyes narrowed.

He'd only known the Scarlet Phoenix and the Biometal Commander for a short time, but even he had gotten a few suspicions of his own regarding them. That almost suicidal willingness to throw themselves into the fray, and the way they had fought the Great despite it being an entity powerful enough to damage even Omega himself...no normal being should ever be able to do that.

Not for the first time, he was reminded of the duo who had bested him before.

X and Zero. Two heroes who fought not for themselves, but for the sake of other people, no matter how much suffering they heaped upon themselves. That unselfish, almost inhuman willingness to sacrifice themselves...Omega realized his teeth were grinding together.

He'd never understood it then and, as Marino and Aile explained, he realized he still wouldn't understand it now.

Because it was exactly the same kind distortions that had made X and Zero who they were, that he found staring him in the face again.

"Ace is...well, he's obsessed with the idea of a 'hero', the idea of being an avatar of justice that crushes all evil. Even if it destroys him, and it almost has several times, he'll still throw himself into the fray."

"And as for Vent...it's kind of the same thing. When he and I were younger, our mother was killed by Mavericks right in front of our eyes. Since then, he's sworn to protect everyone, fighting his battles so no-one else has to."

Marino sighed and leaned on a nearby chair.

"So where all Dead Ends exist through their own selfish desire to live, and keep on living...they're the opposite."

"They both just ignore their own lives and their own safety for the sake of those damn selfless ideals of theirs."

Omega gave a bitter chuckle, pressing one hand to his face.

"Of course they do..." He growled. No matter where he went...no matter WHEN he went...he would always find himself faced with that broken idealism X and Zero had been so proud of.

Oh, the irony was utterly REVOLTING.

"...so that's what let them hold this Great Redips asshat to a standstill?"

"Indeed." Master Thomas chimed in. "It's that very ability that was one of my main reasons for keeping Ace in charge of Legion Security. Despite his...less than perfect capacity to be subordinate to ANYTHING, his ability to work in Cyberspace and to challenge Dead Ends is more than enough to make up for his shortcomings."

The God of Destruction gave the red-haired ruler of Legion a calculating look.

"You knew about all this?"

"But of course." Thomas smirked. "I'd been aware of the Dead Ends stirring from the moment I took up this post. And since there was almost literally nothing on the face of the world that could stand up to them, naturally I knew I'd have to find a way to even the score. And so I found Ace. A man lurking within the Security section since the days when Legion was still just a rebuilt Neo Arcadia, powered only by his own hotblooded recklessness and iron sense of justice."

The Master spread his hands wide.

"And on top of that, he seemed to have one of the most overwhelmingly active imaginations I've ever encountered, and the will to back it up. And as it turned out, the maniac had actually survived one or two encounters with Dead Ends before."

He shrugged.

"What more could I have asked for?"

"Right..." Marino shot him a dirty look. "You're as callous as ever, I see."

"A ruler does what is best for the city beneath him, regardless of who must be sacrificed for it." The Master gave a half-smile. "The needs of the many always outweigh the needs of the few. And I'm sure your dear Ace Phoenix himself would agree."

"Tch..." The ex-thief gave an irritated hiss. "As I thought, I'll never be able to stand you..."

Omega raised an eyebrow at the spectacle. Even here on the complete opposite side of the conference table he could feel the sparks flying. It seemed that while Ace didn't have much of a problem with this Master Thomas...his second-in-command was decidedly less trusting. And considering how easily the man had just admitted to being willing to use Ace as a sacrificial pawn for the city's good...

Well, having seen one too many examples of 'the needs of the many outweighing the needs of the few' Omega found himself with a grim smile on his face.

Such a philosophy was right up there with the ends justifying the means.

No, this Master Thomas would bear further watching. And not only that, considering the forces of A.C.E, he knew better to write off the Scarlet Commander as being foolish or gullible enough to serve as anyone's pawn.

It seemed that there was more to the power structure of Legion City than he'd seen during his earlier encounters inside of this alabaster tower...

"A-at any rate..." Aile said placatingly, attempting to disarm the sudden tension between the still-exhausted looking thief and the still-calmly smiling ruler of Legion. "Suffice to say, both Vent and Ace are uniquely suited to battling Dead Ends."

"Not enough to defeat them once and for all...but enough to force them back." Marino added, before shooting another dirty look at Master Thomas. "NOT without ridiculous cost to themselves, though!"

"But enough to buy you the time for you to utilize other measures nonetheless, correct?" Master Thomas waved a hand dismissively. "Much like that Dimensional Engine that I'm almost CERTAIN Legion never authorized you to construct in our labs."

"It worked, didn't it?" Marino sneered. "So you can take your lousy red tape and shove it up your-"

"O-KAY that's enough of that!" Aile yelped desperately, pushing in between the two of them before Marino escalated this into another brawl. Thus far, they were just lucky that Master Thomas was still under the impression that Ace was using Legion facilities for his mad projects, and not his own secret labs, courtesy of the resurrected A.C.E.

Considering Marino's already dangerously fraying mood, and Master Thomas' uncanny ability to thread together even the most mundane tidbits of information, she really had to find a way to break this up before-

CRASH.

**[Cue Music: Our Hisou Tensoku - HisouTensoku's Theme]**

The door of the conference room was blown off of its hinges.

"Maaaaaaaasteeer THOOOOOMAAAAAAAAAASSSS!"

Red steel flashed through the air, an iron blur charging past as Omega idly tilted his head out of the way of a scarlet hued ceratanium boot. The fully armed and armored Iron Phoenix barreled down the length of the conference table towards the still unconcerned ruler of Legion City, each footstep blasting a crater in the marble tabletop.

KLAAAAAAAAANG!

Omega straightened, eyes narrowing. There hadn't even been a single indication of movement, but there was the blunt, supposedly decorative greatsword of Master Thomas between his face and Ace's augmented steel fist.

And though the Iron Phoenix's arm shook with the force he was exerting, that orange blade moved not an inch, despite the fact that the Master remained in the same relaxed position, propping his head up with one hand as the other tilted up slightly to hold the hilt of the sword in what Omega could now tell was a VERY deceptive loose grip.

"A-A-Ace!" Marino gasped. "But...you shouldn't be able to move!"

"Like THAT's ever stopped me before...!" The Scarlet Phoenix growled, one eye visible through the black visor over his face.

Master Thomas cracked open one eye, still with that same easy smile on his features.

"So I see you've jury rigged your Scarlet Skin to act as a prosthesis again...you really should listen to your second-in-command, Ace."

Sparks flew from the joints of the Phoenix's right arm, the freshly repaired motors screeching in protest. His eyes narrowed.

"You treacherous, double-dealing...!"

His left fist clenched, muscles flexing as a deadly steel spike punched out from over his knuckles, lunging at Master Thomas' face with a flash of lethal silver metal.

"IIIIIIIIIIROOON STAAAAAAAAAKE!"

Master Thomas simply sighed.

WHAM.

Omega blinked.

CRASH.

Then, very slowly, he turned his head to see the colossal hole in the wall left by the Scarlet Phoenix's exit trajectory.

"...the ACTUAL hell?"

Thomas reached up and idly ran a finger across the fine scratch Ace's staketip had sliced across one cheekbone.

"Hm, I do believe he's getting faster."

The Colonel smirked unpleasantly. Ace did have the unfortunate tendency to surprise people like that. Also, he had to admit, it did warm his heart in some incomprehensible way to see somebody else bringing a revolving stake to the party.

...the Scarlet Commander still hadn't managed to do more than that to Master Thomas, though, no matter how pissed he got.

"Huh." Nana raised an eyebrow at her computer screen, apparently thoroughly unconcerned by the fact that her boss had just tried to stake HIS boss to the skull via an eight inch steel pile bunker. " Point seven of a second. He IS getting faster."

Marino gave an annoyed grunt again.

"Git." she shot at Thomas, and stalked off to fish Ace out of the rubble.

Omega stared.

"So...this happens often?"He ventured.

"Every damn time the Master goes politicking behind Ace's back." Craft muttered. "But it's usually deserved, so whatever Thomas did THIS time..."

The sinister undertones of Craft's second sentence went straight over Omega's head, the crimson tyrant still digesting the fact that he was in a city where the head of Legion City regularly attempted to horribly mangle the ruler of said city whenever he pulled off some apparently problematic political feats.

"...Have I ever mentioned I LOVE this city?"

* * *

Having dug Ace out of the wreckage and half carried the still-recovering Phoenix back into the conference room, it quickly became apparent that his mood was no better.

"All right Thomas..." He glowered down the table at the red-bearded figure sitting at the other end. "Any chance you'd care to explain WHAT THE FLYING FUCK DRAGON JOKER IS DOING BACK IN MY CITY?!"

He slammed a pile of folders down on the desk hard enough to crack the tabletop.

"...oh that's not good." Craft muttered.

Omega raised an eyebrow.

"Dragon who?" He whispered to the mercenary.

"Dragon Joker." The Colonel rumbled, one shadowed eye glinting from beneath his hat. "A masked businessman who plays both sides of the law for his own gain, the ultimate weapons-dealer. Known for his absolute impartiality in conflicts of any kind, he freely sells his weaponry to both sides with only his profits as a concern. His technological genius and tactical maneuvering are matched only by Ace, who sees him as his archenemy. Due to the success of his merchandise, no bounty can successfully be posted against him, as all those who would normally go after him instead refuse, knowing that they will be the ones to suffer without access to his black market advances. Current location: Unknown. Current appearance: A black overcoat, worn over his shoulders like a cape or a mantle, with a deep green business suit underneath, and gold trimmings. Can be easily recognized by the ceratanium-enhanced armor he wears at all times, with his distinctive iron mask and green hood. It is unknown whether or not it is a mask, or if he simply modified his cranial structure to fit a a more mechanical appearance, much like other less humanoid Reploids. Known acquaintances: Too many to list, as he is the arms supplier for every major armed conflict in the world, and as such has ties to Legion, the Raiders, the Hunters, and possibly even the Guardian Base, albeit rather grudging ones in the latter case, as neither Biometal Commander Vent nor Guardian Commander Aile approve of the Dragon's actions. Prominent clients include: Gallidin Voltzer, Gearhead Granz, Aerios of the Lightning, Leos Darkclaw, Siger von Feuersturm, the Royale family, Donovan Gates, Ashe of the Model A Chosen Ones, Calam Krakatoa, several branches of the Legion military," He paused for a second, his eyes narrowing"...and most recently, Master Thomas of the Wise Men."

A deafening silence fell over the room as every head turned to stare at the still-unconcerned man in question.

Well, almost every head. Omega stared at the Colonel, a stunned look on his face.

If those names were anything to go by, this 'Dragon' really DID have no favorites! That sonofabitch had connections to damn near every single one of the enemies he'd encountered, not to mention almost all of the ALLIES he'd encountered too!

What the HELL kind of weaponry did this guy have, to get a clientele THAT powerful?!

And on top of that...Craft caught the God's disbelieving stare up at the Colonel and shrugged.

"He's got instantaneous connections to every criminal database in the world whenever he needs it. If Legion Security has a file on them, he knows who they are. Ace said something about speeding up the process of cleaving, if that helps."

"So there you have it." Ace growled. "Now, old man...I'd like an explanation as to why you let this tin-plated tyrant within fifty miles of Legion city limits, and even established one Senator Goodman as an official liaison with him!"

Master Thomas gave the leader of Legion Security a mild look.

"For a man wearing armor of his own, I find the term 'tin-plated tyrant' to be slightly hypocritical."

Ace slammed the hands of his Iron Phoenix suit down on the table in anger.

"Don't MOCK me, Thomas!" He snarled. "I'll let you get away with just about any of your other sleazy backroom deals without so much as a blink if it's for the good of this city, but DRAGON?! Oh no, I deserve an explanation at the very LEAST!"

Master Thomas sighed.

"While your entire statement just now practically reeks of gross insubordination, it is, inevitably, just your customary blunt honesty, so I'll overlook it."

Straightening up, he cracked his neck with a slight grunt.

"But considering your past history with the Dragon, I will admit that you do deserve an explanation at the very least."

"Tch..." Ace grumbled, wincing slightly as he pressed a hand to his ribs.

"I WARNED you about pulling stunts like this, didn't I?" Marino snapped, digging around in one of his exposed armor sections to see if there was anything she could do to stop one of his wounds from bleeding again. Such knowledge wasn't exactly what you'd expect from a thief like her, but life as Ace's second-in-command tended to REQUIRE unexpected knowledge.

Of course, it probably helped that Cinnamon was on his other side, cranking out as much healing power out of her Force Metal Generator as she could muster.

Because really, Ace was in HORRIBLE shape despite his best attempts at normalcy.

But Master Thomas simply gave him a cool, calculating look.

"...or at least, I'd give you an explanation if you yourself hadn't probably figured it out already. You are, after all, renowned for that IQ of yours."

Ace shot him a savage look.

"So you ARE trying to undercut me!"

Thomas shrugged.

"I had no choice. Considering the drastic increase in 'Incidents' as you've taken to calling them, a lot of people are beginning to get nervous. So as their leader, what else can I do but try to increase the level of troop readiness?" He spread his hands out. "And what better way to do that than to get our forces outfitted with the most advanced weaponry necessary to repulse future Maverick attacks?"

"For one thing, you could leave me to do my damn job and leave low-down, dirty, treacherous, Machivellian black market backstabbers like the Dragon OUT OF THIS!" Ace snarled. "Because ten will get you twenty he's selling the SAME guns, upgraded to counter whatever he sells us, TO THE OTHER GUYS! And then he comes back to us with something that trumps THAT, and so on the cycle goes!"

"Yes, of course..."Thomas said mildly, "If not for the fact that those same weapons were instrumental in stopping Gemini Cyto's opening gambit of berserk Mechaniloids."

That brought Ace up short.

"You did what?"

The Wise Man nodded.

"Why did you think it seemed so easy to stop his Mechaniloid forces? Had it not been for the Gearhead showing up, the rank and file Security forces would have wrapped it up in a matter of hours, particularly with your Special Agents in the field."

He gave the Colonel in particular a nod at that.

"Damn you, Joker...!" Ace gritted.

Of COURSE he'd get Master Thomas to agree to refitting the forces WITHOUT the Phoenix's knowledge, JUST because he knew it'd blindside Ace like this.

Dragon always HAD enjoyed giving his opponents enough rope to hang themselves...

"Fine then..."Ace grimaced, "But like you said, that's all they were good for. They didn't help against Granz much, did they?"

"True." Master Thomas allowed, "However, all that means is that we weren't fully prepared for a combined assault like that. Thus, it's easily remedied by the addition of even more weaponry to our arsenal."

"Fully pre-I BUILT A FUCKING GIANT ROBOT IN SECRET AND STASHED IT UNDERGROUND! WHAT THE FUCK ELSE DO YOU PEOPLE WANT?!"

There was a loud crash from outside as the Ultras tripped over a wayward piece of exploded Dreadnought, smashing down on it's face with a yelp from Kitara and sending construction girders everywhere.

"...and while I understand that this was probably not exactly the most sterling time I could have chosen to bring the Ultras' name up, my point still stands." Ace said, valiantly pressing on.

"I will give you that, Ace. Like all your Special Agents, the Ultras ATX is a devastating force on the battlefield. Unfortunately, it is still just one unit. Your Agents are exceptionally strong, yes, but they can't be everywhere at once. That's why we need to be able to rely on our own forces more, to cover themselves and the people where you can't."

Ace stiffened as Marino winced next to him. She knew that about the only thing that could enrage the Scarlet Phoenix more than anything was to be told that he couldn't protect everyone. As a hero of justice, that ideal meant more to him than anything, and for anyone to say otherwise was trampling on his very nature as the man called Ace Phoenix. And for the instigator behind this to be Dragon Joker...

She considered the very real possibility of having to stop her boss from trying to kill the leader of Legion City.

...again.

Master Thomas sighed at the look on Ace's face.

"Yes, I know you don't like it, any more than I do, but the facts are the facts. If the last few months are any indication, things are gradually beginning to move once more. Everything is changing, the darker sides of the world beginning to move again. Even a Dead End like the Great has reappeared."

He shook his head.

"I know you don't like the Dragon, Ace, particularly considering his choice of career, but in this case, you're going to have to live with it. You're doing an excellent job on your own, Ace, but we need more than that if these Incidents continue to grow."

Master Thomas gestured out the window.

"And three of them alone have occurred on Legion soil, causing untold amounts of destruction. The Black Thresher Incident on its own wiped out the entirety of Sector 8, right down to the bedrock. This latest one...well..."

The scattered plumes of smoke rising from the Legion cityscape finished his statement for him.

Ace said nothing, his face alight with a silent, frozen rage that was barely contained behind a masked expression. The creaking metal sounds as his hands slowly crushed the tabletop into powder, however, spoke volumes.

Seeing that, the ruler of Legion City simply sighed.

"Don't be so melodramatic, Ace. It's not like he's going to be taking your job or anything, as that's more or less impossible in any case, but in all his roles, the Dragon is always only a supplier, providing more resources for the commanders like you."

"Sure, he's always perfectly civil and well-intentioned...right up until the knife hits your back." Ace growled.

"And yes, I know, he's got his black marks, but as I'm sure your Commissar over there can tell you, he's never been convicted of any of the misdeeds he's been blamed for."

The Colonel's eyes narrowed, data flickering across his irises as he scanned the EXTENSIVE file on the Dragon.

"Current crimes..." His lips tightened in disapproval,"...none confirmed."

"There you have it." Master Thomas waved a hand dismissively. "And as you're so fond of saying, 'Innocent until proven guilty.', correct?"

"U-ugh..." Ace grimaced.

"So for now, let's just give Mr. Dragon Joker the benefit of doubt, shall we, and move on to other things?"

Ace jaw tightened.

"Do what you want, old man. But don't expect me to just play along with your idealistic notions. I'll be keeping an eye on Dragon, just like I always have..."

The vague flicker of air pressure from behind the Scarlet Phoenix was all he needed to know that Marino had gotten the unspoken message.

"I'll have a lock on him within the hour." She murmured.

A hopelessly optimistic estimate, they both knew, especially where the man known as the Armory Dragon was concerned, but Marino knew in his current condition, Ace needed to hear something concrete.

An uneasy silence fell over the room, Ace's glare meeting the Wise Man's unconcerned expression.

And that silence would have probably persisted for quite a while, had things suddenly not returned to their usual chaotic nature.

Alarms blared through the room as explosions went off in the city outside, light flashing up from the city streets.

"What in the nine hells...?!" Ace whirled, Craft and the Colonel already up and moving, the Neige Kanone humming to life with an ominous blue glow. A glance from the Colonel to Nana, and his operator nodded. One series of commands on her keyboard later, the massive iron cross of judgement appeared from thin air, the Colonel seizing the handle as he strode towards the window.

"Anyone mind explaining this one?" Omega snapped, kicking his chair away from the table and reaching for the Zweihander.

Ace gave Marino a quick glance, to see her shaking her head in response, already listening to the frantic chatter coming in from the communication lines.

"Damn, nothing yet..."

He was interrupted by Nana, her eyes widening in disbelief as she stared at the computer screen.

"From what I'm getting, this looks like some kind of running battle!"

Blurred images began appearing on the conference room's main screen as she spoke, uploading them from Legion's camera network.

Little more than vague outlines could be seen of two, possibly three figures, trading blows and high power energy blasts, but it was enough to prove Nana's estimate.

"Do we have anything clearer than this, miss Nana?" Thomas' voice cut through the blaring alarms with cold authority.

"Nothing as yet, sir." She replied, her brow furrowing in concentration as her hands danced across the keys. "At the moment they're extremely mobile, moving from one location to another before I can get a clear fix on them, much less get a working still-shot at them with one of the cameras...!"

"Yeah?" Ace said tersely, staring down at the city.

"I believe we can tell you one other thing about them." Craft continued, hefting Neige.

"They're headed straight for us." The Colonel rumbled, eyes narrowing.

The Zweihander flashing to life in his hands, Omega leaned over, and swore as he saw the trail of explosions and impacts erupting in an inexorable advance towards the Legion HQ.

"Well shit, that can't be good...!"

Ace whirled.

"Dammit, I knew I should've picked a higher floor for this..." He gritted, "Hoy! Thomas! You'd better get to cover, old man!"

Master Thomas snorted.

"I'm hardly one to run from a fight, you whippersnapper!"

"Suit yourself, gramps!" The Scarlet Phoenix flashed a brief grin of acknowledgment.

With a crash that shook the whole tower, the combatants slammed into the base of Legion HQ-

"Oh, the accounting division's NOT going to like those guys...!" Marino winced.

-and to their collective disbelief, began to move UP THE SIDE of Legion Headquarters, blasts of smoke and shining fragments of splintered glass flying out around them.

"Shit...!" Ace cursed, glancing across at Marino, who was still unsuccessfully trying to co-ordinate some kind of rapid response counterattack. "Forget it, Marino! Cover for the old man if necessary, and stick close to Cinnamon!"

"Don't need to tell me twice...!" She growled, knives already in hand.

Cinnamon clenched her fists, an unnaturally determined look on her face.

"I'll fight too, Mister Ace!"

Ace hesitated, his eyes flicking to Marino, a similar expression of worry on her face.

"...well, it's too late to do anything else, so I guess we might as well...!"

"Just stay near me, all right, Cin?"

"All right, Marino!"

A crash of glass as Craft kicked out the windowpane in front of him, his cape billowing out in the sudden wind.

"Agent Hadrian Craft, engaging." He rumbled, aiming the long, deadly black length of his prized cannon down towards the oncoming battle, which was still ascending the sides of the tower in a complete disregard for the laws of gravity.

Omega stepped up next to him, just about to leap out towards the fight below, when his HUD registered an incoming call.

"Who in the-"

"Ah, M-master!"

"The hell?!" He stepped back, turning away from the others. "Queenbee?!"

"Master!" She yelled, this time barely audible over a massive commotion on her end. "We...well, we found her!"

Omega's eyes widened.

"What?! Where?!"

Another crash, and Queenbee gave a cry of pain.

"Queenbee!"

Craft glared through the scope, focusing in on the furious melee below, already switching to a filter to cut through the haze and smoke.

"Dammit, stop MOVING already!" A new voice crackled over the line, an all too familiar hiss of energy rays cutting through the audio.

"Nagato?!"

"Dammit! Boss, this is bad...! Argh!" The Emerald Queen swore, another crash sounding over the line.

"Kuh...she's too strong!" Queenbee gritted, her voice tight with pain.

"Oi, what's going on?!" Omega snapped, an unpleasant suspicion forming in his mind.

As his targeting reticule finally got a solid target, Craft's eyes widened in shock.

"What...That's-!"

"We can't handle her, Master!" Queenbee gave a desperate yell, the sound of her needles whistling in the background.

"Sorry, Boss...!" Syrene gave a rueful laugh. "But we brought her this far-gah! You'll have to handle the rest!"

Craft lowered the Neige with an angry growl and leapt back, cape flaring.

"Everyone down!" he thundered.

Marino, her sharper eyes having seen the same thing as him, caught Cinnamon around the waist and dove over the table, yanking Ace's metal clad form with her despite his yelp of outrage.

"Hey, what-!"

Omega whirled, looking back at the window as the battered forms of Queenbee and Syrene Nagato were blasted into the room with devastating force, glass and metal shattering in their wake. And behind them-

His eyes widened in cold rage, his talons crushing the communicator even as he barreled forward with the Zweihander.

_**"YOU!"**_

Black coat tails whipping in the wind, blue fire raged through the air, and the Black Rock Shooter charged straight at him.

* * *

A/N: OH IT IS SO FRIGGING ON NOW

GOD OF DESTRUCTION VERSUS HEROIC SPIRIT BLACK ROCK SHOOTER.

PLACE YOUR BETS.

AND THEN DIVE FOR COVER.

...and before anyone else says it, let me add: HEAVEN OR HELL! LET'S ROCK!

...because Guilty Gear is awesome. Nuff said.

Anyway...wow, yeah, I TOTALLY let the Dead Ends get away from me. That explanation went WAY longer than I expected it to. And I'm still not sure I got it right. Well, whatever, at any rate if there's anything you didn't get about them, suffice to say they're basically people who died, but refused to accept that death, to the point where that refusal was so great it ACTUALLY stopped them from dying. But since such a thing is impossible, the world itself twisted around them, making them each masters of their own little pocket dimension of sorts, which is made up of the place where they died.

Thus, whenever they breach that dimension to return to the real world, their dimension overwrites everything within a certain area of them with that scenery, fusing Cyberspace and the real world together in a hybrid reality that lets Cyberspace physics and the like be applied to the real world.

That's the Reality Dysfunction. Think of it like a beyond god-class version of a Zone Technician's Zone.

Overpowered much?

Also, since they're technically 'something which should not exist' at least by the laws of the world, they have to constantly maintain that Reality Dysfunction with a part of their power, as reality is constantly trying to autocorrect itself, which manifests as a sort of 'pressure' on the Dead End, trying to force them, and their Dysfunction, back into their closed off space, outside of reality.

That's what the Dimensional Engine helps with. It aids that force by basically reconstructing the barrier between the Dead End's space and the real world. AT it's lowest, it's just enough to stop the Deads from erasing everything with a snap of their fingers. Over time, it gets stronger and stronger, meaning the Deads will be forced to retreat as it takes more and more of their effort to maintain the Reality Dysfunction.

That's more or less why they don't appear directly, save for necessary occasions like what the Great just pulled. Don't expect a decisive battle with him for some time, either. Considering his nature as a Dead End, he'll simply reappear from time to time to troll the lot of them.

And speaking of trolls, this chapter introduced you to the character who will essentially be the anti-Ace of the Chronicles. Think a cross between Doctor Doom (who you guys TOTALLY NEED to read the Marvel series 'Doom 2099' for!), SRW's Ingram Plisken and the personality of a darker Ace Phoenix, kind of like the weapons dealers of 'Jormungand' (WHICH IS A SHOW YOU REALLY NEED TO WATCH.).

You also got to see a clash between Ace's idealism and Master Thomas' more pragmatic nature. Plus you FINALLY get to see Master Thomas do some actual character development here, which should give you an insight where I'm going with him.

As for Marino...well.

The clues are there for why she was so torn up by the Great's parting shot. It's up to you guys to piece them together! And I'm fairly sure a lot of you may very well hate me for it if you DO figure it out.

Also, nope, I ain't saying a THING about what went on between Ace and Marino afterwards. Draw your own conclusions.

Finally, no, the breather chapters are not over yet. There will be more explaining in the next chapter as well, once Omega and the Black Rock Shooter (EEEE I STILL CAN'T BELIEVE I PULLED THAT OFF!) get finished murdering one another, and you get to find out where the hell Celtis is, what the heck happened to her, and the whole sorry story about just what the hell it is inside of that Hades.

And Ashe will be making a comeback too, but maybe not till the chapter after that.

Welp, anyway!

I'm off, you all!

See you in the reviews! Or DeviantArt, whichever comes first!

Later!

Merry Christmas, DarkShift out!


	40. Chapter 39: Aftermath 2 - The Reckoning

**Chapter 39: Aftermath 2- The Reckoning**

**Disclaimer:** Ingram Pliskin is watching you read this. Mwaha.

...also, a cookie to whoever gets all of the references in this chapter. :3

* * *

**"RED RIPPER!"**

_...!_

**BLAM!**

**BLAM!**

**SCREEEEEEEEEEEEE!**

The entire outer wall of Legion's fifteenth-floor conference room exploded, a violet disc screeching as it cut through steel and stone alike, burning blue flashes erupting from the cloud of smoke.

Sidestepping the monstrous Black Cannon as it stabbed at him, firing at point blank range, Omega gave an angry growl and stepped forward, one armored fist raised. Seizing the front of the Black Rock Shooter's coat, he gave a snarl as the crooked black katana in her free hand stabbed through his upraised hand.

"Don't think that's going to stop me...!"

Undeterred, he yanked her in towards him, and smashed her straight into the ground with a devastating headbutt.

Despite the fact that the God of Destruction KNEW that should have done a lot of damage, the only sign of it was a slight tightening around the Black Rock Shooter's eyes, before she swung her legs around to knock his feet out from under him.

A flash of light, and suddenly Omega's fall was deadly, his Zweihander slamming point first into the ground where her neck had been seconds ago. Not even stopping, he hurled himself into a forward roll, burning blue shells blasting through his previous location. And even as he came out of the roll, the pale girl in black tracked him, still firing, as Omega twisted through the air, one palm open and extended towards her.

"Try THIS one on for size-!"

A fully charged shot blasted from the green gem on his palm. Skidding on the ground, he threw himself back the way he had come, ignoring the impacts of two flaming bullets that had managed to strike him, and cut loose with a second charge shot.

The Black Rock Shooter's eyes narrowed.

The crooked katana in her hand flashed once, shredding the first Charge. Barreling forward, she redoubled her firing rate, dropping down and skating under the second blast-

Only to see Omega rip through her assault, the great violet blade shattering the ground as he brought it swinging up with a wild roar, thunder raging around him.

**"KOUGENJIN!"**

The crescent wave of power blasted out towards her, splitting through her bullets with ease as it obliterated everything in it's path.

Blue lighting glinting in her eerie eyes, the Black Rock Shooter slammed the muzzle of her Black Barrel into the ground before her. An explosion of blue fire and she was gone, blasting herself out of the way of Omega's attack. With a speed faster than anything organic should possibly have, she tapped lightly down on the wall and barreled across it, racing towards Omega amidst a blitzkrieg of blazing blue shells.

The God of Destruction staggered as dozens of bullets slammed into him, spectral blue fire dancing around his frame as he stepped back.

"YOU...!" He snarled, slamming his boots into the ground. Tiled floors shattering around him, he took one, two steps, moving in past the massive black cannon, just as fast as the girl in the black coat-

-crooked katana flashing as it hurtled in to stab him through the eye socket-

-demonic fangs flashing as Omega's jaws slammed shut on the blade-

-a roundhouse kick that could split steel swinging in towards his ribs-

-twisting to the side, his free claw crashing forward to seize her by the face-

-black cannon roaring as it tore holes in the ceiling above him-

-palm jewel flashing as it fired buster shot after buster shot into her skull at point blank range-

-an avalanche of rubble from the shattered ceiling crashing down on the God of Destruction, a ton of broken rock and steel burying him-

-but not before he gave a roar of rage and hurled the Black Rock Shooter the length of the room with such force that she destroyed the entire wall with the force of her impact and disappeared into the corridor outside.

And as the dust settled, the remaining people in the room simply stared at the destruction in disbelief.

"Does anyone else here know..." Marino managed to say.

"...what in the world just happened?" Aile stuttered.

Nana stared wordlessly at her laptop's clock from her safe spot behind the upturned table.

Thirty seconds.

That nameless girl in the black coat had just fought both the ex-Pseudoroid Queenbee, the Raider Queen Syrene Nagato into a full retreat, all the way across Legion City, UP THE SIDE OF LEGION HQ, and had then leapt straight into battle with Saber, the man who only she and a mere handful of people knew to actually be the monstrous God of Destruction, and had FOUGHT HIM HEAD ON, under EQUAL CONDITIONS, for THIRTY FREAKING SECONDS STRAIGHT BEFORE ACHIEVING A MUTUAL ANNIHILATION RESULT.

Save for Zero himself, NOBODY ELSE should have that kind of capability!

...although there WAS the fact that Omega was currently finishing up internal repairs from the massive damage he'd taken from the Great, but still...!

Her eyes narrowed for a moment.

Wait...shouldn't she have had a alternate mode to that cannon? Like a melee form or something...? Why hadn't she used it in that fight?

Craft twitched as he felt a sudden chill in the air. He didn't even need to turn to know that there was a truly unholy sight standing next to him.

Arms folded, one eye glinting beneath the brim of his military cap, the ominous black specter that was the feared Colonel-Commissar of Legion City...

...was SMILING.

"No." Craft said evenly.

The Colonel's gaze flicked across to him.

"...at least wait to challenge her some other time?" Craft sighed.

"...Very well." The Colonel rumbled. "I shall stay my blade until a more opportune moment arises to duel this newcomer."

"Holy God."

Marino looked around at the quietly awed statement.

Ace was staring blankly at the spot where the Black Rock Shooter had disappeared into the rubble.

"Ace?"

"...it's really her." The Scarlet Phoenix muttered, complete shock written on his face. "I thought the multiverse theory didn't expand that far, but...!"

CRASH.

Blue fire erupted from the hallway outside. Black boots crunching over rubble, the Black Rock Shooter stepped back into the room. Numerous scrapes and scuff marks dotted her slender frame, her immaculate black coat now covered with a fine layer of dust.

Nonetheless, as she stared down at the pile of rubble that marked her opponent, her left eye ignited, the spectral blue fire burning within it for the first time during the battle with Omega.

And as that rubble shattered, an unmistakable crimson aura of energy erupting from it, her eyes narrowed.

_It seemed as though this...'Omega' was every inch as formidable as she had been led to believe._

And as the crimson tyrant slowly rose from the wreckage, eyes burning with the rage of battle, the air around him taking on an unmistakable red glow, the Black Rock Shooter's grip tightened on her cannon.

_No...possibly even more dangerous than that._

"As I thought..." Omega grinned dangerously, "You really are something out of the ordinary...Not even THAT MAN had this much battle experience...! To move this way, to strike back even in the midst of taking such damage, to be able to act purely on your own instinct without even needing to see..."

He glanced briefly up at the hole in the ceiling.

"To turn the environment against me like that with just a microsecond's consideration..."

His grin widened, his pupils dilating and contracting with a faint whine as they struggled to focus.

"And not only that...but you've got some MAD sensor cancelling to boot...!"

It was astounding, he had to admit. He had possibly the single most advanced sensor suite on the planet when it came to the realms of combat, and this girl...no, he'd be a fool to write her off as merely a girl. This...Black Rock Shooter was somehow undetectable by _any_ of them.

Motion trackers, out. Thermals, out. Infrared, out. Night vision, out. Electromagnetics, out. Spectral analysers, out.

Not one damn thing was seeing her. If it hadn't been for his own normal optics, she might as well be invisible!

"So THIS is how you gave Granz so much trouble..."

Not even that stealth Reploid of Vile's could match up to this kind of 'invisibility'. He supposed it was lucky that she didn't have an optic canceller as well, because really, that'd just be plain BROKEN.

And that seamless flow of fighting, the high speed of movement and reaction, not relenting for a moment, with almost perfect control of her range...

His eyes narrowed.

"You fight like an assassin..."

The Black Rock Shooter said nothing, simply fixing him with that eerie blue glare, despite the accuracy of Omega's statement.

"All right then..." He grinned, raising one hand to his side. And as the unmistakable crimson world appeared behind him, that grin widened.

"In that case, allow me to show you the price you pay for daring to think that you can assassinate ME!"

Dozens of weapons emerged, the crimson air rippling out behind him with their arrival.

"I see...so this is the legendary Gate of Babylon I've heard so much about, then..." Master Thomas rubbed his chin in thought. "Interesting..."

Nana leaned towards Aile.

"Um...just a thought but...if this gets any bigger...?"

Aile swallowed.

"Either we need to evacuate Legion HQ now, or find a way to sto-"

Unfortunately, Omega himself seemed to be in no mood to wait. The enemy who'd stolen his deathmatch with Gearhead Granz was standing right before him, and was every bit as dangerous as he'd expected!

And as the Black Rock Shooter charged towards him once more, the cannon on her arm transforming into that fatal Black Blade once more, he laughed demonically, and lunged forward to meet her.

"So COME! GAAAAAATE...OOOOOOF...BABYLO-!"

_"HOLD IT!"_

A thunderous shout rang out, loud enough that both combatants skidded to a halt in surprise, Omega's weapon arrays jerking to stop behind him.

"Wha-?"

Ace blinked, then looked at his epic pointing finger again in surprise, having struck the same pose he'd used to break Gemini's Zone.

"...holy crap, that actually worked." He blinked again. "I should remember that trick..."

Realizing that the two fighters, and pretty much everyone else, were looking at him in irritation, he remembered what he was supposed to be doing.

"Oh yeah...ahem..." He cleared his throat.

"KNOCK IT OFF, YOU MORONS!" He thundered, an annoyed look on his face.

"Last I checked, she took out freaking Gearhead Granz, and probably saved Celtis and Ashe into the bargain! If that doesn't put her in the 'ALLY' category, then I don't know what will!"

"But...but she started it!" Omega protested.

The Black Rock Shooter gave him a deadpan look and pointed to the groaning figures of Queenbee and Syrene.

"Exactly!" Ace snapped. "Just what did you expect when you sent freaking Queenbee and Syrene Nagato out after her?!"

"HEY!" Omega gave an indignant yell. "I never sent them after HER!"

He pointed at the Black Rock Shooter in outrage.

"SHE, I was gonna go after personally once this was over! NOBODY steals my kills! NOBODY!"

He paused, and gave her a sidelong glance.

"Particularly when it's somebody as good as SHE is..." He growled.

Another pause as his gaze flicked up and down her body, stopping at the bikini top covering her chest.

"..."

After a moment, he smirked and gave a mocking shrug.

"Although I'll admit, I'd've probably given her more priority if she was a little more, y'know, 'grown-up'." He snickered, and you could all but HEAR the quotations dropping around that last word.

The Black Rock Shooter remained silent for a moment.

WHAM CRUNCH MAUL SHOOT

Marino grinned as Omega flew the length of the room.

"I like her already."

"Yesssss!" Ace whooped quietly, punching the air in jubilation.

She gave him a strange look.

"What's up with you?"

"Erk! Uh, I mean, nothing at all...!" Ace stammered.

There was a nondescript clunk as a book dropped from one of his armor's pockets, drawing the BRS' attention.

There was a wordless silence as all three of them stared down at something that looked suspiciously like a yuri doujin involving the very same Black Rock Shooter and a black haired, gothic dressed girl with skeletal horns and a scythe.

"..."

"..."

_…_

"Er...This totally isn't what it looks like...w-wait, what are you doing with those knive-GYAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

The Black Rock Shooter wordlessly picked it up, ignoring the immense sounds of violence in the background, and flipped through it.

_...as an Anti-Virus, the girl was all too familiar with the idea of her legend inspiring stories for future generations and such. Although it seemed as though in her case, it had gone quite further than that._

She tilted her head slightly, still reading.

_It seemed as though her connection to the Dead Master, another veteran of the Silent World's endless battles had been remembered as well._

_ ...although she was pretty sure it hadn't been quite as...what was the word she had heard some other Anti-Virals use? 'Fluffy'...? _

_...all right, they HAD been quite close..._

_ ...and there had been some...'moments'..._

_ Really, she'd never expected the DM to be so emotional sometimes...usually when they'd been trying to hack each other to pieces._

She flipped back through the book.

_...the art was certainly nice. And, in all honesty, it could have been worse. It could have been one of those more...'passionate' descriptions of their relationships instead. The ones where very little clothes were involved._

_ ...because she knew neither of them were human, but really, there was a limit to how much flexibility a person could have..._

She looked up, meaning to give the man in red back his book-

"AARGH AARGH OW I NEED THOSE KIDNEYS! BESIDES, IT WAS AN ALL-AGES BOOK! NO PERVERTEDNESS! JUST FLUFF! GYAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

"Not that I mind you reading yuri stuff..." Marino grated, "...especially considering some of the relationships of people in here..."

She looked around.

"Er, no offense Queenbee..."

"None taken!" The ex-Pseudoroid paused in adjusting the collar her Master had given her to wave her concern off.

"But SERIOUSLY?! RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER?!"

"I WAS HOPING SHE COULD AUTOGRAPH IT-YAAAAAGH! MY SPLEEN!"

_...the man in red seemed a bit busy. Maybe she'd return it later._

Wordlessly, she slipped it into an inside pocket of her coat.

_...she wondered if he had any more stuff like that. The Dead Master DID look remarkably cute when you got her to blush..._

"Son of a-" A familiar growl of irritation sounded as the God of Destruction as he finally picked himself back up out of the remains of the wall he'd been thrown through.

"Hoy, Queenbee!" He hollered.

"A-auuuu..." The ex Pseudoroid winced as his loud call triggered off the migraine left from the dents in her skull, moaning as she pressed one hand against her cracked helm. "Did you call, Master...?"

"Yeah, you BET I called!" He growled, stomping back into the room and ignoring the decidedly smug-looking blank expression on the BRS' face...despite her actual expression not having changed one whit from her normal poker face.

"Kindly explain to me how a simply search and recover mission went THIS wrong?!"

"B-but, Master, it DIDN'T go wrong!" She protested.

"...wait what?"

"You sent us to track down Celtis, ri-mmph!"

Omega hastily clamped a hand over her mouth.

"Not so loud, dammit!"

"Oh-hooo...So THAT'S what you were up to, then..."

The God of Destruction groaned, turning to find everyone else in the room giving him a knowing smirk.

"And here I thought you didn't care!" Aile grinned teasingly.

"Sh-SHUT IT!" Omega snapped.

He was NOT embarrassed, dammit! He was just suffering from some...minor...heating problems!

...on his face.

…

_GOD DAMN IT WEIL!_

"I-It's not like I was worried about her or anything!" He harrumphed. "It'd just be more difficult for me to move around without a piece of convenient cannon fodder! Yeah!"

"Soooo transparent..." Marino snickered to herself. "Yeah, he was totally worried about her..."

There was a long pause.

She blinked.

"Why is everyone staring at me?"

"Oh, the irony is overwhelming..." Aile muttered, as Nana dropped her head onto her keyboard with an exasperated groan. Over in the corner, Craft was hunched over, one hand wrapped around his midsection as he unsuccessfully attempted to stifle his chuckles.

"ANYWAY, YEAH!" Omega snapped, recovering his composure. "Yeah, I sent the two of them out looking for Arcana, but instead they...got...her..."

His voice trailed off as a thought occurred to him. From the way the Colonel seemed wholly unsurprised by the turn of events, he got the feeling that thought was a little too close to the truth for his liking.

He wordlessly pointed at the BRS.

She was suddenly very interested in the broken wall nearby.

"You...oh you have got to be fucking KIDDING ME!" Omega yelled in outrage.

_The girl suspected it was an opportune time to leave. The battle was over, and she had indeed successfully confirmed the nature of her new summoner's commander. Had he been evil, she would have had no choice but to terminate him, as power like hers could never be allowed to languish under the control of someone evil. Fortunately, it seemed as though, despite his chaotic nature, he could be trusted. At least, to an extent._

_ ...also, she'd gotten something to read in the meantime._

Before anyone could react, blue fire erupted around the Black Rock Shooter, a twisting column of flame that consumed her, hiding her from sight.

"What the-!" Aile winced, staggering back.

And as the flames burned themselves out, the Black Rock Shooter was gone.

Only the trademark crimson steel of the Hades handgun was left, clattering across the floor as Celtis collapsed behind it.

Omega stared at her for a moment, and then pressed a hand to his face with an exasperated groan.

"You know, just once, I'd like to be frigging WRONG about these things..."

* * *

"And then WHAT happened to Granz?!"

Everyone else winced, Celtis' panicked yelp ringing out in the stillness of a NEW conference suite, the old one having been totalled first by Ace, and then the Omega vs Black Rock Shooter fight.

...Ace was still wordlessly squeeing over the fact that one of his all time FAVORITE ANIME HEROINES EVER IN THE HISTORY OF EVERYTHING had actually appeared right in front of his eyes.

...which, judging by the funny looks he was getting from everybody else, he kind of still needed to explain.

But first he'd had to catch Celtis up on all of the stuff that had apparently gone on while she was 'missing', I.e being substituted for by the BRS.

...well, okay, to be PERFECTLY accurate, he'd FIRST had to stop her crimson-clad partner from tying her to a stick and roasting her slowly over a pit of lava, complete with pirahna mechaniloids, until he'd gotten some kind of goddamn explanation for what the FLYING FUCK had just happened, and why in the SIX FLOORS OF HELL SHE HAD TRASHED TWO OF HIS PRIZED HAREM GIRLS HALFWAY ACROSS THE FUCKING CITY.

So yeah, AFTER he'd averted that particular crisis, and then after they'd gotten Celtis conscious again (something in which Ace had killed two birds with one stone by compromising and letting Omega dump a bucket of ice down the back of her shirt, solving the wake-up problem and pissed-off God of Destruction problem at the same time), he'd finally gotten a chance to sit her down and let Aile and Nana run through the specifics of what had happened while she was...unaccounted for.

Her reaction had been...about as expected.

"What do you mean, SHE TOOK OUT GRANZ?!" She was running her hands over her body frantically, as if making sure all her limbs were still attached. "HE WAS KICKING AROUND A NUCLEAR-POWERED ASHE! HOW AM I NOT DEAD?!"

Ace's eyes narrowed at that last part. With Ashe having apparently gone to ground, that could prove to be a most USEFUL story to hear. Particularly now, since Master Thomas was no longer in attendance, having remained to explain to a harried maintenance crew just why it was that yet ANOTHER conference room had been totaled by something involving Ace Phoenix within fifty feet of it, while carefully arranging for Queenbee to sneak the still-woozy Emerald Queen out of the back door when the officials weren't looking.

He found himself oddly pleased by that. Firstly, because it only added to his reputation of crazy awesome-ness...

And secondly, because he figured the old man deserved a headache, especially after he'd just given Ace a much LARGER one by introducing the shadowy figure called Dragon Joker into the mess.

WHAP!

He was jerked out of his grim contemplation by the sound of Omega whacking Celtis upside the head.

"OW!" She yelped, looking up at him in annoyance. "What was that for?!"

"To get you to stop whining so the story can move on." He replied in annoyance.

"Wait, what story?"

"...never mind."

As fun as it was to watch the two of them yelling at each other, the Scarlet Phoenix figured enough was enough, and he stepped in.

"All right, that's enough of that, you two..." He sighed. "Okay, Arcana...start from the beginning and explain just what happened when you fought Granz."

She gave him a surprised look.

"You mean you guys don't know?"

"Unfortunately, no." Marino admitted. "For some reason, there was a lot of radiation coming from your area, and it was playing hell with our sensors."

"And we only arrived in time to see..." Aile gestured to the Hades, "_Her_, kicking seventeen different kinds of crap out of Gearhead Granz in a one on one fight."

"There was no sign of Ashe, nor of you." Nana added, "Plus, both of you have been missing for a little less than a week, so you can understand why we're a little concerned."

"A-a week?!" Celtis stammered. "Say WHAT?!"

Ace's eyes narrowed. So she really hadn't been aware of the passage of time in that 'state'. Interesting...

"Yes, Arcana, you've been out of contact for the last five days." He leaned back in his seat, wincing as he felt it creak under the weight of his armored form. Really, using his Iron Phoenix armor like this had its drawbacks, but HELL if he was letting a silly thing like a butchered nervous system stop him from doing what needed to be done!

"As has Ashe, but at the very least we THINK we've got her trail. There's a faint trail of that odd nuclear signature heading for the outskirts of the city, so..."

Celtis flinched.

"Er...yeah. That's probably her, all right..."

Nana gave her a sharp look.

"You keep acting suspiciously every time we mention Ashe, Arcana...just what happened down there?!"

Marino risked a quick glance sideways. Ace was leaning forward on the desk, one hand resting against his chin, a calculating, dangerous look in his eyes as he stared intently at Celtis.

...a pose which in Ace language meant that he already had a pretty good idea of just WHAT had happened down in that radioactive waste, and was now only waiting for Celtis to confirm it. The grim look on Aile's features suggested that she too had a fairly good guess, and whatever it was, it was clearly not a pleasant thought.

...sometimes, she had to admit, it was a colossal pain to work with such Machiavellian planners...

"Well..." Celtis hedged, looking uncomfortable. "I'll tell you...but I don't think you're going to like it very much..."

* * *

**Girl is explaining...**

* * *

Ace dropped back against his chair with a drawn out exhalation.

"So that was it..." He said heavily. "Ashe, you damnable fool...!"

"And even after everything we told her about the danger of Model O...!" Aile gritted.

Omega said nothing, his red eyes cold.

So he had been right about that eerie sensation in Cyberspace after all...Ashe had gone ahead and used Data Get on the Model O inside of Celtis. He wasn't outraged or anything, nowhere near the reaction Celtis had expected from him.

Rather, he was simply...surprised.

At most, he would have expected it to have either killed her outright, or turned her into a busty, curvaceous version of the Model O form, similar to what it had done for Celtis. Not to mention he'd kinda hoped it would mess with her personality a bit too. After all, it would have been HILARIOUS to see her face when she returned to her normal form after a night of hot and heavy action with him...

Ah well, comedy aside, he was left with the puzzling fact that rather than do either of those things, Model O had instead stuck a fusion reactor into her chest. It was a poor copy of the monstrosity that seethed and surged within the locked chambers of Omega's 'heart' but the fact remained that it was still LUDICROUSLY powerful. Far more powerful, in fact, than any mere human body should have been able to withstand, even if it was that of a Chosen One.

To implant that data, and then allow that data to actually manifest in a physical form in the real world, taking on the shape of a fusion reactor and integrating itself seamlessly into Ashe...

He was beginning to suspect that corrupted fake's reality-hacking powers weren't so far from his own.

But despite that, if what Celtis had told him was anything to go by, it still wasn't perfect.

"Hmph..." Omega slouched in his seat, crossing his legs on the table again and folding his arms in annoyance. "Damn amateurs...of COURSE sticking a fusion reactor into a body not designed to hold one would cause problems...!"

Although, credit where credit was due, that psychopath had BALLS. Ripping out its own heart for hers, and then willing to risk it all on the mere chance that it would be able to restrain it enough for Ashe to win...

He had to laugh at that.

It really was a Biometal after his own heart...!

Dumber, but hey, even he hadn't always been this epic! No, it'd be really entertaining to see just how far this corrupted and broken reflection of his power could go...!

Not far away from the quietly chuckling God of Destruction, Hadrian Craft shook his head with a rueful smile.

"God of Destruction...Truly, that personality of yours is twisted beyond all repair..."

On the other end of the table, Marino sighed.

"So?" She asked. "What do we do now?"

Ace looked up at the ceiling, a weary look on his face.

"It depends..."

"On what?!" Celtis demanded.

The Scarlet Phoenix tilted his head back down to fix her with calculating glint in his eyes.

"On you, actually."

The green-haired Hunter girl blinked, taken aback.

"Wha...?"

"You said something about Model O having a connection to it, right? That's how you were able to prevent Ashe from losing control." Ace asked, gears already turning inside his head.

"I...um...well, maybe? I guess?" Celtis stammered, knowing that it was actually Model O who'd saved Ashe, but she wasn't sure if mentioning that was a good idea...

For it's part, the Biometal simply rolled its eyes in irritation and giving an exasperated growl, nodded that yes, it had a connection to her, and still did.

"Y-yeah, it still has some kind of link to Ashe's core..." She amended hastily.

"Good." Ace said decisively. "We can use that to monitor her current state. Is she in any danger of going critical and wiping you out too?"

"Um..." Mutely, she asked the same question to Model O inside her head.

Staring pensively at the now CONSIDERABLY reduced sun in front of it, the corrupted copy of Omega seemed to consider it.

Firstly, in the aftermath of the battle, Model O had found itself with plenty of time to spare. It had spent that time clamping down lock after lock after restraint on Ashe's fusion core, enough that it was reasonably confident she'd be fine even without Model O actively putting pressure on it to reduce the reactions. The root of the problem, however, was that she'd only be fine so long as she didn't START reacting again, meaning the instant she started tapping back into the star in her chest in any serious capacity, all hell would break loose.

Celtis then relayed this in...slightly more confidential terms to the others.

"I see..." Nana murmured, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "So the problem seems to be stable for now...the only issue left, therefore is finding a way to channel and control it, rather than simply locking it down completely."

"Of course..." Aile groaned. "THAT'S why she went into hiding...Ashe being as stubborn as she is, probably wants to sort this whole thing out on her own, without asking for help. She knows it's been locked down, so she's trying to hide out somewhere away from possible confrontations until she can figure out a way to use it WITHOUT endangering everybody!"

"...well, she could have just gone into hiding because she's afraid of her own power, and now thinks of herself as some kind of monster or freak, angst, angst, whine, complain, etc..." Ace added.

There was a brief silence while everyone considered that option, when compared to the person in question.

"...yeaaaaaaaaah, somehow I don't think so." Aile said dryly.

Marino smacked Ace over the head in annoyance.

"What did I tell you about re-watching Gundam Seed again?!"

"But, but...the main characters are so humongously shitty you can't help but marvel at it! It takes SKILL to make a main character that much of a complete pussy!"

"Yes, but that doesn't mean you have to somehow try and apply it to the situation at hand!"

"...well you never know!" Ace said defensively, "She MIGHT have had some kind of emo breakdo-yeah, okay, I can't even finish that sentence with a straight face."

"This being Ashe, she's probably counting down the hours until she figures out how to control it, just so she can go out and LITERALLY nuke something to bits." Nana deadpanned.

And Omega had to give her that. Somehow, he couldn't see a brash, hot-tempered spitfire like Ashe having the words 'depressed' or 'angst' anywhere in her vocabulary.

It was just one of the many things he found so remarkably desirable about the girl. Well, aside from those toned thighs, the sexy legs which looked like they went on forever in that curve hugging jumpsuit she always wore, the pert, perfectly rounded breasts always hidden under her heavy jacket, or the barely concealed attraction he KNEW she had for him, or-

...look, let's just say he thought Ashe was smoking hot, and let's leave it at that, okay?

Pointedly ignoring the snickering man in red, the conversation continued.

"All right...so Ashe is stable for the time being, at least provided that nobody else is dumb enough to pick a fight with her. That means for the time being, we leave her to her own devices."

Already seeing the objections coming his way, he raised a hand to cut them off.

"But NOT unprotected. Considering the danger involved, are there any complaints in having the Executor Unit be the ones responsible for keeping any less-than-legitimate characters from approaching Ashe?"

"Executor Unit?" Omega raised an eyebrow.

"The official designation for my three-member unit." The Colonel rumbled.

The God of Destruction considered this for a moment. If it was the Colonel and Fefnir involved...

"...Er..." Celtis stuck up a hand. "Are you SURE you want to put that psychopath Diz Aster on that...? It uh...it's probably not my place or anything, but...HE'S NUTS." She finished flatly.

"...okay, you have a point." Ace admitted, after seeing Nana nodding emphatically after Celtis' statement. "Just the Colonel and Nana, then. And Nana can transfer the Lieutenant in whenever the radiation levels begin to get too high. So instead..." He scratched his chin in thought.

"Why not ask Craft to fill in for Fefnir?" Marino suggested. In the back of the room, the commando looked up.

"True..." He admitted, "My Dullahan can get around almost as fast as Nana's trans-servers, so it would probably be suited for a perimeter defense like that."

"All right, then that's what we'll go with." Ace decided. "Craft and the Colonel will lay down a cordon for three blocks in every direction surrounding Ashe once she finds a location she thinks is safe enough, with Nana providing tactical and trans-server support."

The three in question nodded, Nana's fingers already dancing over the keys of her faithful laptop as she began drawing up a plan of action. In the back, the Colonel and Craft wordlessly exchanged a quiet, classy brofist, getting to their feet.

As the Colonel swept out of the room, Craft paused and looked back.

"We'll be moving out then, Commander."

"Roger that, Craft, Colonel." Ace nodded. "I'll send Nana along as soon as she's finished planning it out. For now, just stick to recon work...and considering I don't want a nuclear-powered Ashe storming Legion HQ to kick the crap out of me for 'babying her', refrain from contact for now. We'll contact her once she's had a chance to get things under control."

The commando nodded and walked out, heading after his friend.

"In the meantime, Marino, Cinnamon?"

Marino shifted, Cinnamon blinking and looking back at him from where she'd been admiring the view from the massive windows.

"Yes?"

"...put the...other project on hold for now."

Marino stiffened.

"Ace...are you sure?" She said hesitantly, "You know how long it takes Cinnamon to..."

A hand on her arm stopped her, Cinnamon giving a gentle smile.

"It's all right, Marino, I'm almost done anyway. At best, it might only take me an hour or two to finish refining it anyway."

Ace's second-in-command didn't look any less troubled, but she subsided for the moment, turning back to Ace instead.

"...I assume this means you want us to start work on something for Ashe in the meantime, then?" She said resignedly.

The Scarlet Phoenix nodded.

"Yes. I should still have several days worth left on my...current one, so I want you two to see if you can't put together something that'll let Ashe control and channel the Model O's nuclear power if she can't handle it herself."

"Oh, that shouldn't be too hard, mister Ace!" Cinnamon said cheerfully. "After handling your body for so long, I think I have enough experience to be confident with my skills!"

There was a long, LONG pause there while everyone in hearing range did their utmost to not envision all of the other, significantly less innocent ways that statement could be taken.

"Uh...yeah, Cinnamon...sure..." The Scarlet Phoenix cleared his throat awkwardly, carefully not meeting anyone else's eyes. Next to him, Marino simply groaned and pressed a hand to her face. One of these days, she was REALLY going to have to have a little talk with Cinnamon about how she phrased her sentences...

"...what?" Cinnamon blinked, "Did I say something wrong?"

Ace simply groaned, and dropped his head on the table.

"Can we...can we just...move on, now?"

Omega ignored the antics, instead focusing on the actual content of the conversation he'd just borne witness to.

It seemed as though there was far, FAR more to Ace Phoenix than he was letting on. A project that his two closest confidantes were working on, one of whom was a living Force Metal Generator. A project that was apparently immensely important to Ace's health, and also somehow had to do with the control of energy?

…

Omega was no scientific genius, but that series of connections was entirely too dangerous for him to pass by. With a grim look on his face, he flicked through his sensors and did something he should have done from the very first day.

He scanned Ace Phoenix.

Ace blinked as a sudden clatter drew his attention.

"Saber?"

The crimson-clad figure had jerked his legs back off of the table with a start, and was staring directly at the Scarlet Phoenix with an expression paler than anything he'd seen on that man's normally self-confident features.

"Er...is everything all right?"

"All ri-?!" Omega stopped his incredulous question, smoothly covering it up with a more normal appearance. "Uh, yeah...everything's just peachy...just...er...got a leg cramp, that's all..."

Ace gave him a look that lasted an entire two seconds longer than it should have, before simply giving him a nod and turning away. Celtis, on the other hand, saw the look on Omega's face and sidled over.

"Omega...?"

The God of Destruction looked as though he'd seen a ghost, dropping back against his seat with a long, slow exhalation, still trying to come to terms with what he'd just seen. It had been just for a split second, and he'd almost instantaneously shut the scans down as they came up, but that sight had been scorched into his memory banks.

"Ciel..." he muttered, shaken, "Just what the FUCK did you put into that poor kid...?!"

Omega had always taken pride in his own heart as possibly the most powerful and stable energy source known, but that...that THING was...

He shuddered.

Not even HE was fucking mad enough to put something like THAT inside of his chest...!

Finishing his private discussion with Marino and Cinnamon, the latter excusing herself from the room in order to get started on something for Ashe's use, Ace turned back to the rest of them.

"All right, that's that out of the way. We'll keep an eye on Ashe and will probably be in touch with her before the end of the week.'

Omega shot Celtis a look which said clearly, 'CHANGE OF SUBJECT. NOW.'

"Er...all right then..." Celtis said hesitantly, lifting her gaze to look across at Ace again. "S-so...about the, um...Black Rock Shooter...?"

There was a moment's silence.

"Ah." Ace said uncomfortably.

Omega did not like the sound of that.

"Okay...uh..."Ace scratched his cheek nervously, "What'd be...the...BEST way to do this...?"

When he caught Marino's annoyed stare, he flinched guiltily.

"All right, all right, don't bite my head off!"

Heaving a sigh, he looked back at the others.

"All right, here's how it goes: As I'm sure you're all aware, Cyberspace is widely considered to be like the programming code of well, reality itself."

Omega nodded grimly. That much he knew from the Elf Wars, and his own innate affinity for the place. It had been precisely that property of Cyberspace that had sent Weil after the Mother Elf, and all the horrors that his Baby Elves could inflict, after all.

"Well...it's...more than that." Ace hedged. "Cyberspace isn't just the programming code, like a static set of constants to uphold the laws of time and space...Cyberspace, an entire sub-reality of sorts, is alive in a way."

Omega raised an eyebrow.

Ace gave an annoyed growl, mussing up his hair in irritation.

"Argh, damn it...This is such a pain to explain... All right, let's try it this way: Cyberspace itself is the program, and the multiverse, REALITY as it is, is the end result of that program. That program began with the moment that the multiverse was created, and has since continued on, evolving and growing and expanding as time went on."

"...so...we're living in the Matrix?"

Ace hurled a convenient coffee mug across the full length of the table into the God of Destruction's face, knocking him clean out of his chair.

"OW! THE FUCK?!"

He staggered upright, clutching a wounded nose.

"THE HELL WAS THAT FOR?!"

"...for mentioning that pain-in-the-ass series that should have just shut up after one movie and not made two horrible sequels, that's what." Ace deadpanned. "But no. No, this is not the Matrix. Comparing the Matrix and Cyberspace is like comparing frigging Pong to Final Fantasy XIII. Nowhere close. And ANYONE who says otherwise gets a coffee mug to the face. ESPECIALLY YOU LOT READING THIS."

There was a pause.

"Who are you talking to?"

"NOBODY." Ace said desperately. "Anyway...so no. No it's NOT the Matrix. Cyberspace doesn't have some nefarious purpose. It simply exists, a program without an end. If you had to put it another way, it's like the work that goes on behind the stage, the clockwork of causality ticking onwards, making sure that gravity still works, two plus two equals four, and so on. Basically, if any of you are familiar with the really freaking ancient mythological concept of the Earth as having a spirit and will of its own, i.e. Gaia, this is basically the same thing, except applied to the multiverse itself instead of just one planet."

He gave them a despairing look.

"Please tell me this is making sense to you somehow. I literally cannot make it any simpler than that."

"Just shut up and get on with it..." The God of Destruction growled.

"...well that answers that question..." Ace deadpanned, "In truth, Cyberspace is simply a name the first researchers called it, to reflect its properties as the master program of everything. At any rate, it isn't something we as normal beings should have ever become aware of. As the clockwork behind the scenes, it's entire purpose is to remain invisible...I can't tell you how many religious nutjobs we've had to put down for starting cults about how the universe is a lie, and we're just living in one big computer simulation, etc etc."

He pointed a thumb at his chest.

"Take it from someone who's actually come into contact with other parts of the multiverse and seen it for what it is: This is reality."

Shaking his head in annoyance, he went on.

"The only difference between our universe and pretty much every other one out there, is that only we've ever found Cyberspace. Everywhere else, life is just taken as it is. We, on the other hand, became aware of Cyberspace, and, as humans are wont to do, promptly decided it would be a great idea to go dicking around in the cogwheels of reality because we figured we could. And THAT'S how you get Zone Technicians. But I digress."

Clearing his throat, he leaned back in his seat.

"Now, considering that Cyberspace is the coding for reality throughout the multiverse, it's gotta be a humongous program, right? And especially since it's the controlling influence for reality, it's kinda important to make sure it doesn't get a freaking logic error, or any other kind of bug or programming glitch."

"Wait, wait, whoa." Celtis cut in, holding up one hand desperately. "Run that by me again...? Cyberspace, the program which keeps reality running...can get GLITCHED?"

Ace gave her a speculative look.

"Odd, I'd have expected you to catch on to this stuff a bit quicker. You were technically connected with BRS before she overwrote you completely, so you should have at least gotten a glimpse of the truth."

"I...did...sort of...?" Celtis tried. "I saw...inside of her head for a bit, but it's all a jumbled mess now."

"All right then, simply put: Over the centuries, across the multiverse, there are always events where things...change, for lack of a better word. Disruptions that distort the laws of reality, and in turn cause the code of Cyberspace to become disturbed and corrupted. If you take the analogy of Cyberspace being like an organic, living structure, such distortions would be like a cancer of sorts. If the distortion is allowed to continue existing, to grow in magnitude, the effect on Cyberspace would increase, the cancer spreading. And considering Cyberspace's function as the programming of reality, the destabilizing effects of such a cancer on it would be..."

"Not good." Aile finished, an unnaturally hard look in her eyes as she stared at Ace. Not for the first time, she found herself wondering just who was the man behind that name, and just what on earth he had seen, how he had come across this kind of information...

"Thaaaat's putting it lightly." Ace sighed. "From some of the records I've come across in the Magnum Phoenix's archives, there've been worlds where the laws of physics were twisted horribly in on themselves, time and space reversing themselves...yeah, for Cyberspace to have it's data damaged in any way tends to have really bad consequences."

"So explain to me those Zone Technicians again?" Omega gave him a dangerous look. "From what I saw against...well, I THOUGHT it was Gemini, but you get my point...if THAT shit doesn't qualify as fucking with the program, I don't know what DOES!"

Ace grinned and shook his head.

"As always, Saber, you think in terms way too small for this."

"...come again?"

The Scarlet Phoenix sighed.

"Saber, Cyberspace is a program stretching from the dawn of time, and spanning the entire, infinite width of the multiverse, touching countless hundreds of thousands of alternate UNIVERSES. Faced with something like that, how significant do you think ANY short-lived human or Reploid, with their petty desires and uses of Cyberspace could EVER be."

He spread his hands wide.

"If we're thinking of Cyberspace as a living thing again, the closest I can explain it as is that a thousand Zone Technicians would MAYBE count as a single mosquito bite."

"...oh." Omega said, feeling oddly relieved. Huh, maybe that meant all the crazy shit he'd pulled during the Wars HADN'T sort of accidentally caused the end of the universe.

"No, examples of such distortions would be things...Problems, I should say, that cannot be solved by natural causes."

His eyes narrowed.

"Problems like the Dead Ends."

"...NOW we're getting somewhere."

"As existences which actually breach the boundaries of Cyberspace and reality, beings which literally shredded the laws of life and death, they are a good example of what I mean by distortions. However, that state of theirs can't really be 'corrected' any more, as they're out of the reach of Cyberspace, hidden away within their own private 'worlds'."

He took a deep breath.

"But I'm getting ahead of myself. My point is, Cyberspace itself has mechanisms to self-correct, to preserve itself by dealing with the problems if the natural laws of the world can't do it. It's those 'mechanisms' which are the reason Dead Ends prefer to stay in hiding, only surfacing when necessary."

Celtis blinked.

"Wait...I remember some of this...!"

"Good." Ace said approvingly. "You should, since that very same Black Rock Shooter is part of one such mechanism!"

Omega's eyes narrowed. From the moment he'd set eyes on the girl with the blue flames, he'd felt something...strange. When fighting her, it was as though he wasn't fighting just an individual, but...it was difficult to put into words, but the closest he could come up with was that it was like fighting a SYSTEM, and not simply a person.

It was only now that he was beginning to get the idea of what he'd REALLY been fighting...

"There are two general mechanisms, or patterns, which researchers have found so far. The first method is known collectively as the Anti-Virus. That method, is for Cyberspace to deploy 'champions' of a sort, so-called 'Antivirals', to sort the problem out on its behalf, usually by killing the one responsible. And it's these champions which we're most interested in right now..."

With a snap of his metal fingers, a colossal screen dropped from the ceiling behind him, additional panels unfolding to either side. A demonic smile stretched across the Scarlet Phoenix's features, his eyes glinting.

"And those Antivirals, my friends, are my SPECIALTY."

Next to him, Marino sighed.

"Here we go again..."

"Hey!" Ace stopped, giving her an indignant look. "What do you mean, 'again'?!"

Marino gave him a resigned look.

"Ace, this is the same speech you give EVERY TIME you had to orient newcomers about the Dead Ends and Cyberspace."

"N-no it isn't! Er...there's no theme music this time...?"

** [Cue Music: Yu-Gi-Oh OST- Seto Kaiba's theme]**

"..."

"..."

Marino simply gave him a look as hidden speakers came to life. Ace groaned and smacked a metal palm against his forehead.

"Thanks a LOT, Author...!"

"I rest my case." Marino said smugly, walking over to where Nana and Aile had more or less tuned out Ace's apparently recycled Cyberspace speech and was now either playing Galaga or putting together tactics for the Colonel and Craft to use when locking down Ashe's area.

Muttering imprecations under his breath, Ace turned back to Omega and Celtis, coughing into his hand.

"Ahem! Well then, since the others have apparently HEARD THIS ALL BEFORE," Dirty looks were cast in the direction of everybody else, "I'll just have to explain it to you two."

"Uh...lucky us...?" Celtis said hesitantly.

"SHUT UP AND BE EXPLAINED AT."

Clearing his throat, Ace brought the screen to life behind him.

"Considering the magnitude of these 'distortions' and the power required to cause such a distortion, Cyberspace in turn must have truly powerful 'champions' to destroy such things in turn. And what better candidates for such a task than those recognized by the very multiverse itself as 'heroes'?"

The screen came to life, showing numerous images.

"Legendary beings, ordinary people who, through one form or another, ascended to the heights of glory as heroes, magnificent in their struggles, their pursuits of justice, of victory, and their goals. People who, by their very actions, changed the world."

Omega's eyes widened, two figures visible among the files flickering across the screen.

The father of all Reploids, his blue armor flashing as his Buster tore through wave after wave of Mavericks.

And...

The Red Devil, scarlet Z sigil burning as the neon green saber tore through the enemies in his way.

"Yes." Ace nodded, "People such as X and Zero, who fought for the sake of everyone but themselves."

His eyes were distant, looking at something only he could see.

"The multiverse is a wide place, with individuals just as great as them scattered throughout it, people who would stand up and unite in the face of an enemy, no matter how great. That is what it means to be called a hero."

The screen changed, a small tagline indicating that it was now accessing some of the most restricted files of the A.C.E database, new figures appearing on the screen.

A lone outlaw, the Space Pirate who sailed the Sea of Stars, fighting for nothing but what was in his own heart.

The pale girl in black, with the eye that burned with the blue flame, fighting on forever in the monochrome Silent World.

The White Devil, the girl of magic who fought for her friends with magic of starlight and humongous amounts of real estate damage.

The black armored Kaiser, the Emperor of All Demons, fighting on forever against any foe that appeared before it.

The man whose hand was BURNING RED! Whose LOUD ROAR TOLD HIM TO GRASP HOLD OF VICTORY!

The man in the red and black coat, standing alone upon the hill of swords, the great, rusted gears turning in the sky above him.

"And there are others, people whose names are just as renowned, those who sought justice, who sought the same goals, but were cursed by it, damned by their own heinous actions in pursuit of it, no matter how noble their ideals."

The screen changed again, and Omega started, a familiar figure in royal purple armor storming through the battlefield.

The arch-rival of X in all of his glory, the walking siege engine that shrugged off all the damage, his vast arsenal of built in weaponry laying waste to all in his path, one red eye glowing in the darkness of that black, T-shaped visor.

The towering figure, clad in a commissar's black coat, the great iron cross cleaving evil in two on all sides.

The great bike tearing across the wastelands, the massive cannon surging with blue-white death, its wielder's teal cloak whipping in the wind.

"H-hey, those are-!"

"Yes, you've met them already." Ace gave a bitter smile, "All anti-heroes, doing what they thought was right, no matter the cost. Paradoxically, that's why they're here now, or at least the Colonel and Craft are. They're trying to make up for the crimes they committed. Neither of them are willing to give up on those ideals, though, but they're willing to make amends. As for Vile..."

He gave a sad smile.

"Not even I know what he's fighting for. I don't even know how he came back." Glancing up at the screen, he continued, even as the images changed to newer, less recognizable ones, again from the archives of the vanished Magnum Phoenix.

"And like heroes, anti-heroes too are a multiversal constant."

The towering mechanical figure in white armor, a massive black cannon mounted on his right forearm, red eyes glowing as he beckoned his troops forward, the purple sigil of his faction glinting on his chest.

The diminutive, insectlike alien with green skin, black antennae, and burning red eyes of madness, four long, spindly mechanical legs emerging from the pack on its back.

The dark blue colossus, it's chest opening as it generated the fearsome might of a black hole, hurling it at the enemy.

The samurai completely wrapped in bandages and clad in purple, his katana bursting into flame as he fought on past his fifteen minute limit, laughing.

The eight foot tall shadow, his coat billowing out behind him like the wings of a great bat, his frame completely hidden in the shadows, save for the glowing yellow double lines of his visor.

Ace paused.

"...wait, why is that last one in there? Wasn't he a CARDINAL...? Ahh, forget it."

Shaking his head, he went on.

"These are what Cyberspace looks for in its champions. As such, when these beings finally reach the end of their mortal lifespan, as all things inevitably must...it approaches them with an offer."

"Whoa, hold up." Omega cut him off. "What do you mean, 'approaches them with an offer'? What, like, it talks to them with a job offer? It's CYBERSPACE!"

"Hell if I know." Ace shrugged. "The Colonel and Craft have been...less than forthcoming, so I don't know if they got the offer. Or if there even IS anything like an offer. All I know is, from the Magnum Phoenix's reports, some of them make the cut, others don't. For all we can guess, it's a fifty-fifty chance!"

He gave an exasperated shrug.

"In short: Cyberspace is a program. That program is for reality. You break the program, the program does not like that. So the program hires debuggers. These debuggers were, in life, legendary figures, heroes and antiheroes alike. They kick ass. Culprit gets frigging erased, program fixes itself." He slapped his hands together. "That's as simple as I can make it."

The Scarlet Phoenix held up one finger.

"But, for those who accept the offer, there's no end. They remain in waiting, in Avalon, or wherever legends go to where they die. When the world needs them, it calls them. They show up, obliterate everything even remotely connected to the distortion, and leave. Kind of like a surgical strike team. Made of pure awesome."

Omega stared at him.

"So...in theory..." He said, choosing his next words carefully. "You're saying that maybe...even X and Zero could return...?"

The Scarlet Phoenix gave him a calculating look, as if sizing the white-haired menace up.

"You ask some...specific questions, don't you?" He answered finally.

Omega shrugged.

"Everyone was thinking it. I'm just saying it."

Ace considered that for a moment, then had to admit, he had a point.

"Touche..." He groaned, "The author's been getting constantly harassed about bringing them both back since Chapter 1..."

"You'd think badasses like the Colonel, Craft and Fefnir would be enough, wouldn't you?" Omega rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Tch..."

"At any rate...no, no I don't see X or Zero accepting even though they're both probably right on the top of Cyberspace's hiring list." Ace said dryly, repairing the broken fourth wall again.

The God of Destruction raised an eyebrow.

"How's that?"

Ace leaned back in his chair and gave him a sarcastic look.

"Fighting on and on and on...forever...with no hope of ever seeing an end to the bloodshed...only ever reappearing to clean up the mess, wiping out everything that might be considered even remotely guilty?" Ace smiled bitterly, "The price of being a hero, paid over and over again until Cyberspace itself dies...?"

Omega's features darkened.

"I see..."

"So no..." Ace sighed. "I don't see either of them as candidates, but only because they probably turned the offers down. And you know what?"

He flicked open one eye, a dangerous smile on his face.

"I've got no problem with that. They fought and won their battles already. They fought for over two hundred years for their victory. I figure wherever they are now, they earned their retirement. It's up to us, and this new generation to pick up where they left off."

He leaned forward on the table, pointing one metal clad finger at Celtis.

"Like it or not, Arcana, the day that Biometal tried to kill you was the day you joined the big leagues with Ashe, Vent, and the rest of them, the whole nine yards."

Celtis looked down at her hands, worry on her face.

"Me...a hero...?"

Omega snorted.

"Not likely." He said, giving her an unreadable look. "Hero be damned. If enemies appear in your way, smash 'em down. Thinking about it too much, with complicated things like idealism and justice just makes you confused."

He gestured down the table to Ace.

"Leave the great and noble pursuits to the idiots like him. Take it from me..." There was grudging respect in his tone. "They're the only ones strong enough or mad enough to do it and not hate themselves every time they look in the mirror."

"..." Ace said nothing, although the calculating look he gave the God of Destruction suggested that he was once again re-evaluating his opinion of the man, before he gave a grudging nod.

"...u-um..." Celtis looked between the two of them nervously, wondering if another random fight was going to break out.

...she'd been having pretty rotten luck with those so far...

And then a thought struck her.

"Wait...you explained what Cyberspace is, and how the...Black Rock Shooter fits into it, but..."

She hefted the Hades.

"...how does that all tie in to this?"

A pause.

"...and while I'm at it, why do you know so much about these heroes if they come from other worlds?"

Ace tugged at his collar nervously.

"I...have no idea what you're talking about with that last question..."

Two discs of anime episodes, one manga volume and a poster, all for the Black Rock Shooter, sailed through the air and landed on the desk in front of Ace.

"..."

"..."

"..." Ace started to sweat.

"..." Celtis gave him a deadpan look.

"...Marino, you suck." The Scarlet Phoenix finally groaned, smacking a metal palm over his face and falling back against his seat.

The Rose Hurricane didn't even turn from her conversation, just giving him an absent-minded thumbs up.

Heaving a sigh, he let his head clunk against the seat behind him.

"All right then..." He groaned. "To start with, the reason why I know about this is...well...to put it simply, such heroes are so great, that their deeds and actions resonate throughout Cyberspace, and thus the real world, even in alternate universes. But as always, some of the 'data' is lost in transit. Basically, it's no different to how myths and legends are passed down from generation to generation." He paused. "Except in this case, the myths actually reach other worlds, places where the hero never actually existed at all. Thus, they become stories of a sort, legends of people and places which never existed."

He gestured to the view outside.

"For all we know this world of ours, of Legion and 24XX to be real, to another universe out there, we could just be the characters of a famous game series, or a story dreamed up as part of that game." Ace shrugged. "Are you getting my meaning?"

Omega's eyes narrowed, Celtis speaking up.

"So...what you're saying is...the Black Rock Shooter, isn't real in a sense?"

"Not to us of this universe..." Ace nodded, "But in her original universe, the place where she became a legend, she was very much real. Take a figure like the God of Destruction."

Oblivious to the suddenly outraged choking noise coming from the other side of the table, he went on.

"A legend to us here, he wouldn't be real in another universe. At least," He paused, "Not in one that wasn't in the same setting. For all I know, there could be a parallel universe to this one where he came back, had some wild antics in Legion City, had an unrequited love affair with a resurrected Pandora, then betrayed all of Legion to side with the Raiders."

He shrugged.

"Like I said, the multiverse is a wild and confusing place. Everything that could happen, would happen, and MIGHT happen...usually does, a new 'verse born from every possibility."

With a sheepish glance across at the God of Destruction, who looked as though he was trying to make up his mind whether or not to be utterly outraged at the fact that there might be more than one of him out there, or be flattered that his legend was so great he could even become a stone-cold, calculating BADASS like that, (...so far the badass was winning.) Celtis looked back at Ace.

"I...think I get what you're saying..." She said slowly, before a thought struck her, and her eyes widened.

"Wait...THAT'S why you're such an otaku!"

"BINGO!" Ace grinned devilishly, "Those stories, those legends, they resonate through the multiverse, being reincarnated in many forms. The people who're inspired by them may not even realize they've been inspired, or that they're simply giving form to something that was already there, but the fact remains, it's the same hero. The story might change, the details might change, but at the heart, it's still the same!"

With a snap of his fingers, the screen sprang to life behind him, hundreds upon hundreds of manga, anime and comic title pages scrolling across its surface.

"Thanks to the inheritance of the Magnum Phoenix and A.C.E, I'm the only one who can see the truth in all of this. Each and every form of fiction in the world today is simply a reflection of the story and characters of a REAL universe, somewhere out there. Every game, every manga, every anime, every book...each and every one of them represents actual events, an actual world, somewhere out there in the infinite multiverse!"

He faltered.

"Un...fortunately, however, due to the rather bizarre nature of this phenomenon, I'm afraid that even I don't know everything. There are probably still 'series' of a sort, out there somewhere that I don't know about. For one thing, I think there's probably some kind of built in safeguard that no such stories like that can be found within the same universe that they're set in."

"...for obvious reasons..." Omega muttered.

"Yeah...do have ANY idea how different things might have been had say, Serpent gotten his hands on some kind of game regarding the whole Slither Inc. fiasco?" Ace shuddered, "Redefining genre savvy, that's for sure..."

Briefly, Celtis wondered if there might be any such stories out there about her...but sighed and dismissed the notion, depressingly reminded again of just how pathetic a 'character' she'd be in comparison to the maniacs around her...

"...and if that one the BRS took off with was any indication, some people have rather...strange ideas of their own regarding the 'heroes'..." Omega muttered. Not that he had a PROBLEM with stuff about two girls going at it, but if THAT could happen, it made him suddenly extremely nauseous about what ELSE there might be...

"Oh, that kind of thing?" Ace waved dismissively, "Nah, that kind of crap happens EVERYWHERE. Just look online. There's any number of internet boards out where people get together to talk about the famous characters of Legion today."

A pause, one eye twitching reflexively.

"I can't BEGIN to tell you how many Ace x Vent fanfics I have come across online..."

There was a brief pause as Omega detachedly considered the fact that yes, he had indeed felt some part of his brain die just now.

"Er..." Celtis gave him the Phoenix a worried look.

"No no, it's fine." Ace said, still with that entirely too happy and carefree smile. "Although it really is aMAAAA~zing how hilariously unlucky those posters are. Every single one, suddenly getting involved in Guardian or Security related accidents all of a sudden...really, it's a shame how much can go wrong with one turn of the Guardian Base's steering, or the erroneous launch of a dud cruise missile from Legion. Ahahaha~!" He laughed brightly.

….Celtis wordlessly decided then and there that she was never going online ever again.

Somewhere off to the side, Aile coughed something under her breath that sounded vaguely like "coughAcexMarinocough" before a panicked Marino whacked her over the head, Nana simply sighing between them.

There was a ringing sound from next to Ace.

"Oh, one minute, lemme get this."

Flipping open his comm again, he turned his chair away from them.

"This is Ace."

A pause.

"Oh. 'sup Vent."

Another pause.

"Wait, they actually UPDATED it?! SERIOUSLY?!" He glared at the phone. "Considering I dropped a deactivated Crushpactor on the LAST idiot to write one of those blasphemies of fan literature, you'd think they'd get the idea!"

Silence.

"...and they made it a LEMON too?!" You could hear Ace's temper snap. "...remind me WHY it is I waste my time protecting a city with people like this again?"

…

"Oh right..." He groaned. "Okay, fine...oh no you don't! You got the last idiot, this one's MINE!"

…

"...okay yeah, that IS pretty bad...alright, fine, rock paper scissors for it!"

After a moment of silence...

"God DAMN IT! HOW DO YOU KEEP DOING THAT?!" Ace fumed. "FINE, you get to flame this one...BUT I TOTALLY CALL DIBS ON THE NEXT ONE!"

The chair shifted, as though Ace had been about to turn but had been stopped by something else.

"What...? Oh, right. Nah, I'll be back down in the ICU in an hour or two. Yeah, yeah, no sweat...Oh, you're passing over on that side? Cool, um...alright, yeah, just pick up an order of that popcorn shrimp the little old lady on the corner makes. You know the one. Yeah, I'm sick of the damn health food the medical section keeps trying to feed me...yes, I KNOW I'm their boss, but it's kinda their job! What...? Oh. Uh...yeah, an extra-large sorrel drink if they've got that flavor. All right, yeah, I'm kinda in the middle of a meeting here, so I gotta go...yeah...yeah, right, cool. DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH MY CONTROLLER TILL I GET THERE!"

A click, and Ace spun around again, a bright, cheerful smile on his face as he stashed his comm again.

"Right, like I said...it's really quite astounding how many...accidents happen to those people, huh? Ahaha~!"

Celtis wordlessly shifted her chair a few inches to the side, making sure Omega was safely between her and the borderline psychopath on the other side. The God of Destruction for his part, simply gave Ace a blank look.

"...can I have your job?"

"No."

"Damn..."

"Anyway..." Ace coughed politely. "That's THAT taken care of. As for how this ties into the Hades..."

He leaned forward onto the desk, his face serious.

"Whoever the one behind this repurposed Dominion system was, make no joke, they're just as dangerous as the original creator."

Celtis started in alarm.

"What do you mean?"

He leveled one finger at the weapon at the table in front of her.

"That...thing, has the Dominion's ability for multiple forms and capabilities, but..." He hesitated. "In short, it basically cuts out the middleman."

A heavy silence followed his words.

"...what?" Omega said evenly.

"...where things like the original Dominion, and Biometals too, simply allow the power and wisdom of the original heroes to be bestowed upon the new wielder, the...Hades Dominion skips that, instead creating a FAR more powerful result. That damned gun..."

He leaned back in his chair with a resigned look.

"...that damned weapon can connect all the way to the home of the Antivirus Protocol itself. Cyberspace's unreachable, unattainable utopia, a server of sorts OUTSIDE the system, where every single one of its champions reside, awaiting the call to arms. There is literally NOTHING that should be able to do that, save for maybe using a Dead End as bait, which is what our Dimensional Field tries to do. It sort of forces the laws of reality back into place, so the world can recognize the presence of the Dead End and deploy Antivirals. It's why they never stay for too long. But at any rate, the Hades Dominion apparently CAN reach that place."

Celtis stared down at the gun before her.

"How...does something like this even work?" She asked, "Mythical heroes, the 'will' of Cyberspace, laws of reality...just what the hell kind of person can discover this stuff and then use it to their own ends so effortlessly?!"

"Normally? I'd say the Magnum Phoenix." Ace said flatly, "This kind of crap was his SPECIALTY. And had the original Doctors not been focused solely on robotics research, and perhaps branched out into multiple fields as the Magnum Phoenix did, I am CERTAIN they could have done it as well, as they were each formidably brilliant enough to match wits with even him. But where he saw the larger picture, they preferred the smaller one, working towards the betterment of mankind and robots. Then again, it's that specialization in robotics, that personal touch which gave us today's world, so they were probably right in their choices, even though the end result was war. But that...thing..."

Ace struggled to find an appropriate description.

"That Hades Dominion...SHOULD NOT EXIST. It's a greater blasphemy against the laws of reality than even the Dead Ends. By rights it should have never been allowed to come about. To create a method to summon any of the ultimate impartial adjudicators of EXISTENCE ITSELF?" Ace shook his head. "No, there's no way the laws of balance, that would defy even the Magnum Phoenix, would ever have allowed such a game-breaking weapon to exist."

Omega wordlessly pointed to the gun.

"And yet, here I am, looking at the damn thing." He stated sarcastically. "Which makes me think that you KNOW why it's here, and just what it is that the damn thing does."

"...there is a reason it could still be allowed, yes..." Ace said eventually. "And yes, Saber's right, that reason has to do with how it works."

He gestured at Celtis.

"You said you weren't aware of anything for the last week or so?"

"Y-yes, the last thing I remember was fighting Granz, and then suddenly I'm waking up here with a bunch of scattered memories, and him," She pointed to Omega, who looked entirely unrepentant, "Trying to kill me!"

A pause.

"...again." She added. There was also some time spent talking to Model O and trying to figure out what the hell had happened, but nothing really important otherwise.

"I see..." Ace shifted in his chair, leaning on one of the armrests. "It's as I suspected. SOMEBODY screwed with Cyberspace big time here...There IS a way to summon an Antiviral without triggering a brand new distortion and ending the world."

He leveled a finger at her.

"Simply put, when that..." Shaking his head in annoyance, Ace forged on, "Hades Dominion goes active, it effectively throws you into a pocket of sub-Cyberspace, a place outside of the rules. With 'Celtis Gisborne-Wingates Arcana' suddenly out of the game, there's now an empty space. And since Nature abhors a vacuum, metaphorically speaking, that 'space' is now open. And using the Hades itself as the catalyst, it manifests the Antiviral directly from Cyberspace and into the real world."

He sank his head into his hands with an aggravated groan.

"All of that, BLATANTLY GIVING THE ENTIRE MULTIVERSE THE FINGER IN THE PROCESS, and yet STILL perfectly acceptable by the programming of Cyberspace."

"So...for an entire week, I was...gone?" Celtis said weakly.

"Yep..."Ace groaned. "Put simply: The Hades punched you into a pocket dimension SO HARD that it left an Arcana-shaped hole in the universe. And then it used that 'empty space' to call the Black Rock Shooter."

"And then things blew up." Omega supplied helpfully. "So...what, the next time this happens, she'll randomly get subbed out for another one of these Counter Guardians?"

Because while he'd DEARLY love another round with that Black Rock Shooter...having to deal with a random number generator equivalent of every single Maverick Wars boss ever would be a COLOSSAL pain in the ass.

"...and there's the second reason why I say the son of a bitch who pulled this off is the single most reckless, mad as hell, and fucking BRILLIANT ASSHOLE I have ever encountered." Ace seethed. "It's a DOMINION weapon, which gives it the form changing specs like your Zweihander, right? Except yours came in with a BUILT IN LIMIT, like a framework to say how many available forms were available. That?"

He jerked a thumb in the direction of the Hades.

"NO limiter. SO yes, ordinarily it WOULD be a frigging roulette of 'Who's That Hero?!'...at least, if Model O hadn't thrown a colossal wrench into that."

"How so?" Omega asked, before he heard a sharp gasp from Celtis. Turning, he saw the green-haired Hunter pressing a hand to her mouth, looking pale. Seeing the look on his face, she slowly took it away, casting her eyes downward.

"Um...I...I think I might know what he means..." She said, a guilty look on her face.

"..." Omega gave her a searching look, and then glanced across at the grim expression of Ace Phoenix.

"Um...when Ashe tried to use Data Get on Model O, it...well, I think it took something out of her in return."

She remembered again the flashes she'd gotten from Model O in the aftermath, of it ripping out that shining orb from the center of Ashe's chest, and stifled a brief shudder.

Ace gave her a speculative look for several moments, before nodding and dropping back heavily against his chair.

"...yes, it most certainly did." He grunted. "When Model O shoved that fusion reactor into her, it took some data of its own in exchange. Whether it was deliberate or just instinctive, I don't know, but from what I got out of Grey and Model A..."

The Scarlet Phoenix sighed.

"...It tore out her copy of the A-Trans database."

There was a long silence.

"That sounds...bad." Omega said finally.

"...it depends." Ace said hesitantly. "Without examining Ashe herself, I have no way to say how bad the damage is. I CAN however say that the files concerning her forms have been relatively untouched, meaning that each of her forms, such as Bifrost, the other Biometals and so on, are still there, it's just that the overall framework of it's been ripped out. I have no idea if that might cause some hybridization when she tries to A Trans again, or if she even CAN A-Trans still. Model A seems to think so, though, since it said she still registered as being compatible. So on her end, I'm not too certain what that'll cause, partly because Biometals themselves aren't exactly my finest field..."

He scratched his cheek, momentarily embarrassed.

"...but anyway, what I can say is that it seems as though there was a hidden program within the Hades' Dominion system. It would only activate once it had everything necessary to ensure it wouldn't immediately be destroyed by the laws of reality."

"Meaning...?"

Ace's eyes narrowed.

"Whoever set that up made it so that the Dominion ability would only go into effect once it had appropriate...'vessels' of a sort, to be able to contain that power. With vessels here having the meaning of 'slots'...JUST LIKE YOUR ZWEIHANDER."

There was a moment's pause while that sank in.

"So...I can call the Black Rock Shooter again?" Celtis sounded...unsettled. Surprisingly, Omega didn't blame her. Being replaced entirely like that, just shunted aside for someone else to take over...it reminded him unpleasantly of his time locked in Weil's white armor...

Ace gave her a sympathetic look, before nodding.

"...yes. Just like Saber and his Zweihander, you can access the power at any time once you've unlocked it. However..." He turned back to Omega, his eyes narrowing. "UNLIKE Saber, you don't seem to require the power of another Virus Core. Save for that first one, which you tore out of Black Thresher, more cores don't seem necessary. Rather, emotion will more likely play a larger role in 'calling' a new Guardian. The firepower of the Hades, on the other hand, CAN be upgraded with more Cores. Also, I'm not certain, but they may still be able to help you reach more powerful Guardians."

He shrugged.

"Beyond that, and whatever other basic RPG tropes you want to break out, I got nothing."

"Then...we're done here." Omega growled. Swinging his feet off of the table, he stood, wincing slightly as he felt one of his mechanical ribs creaking. He seemed fine otherwise, and the God of Destruction estimated he'd be back up to full strength within a day, 48 hours earlier than he'd expected.

He gave a grim smile.

Good. At least ONE bloody thing was going right today...

Ace gave them both a calculating look, noting Celtis' still shaken expression.

"...consider this an order if you will, but Saber and Arcana, you're on downtime for the next few days."

Omega turned, a dangerous look on his face. Had Ace seen through his facade-?!

And then his eyes fell on Celtis.

...Ah.

He had to admit, she...didn't look so great. It was then he realized that she'd been on her own for practically a week without realizing it, and had come back to discover so much had happened in the meantime. He supposed that might have rattled him even worse, considering his fierce desire for independence. Sure, it'd probably saved her life, but...

Omega groaned and pressed a hand to his face. Stupid, lousy, rassafrassin' conscience subroutines...!

Reaching out one hand, he snagged the back of Celtis' jacket with one claw, lifting her clean off of the ground.

"Eh?" Celtis managed, before Omega slung her over his back with an annoyed sigh.

"I don't have time to wait around for you all day, Celtis." He grumbled. "Now let's get the hell out of here. I've had enough explanations to last me a lifetime."

"Wha-you...! P-put me down, you big lummox!" Celtis yelped, her feet dangling a good few inches from the floor. "You white-haired, good-for-nothing..."

She stopped as something dawned on her.

The green-haired Hunter looked up at him, stunned.

"D...did you just...actually say my name...?"

"..." Omega said nothing for a moment, before suddenly glaring over his shoulder at her. "What was that, sub-standard excuse for a Chosen One...?!"

Celtis stared at him for a moment, before breaking out into a quiet chuckle.

"Ah, no, it's nothing...never mind!"

Omega gave her a searching look, as if trying to see if she was messing with him or not, before he gave an annoyed sigh and headed for the door again.

"...this is why getting laid is SO much easier..." He grumbled.

And then, as he reached the door, the God of Destruction stopped, a thought occurring to him.

"Oi...Phoenix."

Ace's chair turned slightly, the Scarlet Commander regarding Omega through lidded eyes.

"...yes?"

"You...said there were TWO methods that Cyberspace used to deal with distortions." He spoke without turning around, Celtis looking up at him curiously.

"The Antivirus was one...but you never said what the other was."

A silence settled on the room.

"...Ah." Ace gave a bitter smile. "Yes, I did omit that, didn't I."

Omega said nothing, waiting for the Scarlet Phoenix.

"You see...there are situations where not even the Anti-Virals are enough." He turned to look out the wide glass windows, at the setting sun. "There are moments where nothing else save for a last resort can redeem the situation."

His eyes were distant, staring out at something only he could see.

"In that situation...Cyberspace itself rises, utterly erasing the distortion entirely with the full, crushing weight of the laws of reality. The world itself rebels, denying the distortion's existence. It erases it so utterly that there's nothing left, a natural disaster of such unprecedented magnitude that there is nothing that can defend against it."

"I see..." Omega said, his eyes still facing ahead of him.

"...to this date, there has been only one known occurrence of that. An event so great and terrible in magnitude that almost every race, in every universe, has some version of it in their own myths."

The God of Destruction's jaw tightened as he realized just what Ace was talking about, the unbelievable magnitude of destruction involved.

"After all, every culture tells the story..." Ace finally turned to look at him directly, that same rueful smile on his face.

"...of the civilization that vanished beneath the waves."

* * *

A/N:...I...honestly have no idea what to say about this chapter. I am almost certain that at LEAST half of you simply tuned all of this out, many of you no doubt leaving due to my even further descent into the realms of crossovers and the like.

This would have been out sooner, had I not been overly paranoid about getting all of these concepts down just right, or at least in a way that made as much sense as it did in my head.

Much of the physics and concepts mentioned here are borrowed HEAVILY, if not jacked outright from the works of Kinoku Nasu and Type Moon, the company behind Fate Stay Night and several of the single best visual novels of all time. Just go look up the Type Moon Wiki, and research the Counter Guardians. It'll probably give you an easier explanation than mine, which was altered to fit the physics of the Megaman Zx universe.

And yes, I am almost certain that I will get flamers saying that this is a load of nonsense, that Cyberspace is not 'alive', there's no multiverse, and that Cyberspace in general does not work that way. To those of you all indignant and up in arms, who aren't willing to just roll with my envisioning of it for the Chronicles...you know where the door is.

To the rest of you willing to stay and see where this goes, as I said in previous chapters, welcome to the party. Cyberspace, and all of the reality hacking that goes along with it, are going to be a MAJOR feature of the story from here on out, so look forward to even more insane fights, battles, and mindscrews.

But of course, it's not over yet. With the fight against the Zone Technician and even the terrifying Dead End called Great Redips finally over, and the necessary expositing, we'll have the final wrap-up for this whole arc and a considerable plot bomb too, which almost all of you should immediately recognize as meaning things will be getting way more crazy in the future.

...after all, I have once again, carefully omitted any explanation of a certain feature of the entire Zone Technician battle.

For those of you who know what that missing point is, good job, you're getting better at this! And to those who didn't, no sweat, it'll make it even better when I finally reveal it!

Anyway, that's all for now!

I'll see you guys in the next chapter!

DarkShift Out!


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